Klüber Lubrication (Specialty Lubricants)

It would be appropriate to say that, although much has changed in the Specialties Business Area over the past months, Klüber remains Klüber.

Freudenberg purchased the Munich-based specialty lubricant producer OKS, with the deal backdated to
July 1, 2003. OKS, which has sales of approximately 10 million Euro and a workforce of around 50, specializes in lubricants for maintenance and thus ideally complements Klüber business. Negotiations with the US release agents manufacturer Chem-Trend of Howell/Michigan, which also began in the second half of 2003, were concluded in February 2004. Chem-Trend has sales of some 95 million Euro and a workforce of 400. These three companies joined up at the beginning of 2004 to form the new Freudenberg Chemical Specialities Business Group. They will continue to operate independently on the market under their respective names. The figures quoted throughout this section refer to 2003 and therefore only apply to Klüber Lubrication.

There was a global downturn in consumption of lubricants in 2003. The trend towards specialties continued, while at the same time competition became stiffer. The result was growing price pressure and persistent consolidation in the industry. Under these conditions, Klüber once again produced a good performance and won market shares. The innovative global niche strategy is proving its worth and has led to particularly strong growth in some market segments such as the textile industry and automotive technology.

In the USA, Klüber opened a new facility in Manchester/New Hampshire and expanded the manufacture of lubricant greases. In Mexico, a new plant in Querétaro was completed.