ILMA Compoundings June 2019 - 38

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RATIONAL ENERGIES ACHIEVES
PHASE I MILESTONES, RESETS FOR
PHASE II EXPANSION
Starting in 2017, Rational Energies'
Plymouth, Minnesota, facility was
modified from its original purpose
- turning landfill plastic into crude
oil - into one that converted used
motor oil into high-quality industrial
lubricants. During Phase I, Rational
Energies produced Group I Base Oils,
Distillate and Asphalt Extender, along
with finished blended lubricants.
"We set out to validate the new
Rational Energies business model in
24 months and were able to achieve
it in only 19," said Rational Energies
Founder and CEO Ed Driscoll.
"Phase I was focused on retrofitting
our manufacturing facility, establishing
a customer base, sourcing feedstock
suppliers and establishing a reputation
as a quality supplier of base oils. Hard
work from our team enabled us to
meet our production goal and prepare
Rational Energies for its next stage of
growth," Driscoll concluded.
"Phase II, a major upgrade, will
double the size of our manufacturing
capacity to 11 million gallons and
expand our product offering to include
Group II lubricants," said Rational
Energies Chief Operating Officer Rick
Albrecht. "We'll be suspending operations as new equipment is installed.
While this will interrupt production
in the short run, we're confident
our expansion will help us provide
even greater value to our customers
in the years ahead. We apologize to
our customers and suppliers for any
inconvenience this interruption in
production might cause."

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JUNE 2019

| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

Albrecht estimates the $8 million
Phase II expansion will be completed
by January 2020, with production
commencing shortly thereafter.

SCHAEFFER'S SPECIALIZED
LUBRICANTS NAMES LARRY
HOFSTETTER PRESIDENT

PALMER HOLLAND BECOMES
LANXESS DISTRIBUTOR

Palmer Holland will become the distributor for LANXESS lubricant additives
products in North America. The change
comes as LANXESS undergoes a
restructuring of its distribution setup for
its lubricant additives products.
"We are pleased to expand our
relationship with Palmer Holland," said
Duane Hall, head of sales for LANXESS' lubricant additives business
line. "Palmer Holland has a knowledgeable sales staff throughout the
U.S. and has earned a reputation as a
professional, customer-focused partner
for our Additin brand in the lubricant
additives market. We are excited to
work together to serve our customers
with effective, efficient and comprehensive solutions to meet their needs."
"We are excited to add this highly
complementary group of LANXESS
additives to our lubricant portfolio,"
said Eric Kielts, director of lubricants
at Palmer Holland. "Palmer Holland
has a strong relationship with LANXESS'
Lubricant Additives business and
this expansion will only deepen that
relationship."

Schaeffer's Specialized Lubricants
announced the immediate appointment of Larry Hofstetter as president.
Hofstetter succeeds Jay Schaeffer
Shields, who has served as president
and CEO since March 2018. Shields
will remain as CEO, and Tom Schaeffer Herrmann will remain as chairman
of the board.

Larry Hofstetter

"As a 180-year-old privately owned
family company, it's imperative we have
strong leaders in place who understand
our culture so we can continue fulfilling our commitment to customers who
trust their equipment and businesses
with our products," said Shields.
"After months of extensive searching
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