Brazil’s Institute of Automotive Quality launched a technicians training program about automotive lubricants quality, with the support of the American Petroleum Institute. The initiative aims to enable Brazilian companies to access international standards and references and to gain access to API-certified products.
The new initiative began at the Rio Oil & Gas 2022 event held Sept. 26-29 in Rio de Janeiro. The stated goal is to encourage sharing of information directly linked to the automotive supply chain and lubricant manufacturers with automotive service technicians.
The training will help Brazil’s automotive market to understand more about the impact of lubricants quality on engines and will prove beneficial to consumers, the institute said in a press release. Brazilian companies will have access to products certified by API to meet performance specs, according to the institute.
“In Brazil, about 10% of the oils sold do not have the minimum quality required,” the institute said in a press release. “The union of IQA and API intends to overcome this difficulty in establishing good quality oils.”
Scott Garten, API’s vice president of programs and products, said “IQA is the right partner to take API training to technicians who use lubricating oils in the Brazilian market.”
The API Lubricants Program is a voluntary motor oil licensing and certification system that authorizes motor oils documented as meeting requirements specified in API 1509 to carry API motor oil quality seals. Launched in 1993, the program is a cooperative effort between the oil and additive industries, vehicle and engine manufacturers Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler and those represented by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association. Oil performance requirements and oil test methods are established by vehicle and engine manufacturers and technical societies and trade associations, including ASTM, SAE and the American Chemistry Council.
The partnership with API complements IQA’s services in the fuels and lubricants segment, offering the Brazilian automotive sector references and significant innovations in quality for the lubricants segment, said Alexandre Xavier, IQA superintendent.
The Institute of Automotive Quality is a non-profit certification body in Brazil specialized in the automotive sector, created and directed by the National Association of Automotive Vehicle, or Anfavea; the National Association of Brazilian Auto Parts Manufacturers, or Sindipecas; and several other entities. The institute also distributes technical publications and conducts training.