A line of defence

Panolin's Patrick Laemmle examines the latest trends and developments in the lubrication sector.

What challenges do companies in the construction industry face in terms of their lubrication requirements, and how has the lubricant industry responded to these challenges?
Patrick Laemmle. It is not obvious but lubricants can have a huge impact on the construction business and therefore on all stakeholders in and around the construction industry. Every construction company must be competitive in three different aspects: economy, technology and environment.

Economy: It is the target of every company to have a certain profit. Only this profit enables the company to do investments and therefore guarantees the continuance of the business. This economical success is based on hard work in combination with technology and environmental factors.

Technology: Only the right technology guarantees efficient work and contributes to the target of the company - economical success and sustainability.

Environment: We are facing many changes in our business world today, due to a both a natural progression and the globalisation of the last few decades. No company can ignore the environment; only respect for the environment contributes to the sustainability of the business. Global trends such as reducing the exhaust emissions of heavy diesel engines in construction machinery are important for the construction industry as well as ensuring a reduced impact on the environment in general.

How can a lubricant assist to achieve these goals? PANOLINs top tier ECLs (environmentally considerate lubricants) combine several advantages. The good biodegradability and low toxicity reduce the negative impact on the environment, though do not pollute. The synthetic base oils in combination with excellent additive systems provide longevity and lead to fewer oil changes. And this mitigates the higher purchase price and improves the economy of the entire system. Furthermore PANOLIN ECLs show superiority over mineral oil based lubricants under extremely hot operating temperatures.

What features and attributes should manufacturers and construction companies look for when selecting lubricants for their machinery? Do any particular considerations need to be taken into account in order to choose the right solution for the job?
PL. Manufacturers are designing machinery and components with permanently increased performance, which requires specific lubricants. Nevertheless the technical functionality is not the sole requirement, the need of the construction company to use a lubricant with a better environmental profile and a greater life span has to be taken into account when specifying lubricants. More and more OEMs offer the alternative to use ECLs instead of the classic mineral oils.

Construction companies should evaluate whether or not to use ECLs instead of mineral oils. It is important that they seek advice from a lubricants specialist. It might take a bit more time to assess the situation on a job site and to talk to the authorities, however, this can prevent a disastrous failure to the environment and/or to the machine.

Can you give us an example of how your products have been successfully applied in hot regions? What benefits did your lubricant solutions bring?
PL. We have numerous customers operating dredges and excavators in extremely hot regions, where the temperature during daytime is 35-45°C (95-115°F). One customer was forced by the authorities to use an environmentally friendly hydraulic fluid. At first they did operate an excavator with a lubricant from a global oil company based on natural canola oil. The hydraulic tank temperature got so high that they had to stop the machine for an hour daily in the early afternoon. Furthermore they had to do a complete oil change every 500 operating hours. When they changed to PANOLIN ECL they did not have to stop the machine and oil the change was unnecessary for the remaining duration of the job.

Patrick Laemmle is co-owner and Board Member of PANOLIN AG. When he joined PANOLIN AG he soon took over the responsibility for the production unit and later on for the R&D team. Today he is mainly responsible for technology and exportation within PANOLIN AG.

A triple win

There are thousands of customers operating machinery with PANOLIN ECLs. They benefit from a triple win situation:

Environment. PANOLIN ECLs demonstrate good biodegradability and very low eco-toxicology

Technology. PANOLIN ECLs reveal excellent high temperature stability and good anti-wear performance

Economy. PANOLIN ECLs reduce cost by enabling the machine operator to extend oil drain intervals and reduce the downtime of their machinery