Prime Lube Begins Production of BlueSky Diesel Exhaust Fluid

CARTERET, N.J., Dec. 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Lube, Inc., one of the largest distributors of lubricants and anti-freeze in the Mid-Atlantic, today announced that it has begun production of its BlueSky Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) at its new 15,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Avenel, NJ. The plant, which will produce around 4 million gallons of DEF per year to start, offers room for production expansion to meet growing demand for DEF as market conditions dictate.

Prime Lube will hold an official grand opening event at the facility on Tuesday December 7th, 2010.

"We're very excited to be up and running, producing our own BlueSky DEF for shipment directly to our growing distributor network," said Prime Lube COO Robert Arbasetti. "With this local facility, Prime Lube is able to offer a strategic advantage in terms of pricing and distribution capacity with our own fleet of trucks. And, through our strategic partnership with Piusi, we can also offer the best Diesel Exhaust Fluid dispensing equipment in the business, along with the tanks and other handling equipment our distributors require."

In April, Prime Lube announced its partnership with Germany's Kruse Group—the leading global DEF manufacturer and raw materials supplier—to manufacture and distribute BlueSky DEF throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Arbasetti credit's Kruse's turnkey system of supplying the equipment, technology and raw materials for enabling Prime Lube to get up and running so quickly, without a lot of independent research and engineering.

"This plant is the third Kruse DEF facility in the U.S. and the first in the Mid-Atlantic region," said Roman Hewko, VP of sales and marketing with Kruse Group. "This strategic location in close proximity to Boston, New York City and Philadelphia will allow for more efficient distribution and lower transportation costs to these large metropolitan areas, resulting in a significant price advantage for Mid-Atlantic distributors and their customers."

The Prime Lube facility is run by Operations Manager Paul Wortman, and Arbasetti said the company anticipates hiring an additional 3-5 employees over the next 6-12 months. The facility currently operates a semi-automatic bottling line that packages BlueSky DEF into 2-1/2 gallon bottles, 55-gallon drums and 275-gallon totes. Packages are labeled in English, Spanish and French to enable multi-national marketing and distribution—Prime Lube has already established distribution partners in Canada.

"We're already looking ahead at the possibility of adding a fully-automated packaging line as demand for the product grows," Arbasetti said.

All diesel-powered passenger and commercial vehicles produced after January 1, 2010 are required to meet new, lower nitrous oxide emission standards set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. DEF, in conjunction with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, is the most effective and safest means by which commercial and private owner/operators can meet the required mandate. DEF is also mandated in Canada.

Prime Lube's BlueSky DEF is ISO and API approved to help neutralize the nitrous oxide emissions generated through diesel exhaust. In its most basic form, DEF is a blend of urea (derived from natural gas) and de-ionized water that combine to form ammonia, which turns nitrous oxide emissions into harmless water vapor and elemental nitrogen. It can even improve fuel economy up to 5 percent.

For more information about Prime Lube and Blue Sky DEF, call 1-800-634-4615 or online at www.primelubeinc.com.

About Prime Lube, Inc.

Founded in 1987, Prime Lube, Inc. is one of the largest distributors of Chevron and ExxonMobil, Castrol products in the United States and also supplies its own private label brand, Prime Plus, in the New Jersey, southern New York State and New York City metro, eastern Pennsylvania, southern Connecticut markets. Serving a wide range of end-use markets, from the corner service garage to power plants, fleet management companies, industrial and off-road customers, Prime Lube specializes in providing technical expertise, as well as the conventional and synthetic oils and greases required to keep commerce in the New York region running. The company is located in Carteret, NJ, adjacent to the New Jersey Turnpike. For more information, please call (800) 634-4615.

SOURCE Prime Lube, Inc.