The Refinery’s main man points out
that more than 65% of the produced quantities of engine oil, lubricants and
functional fluids were placed on the foreign market, mostly in the countries of
the former Yugoslavia, and a major amount (42% of exports) to the EU.
In an interview with Srna, Dugić
underlines that the results achieved are by a few percent lower than planned,
which is why the financial results are below expectations but still positive,
and given the general financial situation in the world, this is not bad.
For the first time Modrica Oil
Refinery was supplying oil, lubricants and functional fluids to all the mines
and thermal power plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which improved the sales.
A good chunk of the Serbian market was
maintained, and after more than two decades, the Refinery started to sell
significant quantities of engine oil in Croatia again. They expect a growth in
sales in Macedonia too, especially with the 2012 opening of a representative
office and a retail centre in Skopje.
“In order to bring our products closer
to customers, we’ve changed the packaging, which is now much more modern,”
Dugić said and added that they also organised a high quality media campaign
which resulted in notable sales growth.
Investments exceeded the amount of €6
million. Sources were invested in the new engine-oil manufacturing Blending plant,
infrastructure facilities, laboratories and equipment, as well as the
modernisation of a catering facility in Modriča, “Motel Majna”, the property of
the Refinery.
Modrica Refinery continued to
introduce new products, manufacturing in 2012 passenger vehicle engine oils
Optima Eco and Optima Eco Plus, as well as commercial vehicle oils Maxima Euro
5 and Maxima E9.
The refinery developed the new
generation engine oils intended for engines of modern vehicles that meet the
requirements of the Euro 5 and Euro 6 emission regulations (exhaust gases free
of harmful substances).
These engine oils’ features include
low sulphur, phosphorus and ash content are and made of hydrocracked base oils
produced in Nestro Group refineries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is, in the
Brod-Modriča oil refinery complex.
Other features of these engine oils
also include high oxidation stability, which allows very long periods between
oil changes, high engine cleanliness, reduces the wearing of bearings, piston
rings, hoist valves and other vital engine parts.
“The EU and global exhaust gas
emission standards, increasing demands for fuel efficiency, and demands for
longer intervals between oil changes – these are the main reasons why the
Refinery’s engineers constantly develop new and improve the quality of the
existing products,” said Dugić.
The Refinery also started producing
engine oils for ship engines. Such oils are intended for ocean ships and
smaller vessels and their engines which use heavy distillates with high sulphur
content. It also produces oils for commercial vehicles that meet the
requirements of the latest regulations – Ecro 6 and Maxima E9.
Due to the fall in the base oil prices
on the global market, especially in the last quarter of 2012, the Refinery
management decided to reduce the production in the near future, i.e. to halt
the production of base oils in January, which will help save energy and reduce
production costs.
“In 2013, Modriča Oil Refinery intends
to produce 25,000 tonnes of lubricants and functional fluids and process 95,000
tonnes of base oils and mineral oils,” Dugić said, adding that the company
employs 593 workers of whom 120 hold two-year college and university degrees,
eight hold MA degrees and three hold PhD degrees.
(Agencije/Frontal)
