Total inaugurates new lubricant blending plant in Russia
Total has inaugurated its new state-of-the-art lubricant blending plant, located in the Kaluga region of the Russian Federation. The opening ceremony took place on October 15, in the presence of Anatoly Artamonov, governor of the Kaluga Region, and Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of Total.
The lubricant blending plant will allow Total to localise the production of its top-tier
lubricants for the Russian market. With an investment equivalent to USD50 million, the facility was designed to produce initially 40,000 tons of automotive and industrial lubricants per year, with the option to increase capacity up to 70,000 tons per year.
The lube blending plant is equipped with a fully automated blending system and ultra-modern filling lines. Covering an area of seven hectares of the Vorsino industrial park in the Kaluga Region, the plant opens less than two years after the start of construction. Its operations are creating 50 new jobs onsite.
“As illustrated by our commitment to major LNG projects in the Arctic, Russia has become a key country for Total. In addition to our upstream activities, Russia is also one of the highest priority development markets for our Marketing & Services and downstream products, especially lubricants,” said Pouyanné.
“With this production and blending facility opening in Kaluga today, we are showing our strong dedication to our Russian customers. This new plant will strengthen our position in the Russian and Central Asian markets. It is fully in line with our strategy to grow profitability in developing markets and contribute strongly to the Group’s financial performance.”
“The opening of Total factory once again confirms the economic and investment attractiveness of the Kaluga region for international partners.” said Artamonov. “We aspire to provide the best conditions for companies which understand the importance of production localization in Russia, develop the import substitution policy and take care about the environment by creating ecologically safe production plants. The government of the region is ready to support them in such important and long-term projects.”
With the launch of this local production unit, Total Vostok, Total’s subsidiary in Russia of the Marketing & Services Division of French energy company Total, plans to become one of the top leaders in the segment of premium automotive and industrial lubricants in the Russian market, and a major player among competitors established locally.
This new plant will produce the entire range of Total and Elf lubricants products including: “Total Quartz” for passenger cars; “Total Rubia” for commercial vehicles; Total’s full range of industrial oils; the “Fuel Economy” lubricants line, which allows both commercial and passenger vehicles, as well as off-road vehicles to significantly reduce their fuel consumption.
In addition to the Russian market, Total Vostok also plans to ship products to a number of countries in Central Asia and to Belarus.
With the start of this local production, consumer companies in the region will benefit from several advantages: a reduced dependence on imports, a significant decrease in both production and delivery times and an optimisation of logistics and storage costs for the final products.
