Dear LubesnGreases,

As the product manager for cutting and grinding fluids at Fuchs Lubricants, which is one of the largest players on a global scale of specialty lubricants, I found Lisa Toccis article regarding predictive maintenance for metalworking fluids well written and thought inspir-ing. (Wanted: A Crystal Ball for Metalworking Fluid, September, page 36.) Unfortunately, I do not expect John Burkes concept [for predicting met-alworking fluid failure] to be practical in real-world applications. This is because metalworking flu-ids are unlike engine oil systems in several ways:

1) There is an extremely wide range of metalworking fluid chemistries (whereas engine oils meet a narrow range of specifications).

2) These wet chemistries are reactive in nature.

3) There is a wide variety of applications, equipment and fluid system set-ups.

4) There is a lack of minute-by-minute data col-lection.

5) The systems are open, and thus accumulate and lose material over time.

6) There is a possibility of microbial attack.

Jonathan Gamble Chow

Fuchs Lubricants Harvey, Ill.

Independents Deserve Respect

Tom Glenn is mostly on target with his assertion that these are challenging times for those involved with the lubricants busi-ness (Its Unprecedented, November, page 12). However, he does a disser-vice to your readers and to the industry with his unsup-ported assertion that some independent lubricant man-ufacturers are tempted by price pressures and falling demand to cut corners on quality and short-sheet cus-tomers…

Mr. Glenn should be well aware that the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association launched a program in 2007 to test non-API-licensed engine oils manu-factured and sold by our members. The program was expanded this year to include tractor hydraulic fluids. To date, the results of this third-party testing overwhelmingly show that ILMA members quality representations on labels and shipping papers match what is in the container. If Mr. Glenn has evidence of cheating to the contrary, by independents or anyone else for that matter in this business, then he should be specific.

Independent lubricant manufacturers are suc-cessful because of their commitment to quality and meeting customers expec-tations. It is disappointing that Mr. Glenn wants to equate independents to college pranksters in his column.

Ronald M. Powell

(President, ILMA)

Moroil Technologies

Concord, N.C.

Editors note: LubesnGreases strongly applauds ILMAs members for their commitment to quality and its product test-ing program, and reminds readers that not all inde-pendent lube manufactur-ers are part of ILMA.

Correction

Due to a mathematical error, Novembers Automotive column (Heavy Questions on Fuel Economy) mistaken-ly said that the rise in U.S. diesel fuel prices since 2000 would have covered the cost of buying 900 million Class 8 trucks. Bruce Calvert, of Croda, points out that it should have been only 900,000 trucks. The offending calculator has been expelled, and a new one budgeted for 2009.