The Minister of Industry, José Manuel Soria, accompanied by the President of Repsol, Antonio Brufau and the President of the South Korean company SK, Tae Won Chey and the Ambassador of Korea in Spain, Park Hee-Kwon, discovered yesterday the commemorative plaque of the new lubricant bases plant of ILBOC in Cartagena in which both companies collaborate. Their products are destined, mainly, to the European market.
It supplies 40% of the European lubricants market, generates 90 direct and 100 indirect jobs and contributes to the reduction of polluting gases globally. These are the main milestones highlighted by the Minister of Industry, José Manuel Soria, at the inauguration of the new state-of-the-art lubricants plant of the Ilbocen company, the Escombreras Valley, which is owned by Repsol and the Korean company SK, and which He started his activity a year ago.
It is the largest investment made by the Asian country in Spain in industrial matters. And, the construction of the plant has meant an investment of 250 million euros and has led to the creation of 90 direct jobs and a hundred indirect jobs. In this sense, Soria also highlighted the commitment of the South Korean company in the company, since it began its construction in 2011, when Spain suffered significant economic imbalances and a great destruction of employment. A situation that, according to the minister, has now changed and Spain will grow more than twice the European average next year.
Soria stressed that this investment has shown the confidence of the Asian country and the company specializing in lubricants and oils for automotive in Spain, with the ongoing commitment of facilities that already produce some 500,000 tons of lubricant bases, and that will reach the 630,000 tons per year, to supply 40% of the European market.
In this regard, the minister said that the production of the new plant will allow the country to stop importing this type of lubricants, as it has been doing so far, which generates added value to the new facilities.
Also the president of Repsol, Antonio Brufau, wanted to highlight the environmental nature of the plant, as did the president of the Community, Pedro Antonio Sánchez. Thus, the union between SK technology and its specialization in the manufacture of lubricants together with the high quality raw material offered by Repsol, has enabled the manufacture of last generation lubricants, the most suitable for Euro VI engines, which in Europe are mandatory since 2014, and that contribute to reducing greenhouse gases.
Brufau also recalled that during the process of construction of the factory some 2,600 people and some 200 companies, more than two thirds of them, settled in the Region, to respond to Repsol's commitment to local employment.
He also emphasized the safety of both facilities and people, and recalled that throughout the construction there was only one slight accident, and none with low since the start of the factory. The regional president thanked both companies for putting the region in the focus of European markets, with an investment in leading technologies and innovation.
Sanchez also highlighted the ecological side of the company, which offers lubricants that help reduce polluting gases and increase the durability of the engines, and insisted that this business union is a synonym of what the region wants to become: a benchmark in innovation and progress, and an engine to transfer energy wherever it is needed.
