About
Us
In
1998, Elf and Texaco came together to create a company that combined their
strengths in the European coolants market. Arteco,
a leading European coolants company for automotive applications, was the new
organisation which was created as a result of this joint venture. But
industry-wide there are many processes that require cooling and heating and
consequently a fluid that transports the heat or cold from one place to
another place in the process or installation. This lead in 2002 to the
launch of our heat transfer fluid product range for industrial application
under the brand name ZITREC. To be able to offer a complete product range,
Arteco
signed that same year an agreement with
Kemira Chemicals
to distribute their FREEZIUM product for all European countries, with the
exception of Finland.
Our Mission and Vision :
"Arteco
is committed to
its stakeholders’ interests. We continuously invest in our people. We
leverage their expertise to provide innovative heat transfer fluids and
services. We ensure added value for our customers with respect for
society and environment."
To achieve our mission, Arteco
has created a culture which is focused on customer satisfaction, total
quality, reliability, innovation and cost control. Our employees take
pride in delivering excellent performances while working safely and
protecting the environment. Arteco
is responsible for the development, manufacturing and sales of coolants, heat transfer fluids and corrosion inhibitors in Europe. Our success is built upon our employees who are trained to consistently offer a unique service to our customers.
You may notice that, on this website, we refer to our products as “coolants” rather than making the distinction between engine coolants and heat transfer fluids. We
realise that in other industries and languages other terminologies are
sometimes used. You will find terms like: Antifreeze, Frostschutzmittel, Kühlerschutz, antigel, liquide de refroidissement, fluide caloporteur, koelvloeistof, koelmiddel, antivries, anticongellante, liquido de arrefecimento, antigelo, liquido di raffreddamento, antihielo, líquido de refrigeración, …
If you would like to know more about
Arteco and how our products
and services can add value to your business, please use the “contact
us”-button.
Technology & Systems Back to Top At
Arteco we believe in meeting and exceeding customer needs through technological leadership. Therefore,
our R&D-centre
in Gent, Belgium invests subs tantial resources in both people and equipment to develop the
products of the
future. Arteco’s major strength is based on
"State of the art" organic acid technology (OAT) but our
coolant range also includes
silicate-based and other more traditional products.
And thanks to the cooperation with Kemira, our heat transfer
range has also been elaborated with a potassium-formate-based product. Arteco
is fully quality accredited. Since April 2001 we have achieved the ISO
TS 16949,
the worldwide automotive quality standard. We strive for delivering
quality products & services to all our customers taking into account
their special requirements. We are committed to protect the health and
safety of its customers, employees, and the communities in which it
operates. Environmental, health and safety issues are an integral part of
decision-making at Arteco.
Understanding the environmental and other needs of our customers, and
providing tailor-made solutions to meet these needs is our objective.
Consequently we are aiming to meet or exceed all relevant legislative
requirements and minimise the effect of our operations on the environment.
We have confirmed this commitment through ISO
14001 certification early 2002
and OHSAS 18001
(Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) since August 2004.
Distribution channels Back to Top Arteco works in close partnership with most European Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to develop coolants that meet their stringent requirements for both initial fill and service fill applications. Other important customers for
Arteco include petroleum companies, independent blenders
as well as industry in general.
From our head office in Belgium, we have direct contact with our customer base of international
and nationally based companies. If you would li ke to know more about how
Arteco coolants
can benefit your business, you can contact us via the “contact
us”-button.
In partnership with our parent companies, Chevron and Total, we
support a truly global product portfolio for the coolants market. Throughout
the world, the distribution and sales networks of Chevron and Total are able to offer our high quality coolants products to a wide range of aftermarket customers, including fleets, workshops,
and many other industrial applications.
For our heat transfer fluids, we have set up a network of local distributors
to support our customers, of which an overview is available via the "Products
& Applications"-button.
For all inquiries outside Europe and all aftermarket inquiries in Europe, please contact
Chevron or
Total via their website links. Manufacturing
Locations Back
to Top  Manufacturing of coolants is no longer a
simple blending
process.
The organic
acid technology requires to
neutralise the organic acids into their salt form. This is a chemical
process
that requires tight processing controls. The mixing of antifoam,
stabilisers, dyes and
bittering agents requires highly
skilled and thoroughly trained personnel.
Arteco's main
manufacturing site is located in Schoten, near Antwerp. For
some local markets, coolants
manufacturing is contracted with our parent companies in
Valencia,
Spain (Chevron plant) and Menemen, Turkey (Total plant). All sites can handle both bulk production and filling of drums, containers and
small packs 1 L to 5L.
History Back
to Top As the overview indicates both parent companies have a long tradition with coolants and this has lead to a renewed commitment by the creation of
Arteco in 1998 as a 50/50 joint venture between TotalFinaElf and
ChevronTexaco.
1902: Creation of Texas Oil Company
1908:
Texaco starts its operations in Belgium
1920: Jefferson Chemicals (acquired by
Texaco) starts production of antifreeze.
1922: Société des Huiles Renault (SHR) starts operations in Belgium.
1941: Creation of Sociëtè Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA)
1963: SHR builds a plant in Schoten, near Antwerp for the manufacturing of
lubricants
1966: Creation of Entreprise de Recherches et d'Activités pétroliëres (ERAP)
1967: Launch of the Elf-brand name
1968: SHR acquired by Elf
1976: Merger between SNPA and ERAP resulted in Elf Aquitaine
1983: Texaco starts blending of antifreeze in Ghent
1989: Texaco patents its OAT, known as Havoline Extended Life Antifreeze Coolant
1990: Elf develops its OAT-formulation, known as
APM 4030
1994: Elf launches OAT-production in Schoten.
Texaco launches OAT-production in Ghent
1995: Texaco sells its chemical business. Coolants remain and become a separate division within Texaco
1997: Texaco acquires the coolants activities of Dow Chemical in Germany
1998: Texaco and Elf join forces and create
Arteco, a 50/50 joint-venture
2000: Elf merges with TotalFina to become TotalFinaElf.
2002:
Texaco merges with Chevron and Caltex to become ChevronTexaco.
2003:
TotalFinaElf changes its name into Total.
2005:
ChevronTexaco changes its name into Chevron Corporation
Quality
& Environmental Business Policy Back to Top
This policy affirms our commitment to address all Quality, Safety, Health and Environmental intentions listed below and applies to all business that we either directly operate or contract out.
Arteco staff will handle your day-to-day business according to our procedures and guidelines. Arteco endorses the Quality, Safety, Health and Environmental policies and standards issued by
Chevron Corporation and Total and will, as a minimum, comply with the law using proven established industry practices.
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENTS
1. Demonstrate commitment through leadership and participation at all levels. Actively involve and consult employees and contractors. Have an open culture where personnel take pride in delivering excellent performances while working safely and protecting the environment.
We believe “there is always time to do it
right” 2. Strive for continuous improvement in all aspects of the business, with priority given to those areas that offer opportunities for breakthroughs to new levels of excellence. That includes, but is not limited to, a strive for continuous improvement in quality, environmental and safety
performance through the development of prevention strategies and the fixing of annual objectives, targets and the drawing up of improvement plans.
3. Maintain contingency plans to minimise the consequences of reasonably foreseeable incidents and ensure a fast and effective response.
4. Audit compliance with this policy and its associated management systems, monitor their effectiveness and take appropriate action.
5. Understanding the requirements of our internal and external customers, develop and supply products and services which fully meet those requirements. This is summarized in
Arteco's
Quality statement:
The people of Arteco
are dedicated to providing
Quality Products,
in the Right Quantity,
in the Right Condition,
on Time,
at the Right Price
and Services,
that meet their customers requirements
through a commitment to Excellence and Continuous Improvement.
6. Establish a group culture where each individual is aware of the importance of quality, safety, health, environmental and our overall performance and where each individual feels responsible for continuous improvement.
7. Develop performance standards which strive towards error-free, safe and environmental-minded work by all employees.
In our daily work we put quality first, but
NEVER at the expense of safety or the environment.
OPERATIONS
8. Protect and monitor the environment and the health and safety of employees, contractors and others by integrating quality, safety, health and environmental management into all business processes, with equal importance as other considerations.
9. Provide the
resources, information, training and supervision necessary to implement this policy. Use suppliers and contractors that apply equivalent standards.
10. Assess and manage risks to personnel and the environment from current and proposed activities. Manage operational hazards to ensure that risks are as low as reasonably practicable.
11. Promote the use of best practices where practicable and economically viable, to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions, discharges, wastes and consumption of natural resources.
PRODUCTS
12. Encourage the extended life and recovery of all products, where practicable, without compromising the performance of our products.
13. Support research, development and investment into technologies to lower the Safety, Health and Environmental impact of operations and hazards of the products over their whole life cycle.
14. Consult and inform stakeholders about the safety, health and environmental aspects of our activities and products, taking account of their concerns.
Guy
Coussement
Bernard Anselmi
General Manager
President of the Board
Business
Review 2005
Back to Top
1. Executive Summary.
1.1. Strategic plans
Being one
of the leading automotive coolants manufacturing & distributing
companies in Europe, Arteco
wants to sustain that position.
Next to the automotive application, Arteco
plans to expand in the industrial
heat transfer fluids (HTF). We offer this range of products under Zitrec
brand name. In 2004, 2 new HTF products were developed and will be
marketed as of this year. The co-operation with Kemira Chemicals is
going well and will be continued in 2005.
At the end of 2004 we have started a cooperation with Technoform in
Russia, which is a growing market for both the
automotive and HTF segment.
2004 has been a good year,
both in financial performance and constant volume compared with 2003 and
that despite the enormous price increase in mono ethylene glycol (MEG),
our main raw material. We expect to sustain our volume for the year
2005. However, we believe we can make some changes to the portfolio of
our products to balance volume and margins. We aim to achieve a market
share of 20% and thus maintain our position as number 2 in the European
Market.
Arteco
is committed to maintain a business
system and a company culture that allows management to guide the company
towards optimal customer satisfaction and at the same time offer a
challenging environment for its employees. Arteco
will maintain its business system
according to the latest ISO TS 16949 standard, as well as the
environmental management system ISO 14001 and safety standard ISO
18001. Arteco
absolutely wants to guarantee the
least harmful production of coolants.
The combined efforts for quality,
safety and environmental certification form our “Business Manual and
System”. To achieve this goal, Arteco
will invest in employee training,
information and work towards achieving maximum job satisfaction with the
aim to retain our staff and in that way offering better service to our
customers and partners.
The following pages summarise our intentions and
plans to make our vision a reality. We have divided them in items we
wish to address in 2005 and items we want to realise in the following
years.
Arteco
will focus on retaining its market
share using the same sales techniques and pricing mechanisms as before.
We will continue to support the OEM first fill as well as the aftersales
to our various customers. The business model we have used in the past
should allow us to maintain or further grow our market share in 2005.
Based on the 2004 experience, long term fixed pricing will be avoided
2.2.
Product development strategy
The added value of Arteco
exists in the blending of chemical
raw materials in the exact dosage that offers superior performance and
at a competitive cost. Arteco
is not a manufacturer of raw
materials; our knowledge is selecting the right chemicals to achieve the
required performance for any specific application.
Especially in the automotive markets,
new ideas are discussed to further reduce the weight of the vehicles,
respectively reduce fuel consumption. An important challenge is the
so-called “fuel cell”.
As in previous years, Research and
Development will remain extremely important for Arteco.
Some newer requirements are:
1. Recycling:
the recycling of used fluids might become mandatory in the next
years. We must develop concepts to collect the used fluids as well
as find methods and/or partners to recycle the fluids. Last but not
least we must find ways to incorporate the recycled raw materials in
our first fill products to close the circle.
2. Analytical
support:
our products are designed to last longer and service intervals are
extended. This creates a new need: how can the customer be sure that
his fluid is indeed still intact.
2.3. Bench marking
Benchmarking is generally recognised as an important
tool to track the relative performance in the sector but also to gain
competitive info from other suppliers and for different products. We
constantly monitor the market and analyse products of our competition.
Based on our market
information we can conclude that the European market represented ca.
19.5 % of the world market. We expect this market segmentation to remain
stable or slightly downward. Within Europe, there is a clear trend
to move automotive assembly plants Eastwards.
The European Glycol based market for
coolants distinguishes two main segments: OEM on the one
hand represents 25 % and the Aftermarket on the other hand
is counting for 75 %.
Next to these segments, the
Heat Transfer Fluid market consists mainly out of ready-mix
products. Almost 50 % of this is MEG based, 45 % uses MPG and the
remaining 5 % consists of Organic Salts as basis.
In general we believe that the
overall volume of antifreeze is relatively stable over the last years,
and will remain flat or might slightly decrease in the following years:
- The
aftermarket volume can vary from year to year depending on the
severity of the winter, but in general the antifreeze market is
mature and definitely not growing in W-Europe.
- For the following years
a small decrease in new car production is expected in Europe which
will minimally affect the OEM first fill volume requirements.
- Another
important factor is the trend to smaller engines and smaller cooling
systems, which means overall smaller first fill volumes.
- On
the aftermarket the trend for higher quality products should result
in longer change intervals, which reduces consumption. However,
there is little evidence that the consumer has picked up on the
availability of high quality products as still this segment is
dominated by fighting grade (=cheap and low quality) products.
- Many countries strive to
improve safety on the roads with stringent speed limits and
controls. This should reduce the number of accidents, which will
adversely affect the antifreeze consumption. Indeed in modern cars,
the cooling system is part of the buffer zone of the cars, and is
usually affected even in minor accidents (e.g. radiator).
4. Operational Excellence
With the expression
“operational excellence” we want to emphasise our belief that any
industrial company should take its responsibility with respect to the
environment and the safety of its employees. We are proud to inform you
that the Board of Directors has unanimously approved all investments
requested by the management team to improve the safety and environment
performance in our company. This way we will reduce our already very
low exhaust gases and improve the safety at some specific areas in our
plant.
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