Afton Chemical Opens New Research and Development Laboratory in Suzhou, China

RICHMOND, Va. - Monday, December 19th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Afton Chemical Corporation increases customer support in Asia Pacific with the opening of their most recent Research and Development laboratory in Suzhou, China. The new fuel and lubricant additive laboratory provides customers and OEMs in Asia Pacific with enhanced technical services, including sample blending, physical and chemical analysis, and performance testing.

The new laboratory has been constructed at the Afton Chemical (Suzhou) Co. Ltd manufacturing facility in the Suzhou Industrial Park. The Suzhou manufacturing facility was one of 4 sites acquired by Afton through their 2010 acquisition of Polartech Metalworking Additives. The new laboratory will replace the current Shanghai R&D facility.

“Our new facility in Suzhou is designed to house our lubricant and fuel customer technical service laboratories and we’ll be able to provide more effective technical support for our customers in the region,” said Rich Mendel, Vice President and Managing Director of Afton Chemical Asia Pacific. Mendel adds, “We are committed to bringing our recognized ‘Passion for Solutions’ to China and the Asia-Pacific region to help our customers differentiate their offerings to meet the needs of the local marketplace. This integrated technical support and manufacturing operation will further enhance our ability to provide quick and effective service to our customers in China, and will provide additional support for local OEMs.”

“Along with the investments we have made at our R&D center in Tsukuba, Japan, the new Suzhou laboratory allows us to better support the fast-growing business in Asia Pacific” said Warren Huang, President of Afton Chemical. “It gives us added capabilities and expertise to expand our support of customers and OEMs in the region. Major investments have been made to these facilities in the area of analytical equipment and new performance tests, and our continued investment will enable us to develop customized solutions in the region, for the region,” said Huang.

Afton Chemical Corporation, part of the NewMarket Corporation (NYSE: NEU) family of companies, develops and manufactures petroleum additives that help fuels burn cleaner and more efficiently, engines run smoother, and machines last longer. We offer performance fuel additives and refinery chemicals, such as gasoline performance additives, diesel fuel additives, lubricity improvers, and cold flow improvers; driveline products, such as automotive gear oil and automatic transmission fluid additives; engine oil additives for passenger car engines, heavy duty diesel engines, and railroad and marine diesel engines; additives for industrial products, such as antiwear and R&O hydraulic oils, industrial gear oils, grease, and industrial specialty chemicals. The company supports global operations through regional headquarters located in Asia Pacific, EMEAI, Latin America and North America. Afton Chemical Corporation is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, visit www.aftonchemical.com.

Contacts

Afton Chemical Corporation

Rich Mendel, VP & Managing Director - Asia Pacific

+65 6732 0822 (Singapore)