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For the third year in succession hocem again is Gold Sponsor of the annual ICIS World Base Oils Conference taking place in London on February 19th and 20th.

We follow this tradition as we always enjoy highly interesting discussions with our customers as well as other market players and company delegates with whom we yet have to enter into business relationships.

We are sure to enjoy interesting topics presented by highly skilled speakers and the inspiring get-togethers in-between.

We kindly invite to meet up at our hocem stand near the refreshment area and are looking forward to welcome you!

Whilst hocem continuously works on its performance, due to increasing demand, we had to make necessary adjustments in our logistical setup to keep a satisfactory efficiency towards our customers in both the export and the retail market.

Since 3rd quarter 2008 we have additional storage capacities at LBC Terminal Antwerp, Belgium. LBC is a highly sophisticated storage with heatable tanks, well experienced in the handling of base- and luboils including latest loading facilities for trucks and rail tank cars directly on the vessel and by means of using a fully implemented computer system ensures timely loadings.

We are operating, supply and distribute the full product range at following terminals:

• Antwerp Belgium
• Eastham UK
• Liepaja Latvia
• Tallinn Estonia and
• Reni Ukraine.

With these storage capacities we are able to keep a high flow of base oil throughput in line for our clients demands.

Well, what a year.

The first eight months of the year saw dramatic price increases. Likewise blenders and luboil producers reacted by means of additional purchases and stockpiling.

In addition Turkey entered the market taking out substantial volumes of base oils during the first half of the year. This pushed prices even higher and resulted in shortages especially for the light grades.

Then the turn. Prices leveled out in August at high numbers and stayed pretty stable during September before we saw prices starting to tumble at the beginning of October.

Since then prices dropped even more dramatically as they increased in the months before. As a result purchasers leaned back waiting, using up stocks and having no intention to buy more than the minimum.

The financial crisis which took most people by surprise by the impact it had on the feedstock markets heavily contributed to the deflationary situation.

For the upcoming time we expect due to the decreasing demand of production in industrial segments a destabilized market with a lower level of demand.

For sure this year’s dramaturgy will be an issue at ICIS conference and highly interested to have talks with you.

The pre-registration deadline ended by past Dec. 1st and the ones who have failed to do so are now subject to full registration with all its financial impacts.

hocem as an importer of NON-EU produced base oils successfully pre-registered its products with ECHA. We therefore are benefiting, likewise our customers, from the two year transitional period.

In January ECHA will address each pre-registrant giving information about:

• name of producers / importers who pre-registered the same substance
• the participation in SIEFs.

By mid year 2009 we expect ECHA to provide a detailed structure of the costs involved for the full registration process to start in 2010.

For the 2nd time hocem sponsored the Vintagecars Race “La Carrera Panamericana” in Mexico. The rallye was founded by the mexican government in 1950, took place till 1954 and after a long interruption again from 1988 till today, being the longest and hardest rallye in the world.

The hocem chairman Mr. Albrecht Haase and his wife Christine again took part with a Jaguar MK 1 / 1958. The race was spectacular in all regards. First the car had engine problems that they were able to fix after receiving spares from Houston Texas. Disappointing enough, last day the windshield cracked, so that was the end for the hocem MK 1. Nevertheless the team won twice the 2nd place in its group out of the days it actually raced.

After this turbulent race it´s a question of honor and a simple MUST to drive the Panamericana this year 2009 again!

feel free to contact us or visit www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx.