Boris Kamchevs article on global lithium supply and lubricating greases in your August 2016 issue contains a grave error regarding the National Lubricating Grease Institutes Grease Production Survey. Our yearly survey relies on companies worldwide to voluntarily report the grease volumes they manufacture. In turn, respondents trust NLGI to exercise strict control over who sees their data.

To guarantee confidentiality, the survey is conducted by an independent contractor, Grease Technology Solutions LLC. Participants reply directly to GTS, which aggregates the data and produces the Grease Production Survey Report. NLGI and its staff never see the replies, and once the report is published, the individual responses are destroyed. Given these safeguards, it is impossible for NLGI to know or disclose an individual companys volume, as your article states. Someone may have estimated the grease market share of Axel Christiernsson AB – but it wasnt NLGI or its survey.

We hope this mistake does not deter participation in future NLGI surveys. Grease producers worldwide need to know they can entrust the Institute with their sensitive information.

Sincerely,

Tyler Jark

Lubricating Specialties Co.

Chairman, NLGI Grease Production Survey Committee

Lees Summit, Missouri, U.S.

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Ed: We regret the implication that NLGI was the source of the market share information about Axel Christiernsson reported in the article. In fact, Axel provided that information and should have been attributed as the source.