ILMA Compoundings May 2018 - 50

IN NETWORK

Cross Connections
Asian Lubricants
Industry Now Has a
Voice in ALMU
By Vicky Villena-Denton

arch 6, 2018, was a historic day for the Asian lubricants industry with the official launch of the Asian
Lubricant Manufacturers Union (ALMU). Present
during the launch at the Four Seasons Hotel in Macao were
distinguished guests from all over the world, including
ILMA President Dave Croghan; ILMA Past President Ron
Powell; Union of European Lubricants Industry (UEIL)
President Dr. Valentina Serra-Holm; and Shanghai Lubricant Traders Association President Y.D. Wu.
Also in attendance was ALMU Council Vice Chairman
Winston Low Hee Teck, managing director of Feoso Energy
(Jiangsu) Ltd. Representing ALMU Council Chairman Dr.
Ho Leng Woon, executive chairman of AP Oil International
Ltd., was Ho Chee Hon, CEO of AP Oil International.
ALMU council member Dato' Hazimah Zainuddin, group
managing director of Hyrax Oil Sdn. Bhd., was represented
by Mohd Sanef bin Osman, general manager of sales &
technical support of Hyrax Oil.
The ALMU Executive Team includes myself as director;
Steve Puckett, managing director of TRI-ZEN International
Pte. Ltd., as co-director; Jan Tan as general manager; Scarlett
Chua as senior manager; and Charles Champion as ALMU
industry liaison advisor.
ALMU was officially registered on Nov. 13, 2017, in
Singapore, and as of March 6, had received its initial 18
membership applications comprising 12 independent lubricant companies, one major oil company and five suppliers.
Countries represented so far include Singapore, Malaysia,
Indonesia, India, Taiwan, China, Australia, Pakistan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Switzerland.
For the first two years of ALMU's existence, the organization
will be steered by appointed council members, at which point
council members will be elected by the general membership.
ALMU officially appointed Singapore's Enterprise Promotion Centre as association secretariat on Dec. 1, 2017.
ALMU has also engaged the services of Champion, who was

MAY 2018

| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

formerly with Infineum Singapore and has more than 30
years of service in the industry.
ALMU is a vision more than two decades in the making.
When I first entered the Asian lubricants scene in the early
1990s, what struck me most was the absence of institutions
similar to those prevalent in the West, where I had spent nearly
a decade covering the oil industry - institutions such as ILMA
that cohesively represent the interests of independent lubricant
manufacturers before the U.S. Congress, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration and state and local government bodies.
The Asian growth story is now legendary. As industry
growth began to peak in mature Western markets, the focus
turned to the world's fastest-growing market: Asia. Now, the
time has come to bring forth an association representing the
Asian lubricants industry.
ALMU represents the combined knowledge and expertise of lubricant manufacturers of all sizes throughout the
region, with goals of becoming the trusted voice for the
Asian lubricants industry; supporting the development of
high-quality lubricants; and providing exceptional value to
its member organizations. The region in which ALMU shall
operate includes East Asia, South Asia, North Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The composition of the initial ALMU council is representative of the region's diversity. Its chairman, Ho, started
his lubricants business in 1975 in Singapore as Huan Chew
Oil Trading Pte. Ltd. From lubricant distribution, he
ventured into lubricant manufacturing in 1981, setting up
the first Singaporean-owned lubricant blending plant in the
country. AP Oil was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange
in 2001 and upgraded to the mainboard in 2003. Today,
AP Oil operates six manufacturing plants, including three
for the manufacturing of lubricants and two for specialty
chemicals. Its products are marketed in some 20 countries
and regions, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines,
Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Fiji
and the Middle East.
Teck, as ALMU vice chairman, likewise brings a wealth
of experience to his role, including 23 years of service with
Esso/Exxon Group before starting Feoso Energy (Hong
Kong) Ltd. and Feoso Energy (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. in
1993. Gautam N. Mehra, ALMU's second vice chairman, is
chairman and managing director of Savita Oil Technologies
Ltd. (SOTL), which is among India's largest manufacturers

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