Photo of Tan Pai Kok courtesy of ALMU

New initiatives bared during ALMU Virtual Town Hall Meeting

October 2, 2020

The Asian Lubricant Manufacturers Union (ALMU), the voice of the Asian lubricants industry, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Virtual Town Hall Meeting this week via a virtual platform, in response to Covid-19 and existing travel restrictions.

ALMU Chairman Tan Pai Kok shared during the meeting the top four priorities for ALMU in 2020-2022: membership growth, sustainable future, technical competency, and supporting members through the pandemic. Tan is vice president of Operations, Lubricants, for Total Oil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, responsible for Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Regarding membership growth, Tan said ALMU’s target is to increase the number of its corporate members from 130 to 200 companies by 2022. Currently, ALMU is made up of 62 independent lubricant companies, 19 major and national oil companies, 37 supplier companies, and 12 affiliate and honorary members.

Membership growth can be achieved by enhancing ALMU’s value proposition for its members and organising activities aligned with member needs, Tan said. Subcommittee leaders, including Sharmini Lohadhasan, counsel, Brands, of BP Singapore Pte Ltd.; and David Barned, global vice president, Operations & Supply Chain/General Manager – North America, of Master Fluid Solutions; Dr. T.C.S.M. Gupta, senior vice president, Quality, R&D and Technical, Apar Industries Limited; and, Watcharapong Pathompanich (Alex), business development manager, P.S.P. Specialties Co., Ltd., gave details on their respective subcommittee plans. Lohadhasan also gave the presentation for the membership subcommittee on behalf of Mia Krishna Anggraini, vice president, Overseas, PT Pertamina Lubricants.

Chairman Tan emphasised ALMU’s vital role as an environmentally and socially responsible collective organisation. “The association will put in the necessary resources and knowledge to behave as a responsible collective association,” he said during the Virtual Town Hall meeting.

ALMU recently published a sustainability statement, which unequivocally states its commitment to environmental, social and community stewardship. A webinar is scheduled on October 28 where Founding Director Steve Puckett will explain ALMU’s Sustainability Statement. Other confirmed speakers for this first in a series of sustainability talks include Beth Grove, who was recently appointed Lubrizol’s chief sustainability officer, and Mark Miller, president of Biosynthetic Lubricants. Grove will discuss the “Sustainability of Current Lubricant Additive Technologies,” while Miller will discuss “How Sustainable are Vegetable Oil-Based Base Oils.”

A few of the new initiatives highlighted during the Virtual Town Hall meeting include:

Conducting a Certificate of Lubricant Proficiency joint certification course with the Shanghai Lubricant Trade Association (SLTA) in Mandarin, to be held in the Spring of 2021 in Shanghai, China;
Collaboration with the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE);
Advocacy/Industry Partnership Sharing Sessions which will be kicked off in late November;
Hybrid education courses, which will include live training workshops combined with virtual sessions, to make them more cost-effective and more inclusive;
Member-to-Member sharing sessions;
A six-month Membership Extension program;
Member-Get-Member Initiative;
White paper on On-Highly Commercial Vehicle Lubricant Quality in Key Asian Markets in Asia which is being co-authored by Lubrizol;
White Paper on Counterfeit Lubricants Market in Asia co-authored by Kline Group which is currently under review and will be presented in March 2021, during the ALMU Annual Meeting;
Developing a Guide on Sustainable Lubricants and Best Practices for Responsible Consumption and Production of Lubricants;
Knowledge sharing on the role of lubricants in regards to Industry 4.0;
Developing a list of certified independent laboratories performing industry-specific tests and negotiating discounted pricing for ALMU members;
Web-based networking forum and sharing sessions on technical topics.