UNIQUE LUBRICATION NEEDS Load, environment, temperature and machine speed are the variables considered when deciding on an appropriate lubricant
Local lubrication solutions supplier Lubrication Engineers (LE) South Africa is making its leading products available in value packs, specifically designed to meet the lubrication requirements of everyday users in the local mining industry.
LE national marketing manager Callum Ford states that the company is bundling smaller sizes of its product offering to enable customers to meet their lubrication requirements without having to buy industrial-sized containers.
This not only offers smaller companies better value but also affords them access to products which they had previously not been able to use, such as open gear lubricants, which have now become more affordable in smaller quantities.
“This will also offer better performance than generic options,” adds Ford.
“Generally, the mining sector buys in bulk, owing to the size of the machines and the availability of the product on site. Our value packs can now service smaller companies, ranging from small, medium-sized and microenterprises to brickyard enterprises, farmers and individuals,” he notes.
Ford explains that the local mining sector has been one of LE’s most successful industries, as the company delivers its products to customers throughout the industry, including coal, platinum, gold and chrome miners.
Further, the value packs can also be customised for customers, depending on their lubrication requirements.
“We tend to stay away from the one-size-fits-all idea. Every customer has a unique design in terms of what it requires for lubrication, so we tackle each task from scratch and design the value packs accordingly,” he asserts.
While the mining industry has varying lubrication requirements, one lubricant the company consistently supplies is the Pyroshield LE-9011 open-gear lubricant. It is a clear lubricant, which enables the user to clearly observe the surface of the pinion gear while it is still operational.
“The lubricant is designed to outperform any of its competitors and has never failed us.”
Another fuel-based product is the full torque diesel fuel improver 2411, which is a detergent-containing formulation and can be used in all diesel engines. “It increases power, improves fuel economy, reduces emissions and provides smoother performance year-around in diesel engines.”
Ford says load, environment, temperature and machine speed are the four variables that can affect a machine and are, therefore, taken into consideration when deciding on an appropriate lubricant.
Once these details are considered, LE moves onto more “customised ways of operating with the customer”, he notes.
The next step is to decide between single-point or multipoint lubrications.
“We check to see if any additional products are needed before we begin the lubrication process. These additional products will normally be sight glasses, breathers and filters, besides others. This will enable LE to sell to smaller customers that need our assistance with condition monitoring.”
Ford stresses the importance of LE’s servicing all subsectors within the mining industry, and not just the larger customers, to affirm the company being a reliable problem-solver.
LE has more than 100 types of lubrication products, as well as an asset reliability solutions department that addresses problems associated with condition monitoring.
“Our promise is that no other brand of petroleum lubrication, regardless of price, will be superior to LE’s products at the end of any given period of use,” he concludes.