Trying to get a foot inside food processing plants, Conoco Inc.s finished lubricants division has agreed to serve as marketer of Anderol food-grade lubes.
Houston-based Conoco has a strong industrial lubricants business but has found few customers in the food processing sector. The reason, according to one official, has been the absence in its portfolio of food-grade lubes – products that are non-toxic, have no smell or taste, and are harmless in case of incidental contact with foods.
Plants that utilize food-grade lubricants also utilize conventional products, said David Pack, manager of brand image and communications for finished lubricants. The thing is, a lot of companies would like to get all of their lubricants from one supplier. Those doors were never open to us because we didnt have food-grade products.
Food processing in the United States is a $460 billion industry, according to the National Food Processing Association. The nation has nearly 26,000 food processing plants, which account for 12 percent of the value of shipments from all American manufacturing plants, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Pack said Conoco will serve as Anderols master distributor, supplying food-grade products to distributors domestically and internationally. The arrangement is somewhat unusual in that those products will retain the Anderol brand name. Oil companies frequently sell lubes manufactured by others but they typically rebrand them.
This allows us to penetrate the market quicker, Pack said. The Anderol name is well-known in the industry. Were not trying to create a new brand identity from scratch. Conoco also expects to gain sales by making its products available to existing Anderol distributors.
Anderol, part of Kaufman Holdings Inc., is asynthetic lubricant manufacturer and marketer based in East Hanover, N.J.