Interviews with Lubrizol & with Infineum
Paul Nai, Managing Director, Lubrizol Southeast Asia
What are some recent developments at Lubrizol Southeast Asia?
For SEA, the motorcycle market continues to grow in a post-pandemic world where many people are averse to taking public transport, and delivery services, such as Amazon, are more prevalent. With this growth, lubricants must be catalysts for better emissions and deliver improved hardware durability while reducing internal friction.
As supply chains move from a ‘just-in-time’ model to ‘just-in-case’, we expanded the blending capacity at our Singapore site to improve product mix and supply resilience in the region. Have you seen a change in demand for Lubrizol products?
There is a lot more emphasis today on energy security and reducing carbon emissions. Many SEA governments are now implementing net-zero target dates. As one example, biodiesel with higher biobased content is playing a bigger role in these markets. However, this increases the severity of the operating environment for the lubricants. To address this challenge, we are running field trials with our lubricant technology in Thailand. Sustainability is also increasingly influencing our personal and home care business. For example, the demand for efficient detergents that do not require high water temperatures to clean effectively, is also rising. How does Lubrizol serve the electric vehicle (EV) market?
Lubrizol has developed immersion cooling technology to facilitate safe rapid charging. We have also extended this technology in cooling data centers. What is Lubrizol’s approach to digitalization?
Industry 4.0 is a major focus for Lubrizol. We have implemented Distributed Control System (DCS) to significantly improve our automation capabilities. Moving forward, we will enhance our data collection and analysis so that we can improve our processes. What role does sustainability play at Lubrizol?
On the product design side, we have spent a lot of time looking at the lifecycle of our products and quantifying our scope 1 and 2 emissions. We are also starting to evaluate the carbon footprint of the raw materials we use.
John Hong, Asia Pacific Sales Director & Country Head – Infineum
Could you share any notable advancements Infineum has made in R&D?
Infineum has continued to spearhead innovation in the field, as evidenced by the recognition of our lubricant additive Infineum P5500 product, which received the “Made in Singapore & Designed in Singapore” award. This product, designed specifically for the APAC region, underlines our focus on creating affordable, purpose-built solutions that cater to this region's unique demands and challenging terrains. Our broader strategy is to align product development with our sustainability goals, as demonstrated in our work to support fuel-efficient and low-emission internal combustion engines. Looking to the future, we have started developing additives for alternative fuels like hydrogen and ammonia.
Moreover, our e-fluid additives business has seen appreciable growth. We are currently collaborating with key OEMs in Korea and Japan to fine-tune our next-generation e-fluids for EVs. How do you approach talent attraction, especially considering the challenges faced by the chemical industry in Singapore?
We focus on individual respect and tailored development. Our global footprint and small team sizes necessitate that our team members are multi-skilled, capable, and empowered to make decisions and create impact independently. We provide opportunities to collaborate globally and offer overseas assignments, fostering a legacy mindset where employees strive to leave a lasting mark.
Furthermore, we revamped our office to accommodate future ways of working, including increased collaboration and hybrid working models. We employ digital tools to maintain seamless connectivity both in-house and with off-site colleagues. This helps us to better serve our customers and enhance talent attraction. Do you have a final message?
At Infineum, we continue to prioritize safety, sustainability, customer-centricity, and talent attraction. Our safety record, including a full year without any injuries globally, is something we take great pride in and will remain focused on.
We will proceed with implementing our sustainability roadmaps and interventions to contribute positively to global sustainability. Lastly, we will persist in our efforts to attract the best talent, refining our value proposition to appeal to both young and experienced individuals.