Opet Fuchs opens new plant in Izmir, Turkey

Opet Fuchs, one of the leading brands in the lubricant industry, has started operation at its new plant in Aliağa, Izmir, Turkey. Realized with an investment of EUR 24 million, the Aliağa Lube Oil Blending Plant was opened on September 3, 2019 with a ceremony attended by Fikret Öztürk, Chairman of the Board of Opet Petrolcülük A. Ş., Yağız Eyüboğlu, President of Koç Holding Energy Group, Stefan Fuchs, Chairman of the Board of Fuchs Petrolub SE, Opet Petrolcülük A. Ş. Board Members Nurten Öztürk, Ufuk Öztürk and Filiz Öztürk, and Ralph Rheinboldt, Member of the Board of Fuchs Petrolub SE, Alf Untersteller, Vice President of Fuchs Petrolub SE, Cüneyt Ağca, General Manager of Opet Petrolcülük A. Ş., and Murat Seyhan, General Manager of Opet Fuchs.

Fikret Öztürk, Chairman of the Board of Opet Petrolcülük A. Ş. said, “We have succeeded to carry such a challenging and risky business forward in our country thanks to our partners Koç Holding and Fuchs Petrolub SE. With this new state- of- the- art plant, which we is the outcome of the efforts of the dynamic Opet Fuchs team, new achievements are waiting for us both at home and abroad.”

Yağız Eyüboğlu, President of Koç Holding Energy Group, said that the new plant is the result of 17 years of successful cooperation between Koç Holding and Opet Petrolcülük. “This new plant will be the backbone of our strategic change. It will give a new impulse to the sector with its doubled capacity and renewed product structure. Together with our new plant and our partners, we have once again underlined our trust in the sector and our country,” said Eyüboğlu.

Stefan Fuchs, Chairman of the Board of Fuchs Petrolub SE, said: “Today we have a dream come true. I am very happy and proud to be here to celebrate this important day. Our partnership, which started in 2005, achieves success in harmony. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Öztürk Family, Koç Group, Opet and Opet Fuchs employees.”

In his opening speech, Murat Seyhan, General Manager of Opet Fuchs, said: “We completed our factory in May 2019 and the trial production started in July. This plant, which we realized with the aim of meeting the changing needs of consumers, is one of the most technological lubricant plant in Turkey and the nearby geography. We raised the standards while increasing our production capacity.”

Annual lubricant production capacity of 60 thousand tons in one shift

Opet Fuchs' new plant in Izmir was established built on a total area of 55 thousand square meters to manufacture a wide range of products including engine oils, industrial oils and special products. The plant has a production capacity of 60 thousand tons per year in a single shift, and is equipped with the most advanced process technologies such as drum decanting systems, piggable product transfer pipelines and automatic piggable manifold.

The products produced in highly automated bottles, drum and tin filling lines are palletized with the help of robots. The automatic packing machine further increases the production rate. Barrel and IBC filling lines are designed to reach high capacity. Warehouse stock management automation was commissioned to ensure flawless shipment quality in the warehouse where in- rack sprinklers are used to minimize fire- related risks. Approximately 300 km of energy and process cables were used in the construction to ensure a high level of automation in the plant, which consists of five main sections: administrative building, production building, warehouse building, tank area and utilities. The fire protection system of the new Opet Fuchs lubricant production plant was designed in accordance with the Turkish National Regulation on the Fire Protection of Buildings and NFPA standards.

R& D laboratory is equipped with the latest technology

The Research and Development Laboratory, which provides services with the state- of- the- art laboratory materials and equipment in an area of 300 square meters, has the capacity to run more than 100 test methods with over 45 new technology testing devices. Product prototype studies and verifications are carried out in the laboratory where new product designs and developments are realized upon customer requests.

Quality Control Laboratory has the highest number of accredited test methods in the sector in Turkey

The Quality Control Laboratory contributes to customer satisfaction, one of the company's primary goals. The ISO 17025 accredited Quality Control Laboratory tests the used oils in order to track the equipment and lubricant performance levels. The laboratory has the highest number of Türkak test approvals in the sector.