Lubrizol has relocated its metalworking laboratory and testing operations from Spartanburg, S.C., to the technical center at its Wickliffe, Ohio headquarters.
Our new laboratory facilities, coupled with our closer proximity to Lubrizols R&D and sales organizations, will allow us to provide faster, better and more efficient technical support and new, innovative products for our customers, said Frank Kroto, Lubrizols global technology manager, metalworking.
The new facility will provide a full range of metalworking testing capabilities, including performance testing related to metalforming and metal removal fluids. We also installed a new CNC machine that allows us to gather information about lubricants that we werent able to do in the past, Kroto told Lube Report. CNC testing allows for metalworking fluid evaluations that replicate actual production conditions and provide valuable data for customer support projects and decision making on product development.
All the existing equipment was moved to Wickliffe from the South Carolina facility, and much of it was upgraded in the process, so our efficiency alone will improve, he continued, describing the labs expanded capabilities. And the metalworking lab personnel are now in very close proximity to Lubrizols core chemical synthesis group and other modern labs, so the collaboration of Lubrizol talent and complementary lab equipment and services – such as access to surface analysis testing – brings a great deal more capabilities to our metalworking lab efforts.
There are currently 12 active positions in the new lab, Kroto said, and more than half are chemists and technicians from the South Carolina facility. Additionally, there are two positions open for hire, Kroto noted. So as the new lab gets rolling, we expect to staff it with about 14 skilled professionals.
The companys metalworking group added two new technical experts to its staff at Wickliffe. Thomas P. Oleksiak, research chemist, will concentrate on the development of additive technologies for metalworking. He has held previous positions with Castrol Industrial North America, D.A. Stuart and Nalco Chemical. Joseph Schultz, technical services chemist, will provide technical support for select projects and customer support requests. Schultz has also worked as a chemist with D.A. Stuart and as a research technologist with Northwestern University Medial School.
The newly completed Wickliffe laboratory is in addition to Lubrizols dedicated metalworking testing centers in Hamburg, Germany and Shanghai, China.
The Spartanburg location had been a key location for Lubrizols metalworking additives for a decade. In 1997, Lubrizol acquired Gateway Additives in Spartanburg from Jack Kimes, who became Lubrizols global general manager for the metalworking segment. Gateway manufactured rust preventives, emulsifiers, corrosion inhibitors and extreme pressure additives, including the Addco and Syn-Ester brands.
In 2000, Lubrizol acquired RPM Inc.s Alox metalworking additives business, relocating its product manufacturing to Lubrizols Painesville, Ohio, manufacturing plant in 2001. Alox later moved its operations from Niagara Falls, N.Y., to Spartanburg.
In 2003 Lubrizol acquired a Spartanburg multi-purpose chemical production facility from Specialty Industrial Products, which had been owned by bankrupt Specialty Industrial Products. In addition to 104 adjacent acres, the facility included two plants on 16 acres.