A Hanley company is in the vanguard of moves to cut the world's use of mineral oil-based lubricants - and increasing its share of world-markets.As part of that trend, Fuchs Lubricants UK Ltd is leading the way in developing and manufacturing industrial oils and fluids derived from plants.
And although sales of such products currently represent less than 10 per cent of the company's total, demand for its Planto products - mainly made from rape seed - is growing all the time.
Bio-fuelled buses and tractors at Cornwall's Eden Project are Planto lubricated, as are many vehicles used by the forestry commission and various utility companies.
But its green endeavours include much more than that, and it is the only oil company on a Government committee set up to evaluate research into expansion of crop-based oils in industrial applications.
It is also a nominee for The Sentinel's Michelin Tyre plc-sponsored Environmental Business Award and the UK Trade & Investment-backed International Trade Award.
Fuchs exports to some 60 countries and its sales to overseas mining industries have grown by 455 per cent in five years, while volumes of its Silkolene motorcycle products have accelerated by 20 per cent in the past year alone, and sales of automotive lubricants to Ireland grew 40 per cent during the same period.
The company's growing export business currently accounts for 14 per cent of its output, a figure boosted by, among other things, specialist lubricants for wire cables.
Back home, working to research, develop and promote bio-lubricants to take over from the world's dwindling mineral oil supplies, Fuchs is proactive in testing lubricants suitable for use in tandem with bio-fuels in diesel engines.
And in partnership with academics and agroscientists at Cambridge, Cranfield and Durham universities, it is deeply involved in developing species of plants which can be grown especially for high-efficiency bio lubricant production.
"We are fully committed to creating high quality products while striving to reduce our own environmental impact in purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, and waste generation," said managing director Richard Halhead.
"So we are involved in a number of projects, in particular on reducing our carbon footprint and acting as responsibly as we can in protecting the surroundings in which we all live and work."
The hydraulic systems of the firm's delivery vehicles are now filled with bio hydraulic fluids - which are being shown to reduce components wear and tear when compared with traditional fluids.
Source: This Is The Sentinel
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