Shell’s lubrication experts recently met with almost 150 industrial customers from around Europe to discuss how effective lubrication selection can benefit a company’s total cost of ownership.
At the event at the Shell Technology Centre in Amsterdam, Roger Moulding, Shell’s European Vice President for Global Lubricants Marketing and Lubricants Sales, discussed a global survey Shell has undertaken about how end users approach total cost of ownership. He pointed out that even though many users recognise the potential benefits of good lubricant selection and management, they often vastly underestimate them.
In the survey of businesses across eight key markets, 60% of companies admitted unplanned downtime caused by lubrication errors. Some 63% also admitted their staff training on lubricants was lacking, and 51% indicated they did not believe better quality lubricants would help lower maintenance costs.
Shell’s technologists took the opportunity at the forum to highlight potential areas for users. Shell Lubricants, which makes industrial lubricants like Shell Tonna S3 M 68, claims it has delivered $139m in savings for its customers in the last five years. This has been made possible by its 300 technical specialists who visit customers’ sites and help them to optimise their lubrication management.
Also at the forum, Dr. Richard Tucker, Shell’s General Manager for B2B Technology, warned against the danger of choosing cheaper but less effective lubrication. He stated that while this practice does not lead to immediate equipment failure, the increased maintenance costs over time can far exceed any savings achieved by buying cheaper lubricant.
