Smittys Supply has opened a new laboratory equipped to test incoming base oils and additives as well as blends for production, finished lubricants and new formulations.
The lab was built within the confines of the existing 10 and a half acre building, in Roseland, La., a Smittys spokesman told Lube Report. The lab involves well over a dozen employees, including three full time lab employees and others whose jobs include lab support. We have so much more production and so much more sampling going on, just to be able to do the amount of work that has to be done required a lot more space.
The company said it invested in top equipment, including a nitrogen analyzer, which measures the amount of nitrogen in a sample to test dispersant additives. To set up the various equipment is somewhat space intensive, the spokesman noted. So rather than put everything into the old lab and squeeze it in, we decided to build this new lab space.
The lab is considered a critical part of the companys Advanced Quality Assurance program. The range of testing, the quality of the tests, accuracy of the results and standards weve established are all in place to insure we continue to provide our customers with the best quality and performance, and the highest level of protection for the particular oil, fluid or lubricant we are manufacturing, Smittys stated. These are not random spot checks, but all incoming ingredients and every batch are tested.
Smittys manufactures a broad range of lubricants at its Roseland location, including motor oils, gear oils, hydraulic oils, transmission fluids, power steering fluids, cleaners and degreasers, among other products. Smittys also just started manufacturing grease at its new grease facilities, which are also in Roseland.