Making Science Work: Our Moscow and Poznan laboratories
Four years ago, Multisol and Infineum developed a strategic plan that would enable Multisol to secure a larger share of business by playing a greater role in the sales process and taking responsibility for the testing and product application activity. It demanded significant investment to create the infrastructure necessary in terms of a dedicated sales team and the development of facilities, equipment and personnel.
“Both parties wanted to achieve a seamless operation where Multisol was effectively an extension of Infineum Sales and Marketing team,” explains Graham Eden, Commercial Director, Fuels and Specialties, Multisol. “With the financial support of our parent company Brenntag, we implemented the plan including the development of laboratories in Moscow and Poznan to make us technically self-sufficient. These are now recognised centres of technical excellence and their roles in our recent successes cannot be overstated. Both facilities offer the highest standards of customer service and a range of testing capability for additive application and ongoing technical support for refiners.”
In Moscow, Igor Preobrazhensky was appointed to establish the Moscow laboratory and four years on he has overseen significant sales growth.
“I’m proud of our achievements as we establish a strong foothold in Eastern Europe and Asia,” says Igor. “Having a laboratory that is dedicated to our fuels business has been a major positive and we will continue to invest in our facility to meet market needs. We were relative newcomers to this market four years ago and now we are establishing a strong reputation for both products and services. Customers can see from our infrastructure that we take full responsibility for the products we sell and have the means to provide a swift turnaround to any testing requirements. Our lab manager, Victor Krainuk ensures that we provide a high value technical resource throughout the tender process and thereafter for fuel customers across the region.”
In Poland, Kasia Grabowska is also driving service excellence from Multisol’s Poznan laboratory to grow sales. Testament to the efforts of her and her team; four refineries in Central Europe have recently committed all of their additive business to Multisol.
“We are focused on providing solutions for refinery and bio-refinery customers, working extensively in two main areas,” enthuses Kasia. “The first is cold flow improvers (CFI) for diesel oils, heating oils, heavy fuel oils and biodiesel. The second is lubricity improvers (LI) and anti-static agents (ASA) for base diesel oils. Our laboratory includes state-of-the-art test equipment for oil products and takes advantage of the technology of selecting fuel additives developed and perfected by process engineers from Infineum.”
With equipment fully compliant to ASTM and ISO standards, the laboratory testing facilities include characterisation of fuels with a VIDA automatic density meter, distillation at atmospheric pressure at OptiDist, Cold Filter Plugging Point (CFPP) measurement at HCP 842 and Cloud Point / Pour Point measurements at HCP 852 or MPP5Gs. The laboratories also include a High Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR) to provide a fast, repeatable assessment of the lubricity performance of fuels and further capabilities to run ARAL short sediment tests, where specific temperature chambers are in use.
“There is excellent communication and cooperation between each Lab and the Infineum technical team which adds to the quality of service we are able to provide our customers,” concludes Graham Eden. “I cannot speak highly enough of the work undertaken by Kasia and Victor as we leverage our respective expertise for the benefit of our customers who are looking to improve the yield of their refineries. The implementation of IMO 2020 places huge pressure upon refiners. Thankfully within the sector there is a growing realisation that Multisol has the products and capabilities to meet their immediate needs and improve refiner economics.”