Aspelindo welcomes requirement for lubricant quality control<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Lubricant
\nProducers (Aspelindo) hailed yesterday a Jan. 12 government
\nregulation requiring lubricant producers and importers to
\nregister their products with the Ministry of Mines and Energy.<\/p>\n
Association chairman AP Batubara said the regulation would
\nforce producers to control the quality of their products.<\/p>\n
The regulation will also discourage irresponsible
\nbusinesspeople from marketing substandard lubricant products,
\nBatubara added.<\/p>\n
\"The association has long been concerned with the abundance of
\npoor quality lubricants on the domestic market. The producers of
\nsuch lubricants have created losses for the public (because the
\nlubricants) quickly damage their machines,\" Batubara said.<\/p>\n
\"They also create losses for investors who produce good
\nquality lubricants by taking much of the market portion from them
\nwith their cheap lubricants,\" Batubara said.<\/p>\n
Batubara is also the vice president of PT Wiraswasta Gemilang
\nIndonesia, the country's second largest lubricant producer after
\nstate oil and gas company Pertamina.<\/p>\n
Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana issued a regulation
\non Jan. 12 obliging all lubricant producers and importers to
\nregister their products with the ministry.<\/p>\n
\"Lubricants which do not carry the so-called lubricant
\nregister mark (produced by the Directorate General of Oil and Gas
\nof the Ministry of Mines and Energy) should be withdrawn from the
\nmarket by the companies (producers),\" Sudjana said.<\/p>\n
The decree stipulates \"imported lubricants, whose marketing is
\nnot conducted by sole distributors, should be registered by the
\nimporters.\"<\/p>\n
Director General of Oil and Gas Soepraptono Soelaiman issued a
\ndecree on Jan. 26 ordering all lubricant producers, importers and
\ndistributors to apply for the lubricant register mark within
\nthree months after the issuance of the ministerial decree.<\/p>\n
\"Lubricants which already were in the market on the issuance
\nof the ministerial decree can still be sold and distributed for
\none year after the issuance of the decree,\" Seopraptono stated.<\/p>\n
Batubara said there were 144 brands of lubricants in the
\nmarket sold at cheap prices with labels not clearly identifying
\nthe producers or distributors.<\/p>\n
Such brands control 25 percent of market demand which totals
\n600,000 tons of lubricants annually.<\/p>\n
\"Since the identities of the producers are hidden, we strongly
\nbelieve the producers must have ill motives. Consumers cannot
\ncomplain if the lubricants cause damage to their machines,\"
\nBatubara said.<\/p>\n
Members of Aspelindo, founded in July 1997, include
\nWiraswasta, which produces Pennzoil and Eva Lube; PT Dirga Buana
\nSarana, which produces Valvoline and Union Oil; PT Agip Lubrindo
\nPratama; PT Cemerlang Pelumas Prima and PT Panutan Selaras.<\/p>\n
Pertamina, the country's largest lubricant producer with its
\nMesran brand, will probably join the association in the future,
\nBatubara said. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aspelindo-welcomes-requirement-for-lubricant-quality-control-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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