Together we enhance
industrial lubrication

The metals industry faces new challenges every day. Global steel production has been increasing rapidly, leading to an imbalanced supply and demand. While prices and profitability are going down, competition is rising.

Environmental concerns fueled by growing regulatory pressure and consumer preferences are driving the need for more sustainable practices, pushing this industry to change and evolve.

Ongoing obstacles

To be competitive in this industry you need to improve the quality of your product while keeping or even reducing costs.

In a continuous operation environment optimizing reliability is crucial. Unplanned downtime reduces overall output and generates big losses of revenue. Critical unexpected failures can also jeopardize worker's safety.

Promoting responsible sourcing of raw materials and consumables are key goals common to most.

And lets not forget...
Staffing is a demanding challenge. With a shortage of skilled technicians and an aging workforce partnering with the right suppliers can help mitigate labour shortages.

Make a difference with the right lubrication approach

Improve reliability

Reduce contamination, lower premature bearing failure and downtime.

Optimize operations

Lower total cost of ownership, increase overall equipment effectiveness and access knowledge and training.

Cut costs

Lower maintenance, supply, operation and disposal costs.

Protect the environment

Reduce energy use, emissions and grease consumption and improve solid waste disposal.

Cutting grease consumption by more than 50%

A customer was facing issues in their rolling mills. They were spending high amounts of grease but their cylindrical bearings were still failing prematurely with wear and rust.

We recommended them to run a test with our LGHB 2 grease, since it's water and process fluid resistant, provides protection against corrosion and has excellent behavior under high loads and temperatures.

The test's results were very positive:

The bearings had normal rolling patterns with no signs of wear and corrosion;
The grease showed normal discoloration due to contact with water, its consistence increased slightly and it didn't have any wear metals present;
Vibration analysis revealed values below admissible limits.

The number of premature bearing failures due to corrosion was reduced and our customer was also able to cut grease consumption from 260 to 120 grams per day/bearing.

What our customers have to say

“We are focused on generating value and increasing competitiveness in our operations,
as well as on advancing with the implementation of innovative solutions in the steel industry.
Our partnership with SKF will certainly be an important support in this regard.”

- Fladimir Gauto, Executive Director at Gerdau Special Steel, Brazil

Together we overcome your challenges

Continuous casting

These applications operate in corrosive environments that are highly contaminated by scale, slug and water. They work under high ambient temperatures with very high loads, in very low speeds.

SKF recommended greases: LGHB 2 / LGHC 2

NLGI 2 class; Mineral oil-based with the latest complex calcium-sulphonate soap technology;
High performance and corrosion protection even if contaminated by water;
Capable of withstanding high temperatures and extreme loads.

Rolling mills

These applications work in environments severely contaminated by humidity, where space and access is limited. They're exposed to high temperatures and support high and peak loads.

SKF recommended greases: LGHB 2 / LGHC 2

NLGI 2 class; Mineral oil-based with the latest complex calcium-sulphonate soap technology.
High performance and corrosion protection even if contaminated by water.
Capable of withstanding high temperatures and extreme loads.

Converter

These applications work in contaminated environments, under high loads, very low rotating speeds and are subject to excessive vibrations during blowing.

SKF recommended grease: LGEV 2

NLGI 2 class; Mineral oil based grease with a lithium-calcium soap and high content of molybdenum disulphide and graphite;
Outstanding protection under high loads, slow rotations and excessive vibrations;
High performance and corrosion protection even if contaminated by water.