Lubrizol Opens New Drumming Facility and Warehouse at Painesville Township Plant

The Lubrizol Corporation announced the opening of a state-of-the art drumming facility and warehouse at its Painesville Township manufacturing facility, both of which are part of the company’s previously announced phased investment at the site. The total $70 million investment better positions the company to meet the changing demands of customers and ensures the integrity and quality of its products while reinforcing personal and environmental safety.

Construction on the 180,000 square feet combined buildings began in April 2015. With a focus on enhancing safety and business processes, the new buildings will be instrumental in reducing risk and achieving the company’s business objectives of improving effectiveness, efficiency and consistency.

“Historically, the Painesville Township site has been of great importance to our business, operating for more than 60 of the company’s nearly 90 years,” said Tom Curtis, incoming president of Lubrizol Additives. “This latest investment reinforces our commitment to the community by further ensuring the site as a key source in Lubrizol Additives’ global supply chain.”

With more than half of all Lubrizol Additives products worldwide containing at least one component manufactured at the Painesville Township site, adding new manufacturing capacity and updated automated packaging capabilities was a necessity. Furthermore, these efforts are important to ensure product integrity and to improve the overall safety and efficiency of handling product drums and totes.

From left to right: Joshua Pennock (Painesville Township Trustee), Mike Manary (Painesville Township Administrator), John Hamercheck (Lake County Commissioner), Jerry Cirino (Lake County Commissioner), Dan Troy (Lake County Commissioner), Eric Schnur (Lubrizol), Craig Hupp (Lubrizol), Mark Rantala (Lake County Port Authority), Tom Curtis (Lubrizol), Matt Joyce (Lubrizol) and Mike Vaughn (Lubrizol)

“With our new drum filling facility, we will be able to improve safety by minimizing the manual packaging of drums, reducing packaging time for a single batch by more than 50% and minimizing the number of times a drum is handled by more than 70%,” commented Craig Hupp, Lubrizol Painesville Township plant manager. “And, with 100% indoor storage provided by our new warehouse, we will improve the quality and appearance of packaged products delivered to our customers. All of these improvements will be a tremendous value to our overall organization.”

To commemorate the opening, earlier today Lake County Commissioners presented Lubrizol with a certificate of recognition followed by a formal ribbon cutting ceremony at the facility. In attendance were several of the Lake County Commissioners and Painesville Township Trustees, as well as representatives from Lake County Port Authority. Representatives from Lubrizol included Eric Schnur, chairman, president and chief executive officer; Tom Curtis, incoming president of Lubrizol Additives; Mark Sutherland, Lubrizol corporate vice president of global communications and public affairs; Mike Vaughn, Lubrizol corporate vice president, operations; Matt Joyce, vice president of Lubrizol Additives sales and marketing; and Craig Hupp, Lubrizol Painesville Township plant manager.

About The Lubrizol Corporation
The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a market-driven global company that combines complex, specialty chemicals to optimize the quality, performance and value of customers’ products while reducing their environmental impact. It is a leader at combining market insights with chemistry and application capabilities to deliver valuable solutions to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol improves lives by acting as an essential partner in our customers’ success, delivering efficiency, reliability or wellness to their end users. Technologies include lubricant additives for engine oils, driveline and other transportation-related fluids, industrial lubricants, as well as additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. In addition, Lubrizol makes ingredients and additives for home care, personal care and skin care products and specialty materials encompassing polymer and coatings technologies, along with polymer-based pharmaceutical and medical device solutions.

With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,300 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2016 were $6.5 billion. For more information, visit Lubrizol.com.

Source: Lubrizol