New manager appointed at speciality chemistry business Shrieve EMEA

Building on a history in chemistry and industrial lubrication, specialty lubricants and performance fluid business Shrieve EMEA and APAC has appointed Mark Burnett as general manager of the company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 

The appointment comes as Shrieve celebrates 40 years of global business, as well as 20 years since the launch of the EMEA operations and 10 years of activity in China.

Burnett has more than 30 years of experience in the chemicals, fuels and lubricants sector, having previously served in management positions at global businesses including Texaco and Chevron. Burnett’s experience at Chevron, where he oversaw specialist products across EMEA countries, gave him the ideal industry insight for his current position at Shrieve.

The UK base of Shrieve was established following the acquisition of Chevron’s European ZEROL and PROGILINE businesses. Shrieve subsequently developed these into an industry-leading portfolio of products by improving on the chemistry and properties of the brands. 

With a new manager at the helm, Shrieve plans to bring its brand of chemistry knowledge and specialist application insight to more businesses across EMEA regions.

The company boasts an extensive portfolio of chemistry solutions, for applications including air conditioning and refrigeration fluids, compressor lubricants and oilfield chemicals. 

Shrieve’s wide range of application areas is testament to the company’s expertise in chemistry, which allows its team to develop specialised solutions based on synthetic chemistries such as polyalkylene glycol (PAG).

“Over the past two decades, Shrieve has established itself as an expert in speciality chemicals and performance enhancing products,” explained Mark Burnett. “The quality of the chemistry is second to none, and the company ensures that chemicals are perfectly suited to specific applications by establishing strong, strategic supplier relationships. This chemical excellence is precisely what industry needs, particularly in applications like automotive mobile air conditioning (MAC) units.

“While the hybrid and electric vehicle (EVs) market is growing, there is a challenge in the lubrication of MACs in these vehicles. These systems use hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) refrigerants, and the industry has moved towards r1234yf refrigerant to minimise global warming potential. PAG-based lubricants have the ideal chemical properties to stabilise r1234yf systems, but have historically been unsuitable due to their dielectric properties. 

“Shrieve’s expert chemistry addressed this issue and made ZEROL HD, a PAG that exceeds the minimum dielectric requirements of these systems and provides superior lubrication. This feat of chemistry effectively makes PAG a viable, and in fact preferable, choice for lubricating EV MAC systems. 

“As the general manager, I want Shrieve to share its knowledge across the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and to provide reasoned, provable solutions to give industry the confidence to use the right chemical, in the right application. For most industrial applications, better chemistry means better performance, and that’s exactly what we want to help OEMs achieve from their products.”

Building on a history of success in speciality lubricants, performance fluids and oilfield chemicals, Shrieve has appointed Mark Burnett as general manager of the company’s UK operations (Shrieve Products International Ltd), which services Europe, Middle-East & Africa and Asia Pacific regions. 

The appointment comes as the Shrieve Group celebrates 40 years of global business, 20 years since the UK operation was established and 10 years in China.

Burnett has more than 30 years of experience in the chemicals, fuels and lubricants sectors, having previously served in management positions at global businesses including Texaco and Chevron. Burnett’s experience, where he oversaw sales and marketing activities for speciality products across the EMEA region, gave him the ideal industry insight for his current position at Shrieve.

Shrieve’s speciality products division was established following the acquisition of Chevron’s ZEROL and PROGILINE lubricants business in the late 1980s, and this subsequently led to the establishment of its UK operation in 1999.

Shrieve has since developed these brands into an industry-leading portfolio of specialities. These include air-conditioning and refrigeration compressor lubricants, performance fluids such as foam inhibitors for use in food processing and oilfield chemicals, including environmentally friendly synthetic base fluids for both on and offshore applications.

This position has been achieved through significant investment in people, technology and chemistries, with Shrieve now employing a world-class team of synthetic chemistry experts and application engineers. 

With a new manager at the helm, Shrieve plans to bring its brand of chemistry knowledge and specialist application insight to more businesses across the EMEA and APAC regions. The company provides an ever-increasing portfolio of high-performance solutions, focussing on customer need.

Shrieve’s wide range of applicational capability is testament to the company’s expertise in chemical technology. This allows its team to develop specialised solutions based on synthetic molecules, which include polyalkylene glycol (PAG).

“Over the past three decades, Shrieve has established itself as an expert in speciality lubricants and performance fluids,” explained Mark Burnett.

“From our technology centres in the US and China, we work closely with industry to formulate products that meet or exceed specific challenges posed from the development of new, more sustainable technologies. 

“This chemical excellence is precisely what industry needs. One example is in the automotive segment with mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems. The industry has moved towards HFO (hydrofluoro-olefin) refrigerants to minimise impact to the environment. However, there is a challenge in the suitable lubrication of MAC’s in vehicles employing the refrigerant R1234yf and the market is being offered a limited number of PAG lubricants which are promoted as suitable for use in these systems.”

Taking this challenge a step further, the growth of the hybrid/electric vehicle market has added an additional layer of complexity to PAG lubricant formulation, as polyol ester (POE) lubricants have traditionally been the preferred choice in these systems.

Shrieve’s technology team has addressed this issue through the development of ZEROL  HD, a sophisticated PAG molecule that exceeds the minimum electrical resistivity requirements of these systems and provides superior lubrication, coupled with improved long-term system stability.

The development of ZEROL HD with optimised electrical properties effectively makes this lubricant a viable, and in fact preferable, choice for use in both traditional belt and hybrid/electric MAC systems. 

“As general manager, I want Shrieve to share its knowledge and provide reasoned, provable solutions to give industry the confidence to use the right product, in the right application. For many industrial applications, better chemistry means better performance, and that’s exactly where we want to add value to our customers and industry.”

Technology and people are at the heart of Shrieve’s speciality and oilfield businesses. The knowledge base and expertise of Shrieve’s chemists, formulation and application engineers allows Shrieve to develop specialised product formulations for today’s challenging environment.