FUCHS lubricants
Behind the scenes at their UK Technology Centre.
Failing to move with the times can cost you dearly. During the 1980s, most cars on British roads would accept one, or two, engine lubricants. Not anymore. Within the past fifteen years, selecting the correct engine oil out of an ever-expanding range has become increasingly difficult. To discover why, we visited the technology, R&D and manufacturing headquarters of the largest independent oil blender in Britain, FUCHS Lubricants UK PLC, based in Hanley, Stoke-on-trent.
Bratwurst with vinegar
Approaching the impressive modern stainless steel and glass-clad HQ gives few clues that lubricants have been produced at the Hanley site since the early 1900s. The family-owned German FUCHS Group came to Britain after a series of acquisitions in the 1980s and ’90s – but it has no intention of departing. Domestic sales aside, the UK is the company’s largest market for lubricants and, while Europe and North American lubricant sales are not experiencing the growth that is being presented by Asian and African territories.
The UK focus is on quality lubricant supply and development. “After all, we are a technology company”, explains Russell Kenyon, FUCHS’ Automotive Director, which goes some way to explain why almost 10% of full-time employees at the UK site work in R&D. There’s a high-tech atmosphere within the impressive oil blending facility, everything being either robotised, or controlled remotely. FUCHS maintains, however, that investment in people is just as important; Kenyon explains that younger readers of CM, considering a career in the lubricants industry, might be interested to hear that its UK apprenticeship scheme has expanded sevenfold in just a few years.
Clearly, FUCHS believes that there is a viable future in British lubricants blending. With an annual output capacity of 120 million litres, a national distribution centre in East Anglia, plus new raw material storage facilities in Scotland, Kenyon admits that producing lubricants in the UK has its advantages, especially in terms of tariffs that might arise in the future.
He explains: “Brexit could prove to be an advantage to us as a manufacturer because, while we might have to pay tariffs on incoming raw materials, our competitors would have to pay far higher rates on the final packaged products that they import from another factory outside the UK.”
Engine oil trends
The company’s tech-driven approach has kept-up with the huge changes that have affected engine oils, especially in Europe. Automotive Technical Manager, Andy Brown, elaborates:
“Driven by political targets on pollution, while delivering more efficient and powerful engines, lubrication oils have become integral to vehicle performance. The engine lubricant affects these considerations so much that it might not be possible for car makers to pass Whole Vehicle Type Approval without assistance from lubrication experts. This explains the recent trends for car manufacturers developing their own specifications and is why the knowledgeable car owner should not deviate from them.”
While you could dismiss this advice as being a money-making ruse by the car manufacturers, it is a serious business. Should a typical car range from each maker fail to achieve a CO2 average of 95g/km from next year, the company will be fined by the EU on every car that it sells. This is one reason why engine oils are becoming ‘runnier’, to produce less mechanical drag.
It’s no wonder that car makers have taken greater control over the oil that they use and recommend, considering
the stresses that the thinner film places on engine lubricant, let alone the need to protect the engine from higher concentrations of biofuels, elevated internal temperatures and extended service intervals, all without using the traditional anti-wear additives that poison particulate filters and degrade specialist metals within the engine itself.
Naturally, an incorrect specification lubricant will have implications for your car’s guarantee. Both car manufacturers and warranty companies conduct detailed tests on old engine oil in the event of a claim, to verify that the appropriate lubricant has been used.
Unsurprisingly, FUCHS expects the complexity of engine oil choice to grow. Ford, for example, has four main specifications, with an increase to five expected. The challenges of low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI) in GDI (petrol) engines are thought to be due to certain calcium anti-wear deposits, and Andy tells us that the industry has no formal LSPI test as yet, which may bring
new categories to the ACEA/API oil classifications in the near future.
Yet, consider other parts of the car that use oil. While CM remains sceptical of ‘sealed for life’ claims, check whether the manufacturer recommends special attention for extreme conditions. Some automatic gearboxes, for example, require fluid drains if the vehicle has been used for towing.