What was the Trouble at the Mill?

In a bid to improve employee safety and lower operating costs, the steel mill operator contacted its local ExxonMobil representative, for help. They went to the mill to investigate and discovered that the facility was lubricating its rolling mill bearings with a competitor’s lithium-based mineral grease. By itself, this would not have been a problem, but the steel mill operates in extremely high temperatures that, when combined with high loads, softened the grease. This resulted in poor lubrication of the bearings, requiring operators to increase initial grease input and re-lubrication intervals. This led to excess grease leaking from the bearings onto the plant floor, which posed a slipping safety risk to employees.  

With ExxonMobil local technical team at hand to address the problem, a small change was suggested: switch the lubricant to Mobilgrease XHPTM 222 – a lithium complex grease that combines excellent high temperature performance together with strong adhesion, structural stability and resistance to water contamination.

This change allowed the mill to decrease leakage, reducing the risk of slips and human-machine interaction associated injuries. In addition to improved safety, the change also allowed the company to reduce its grease consumption by 25%, compared with the previous product, helping to save approximately €17,400 per year.

This is one of the many great examples of how a relatively simple change, like switching grease products, can make an impactful difference to an industrial operation.

Rainer Lange, Mobil SHC Brand Advisor – EAME, ExxonMobil

Burke Lubricants are the Irish authorised ExxonMobil distributor with vast technical experience and on hand to assist with any industrial enquiry that you may have Meet the Burke Lubricants team