ILMA Compoundings - April 2019 - 28

Considerable effort has been
expended to ensure that
"modern" products remain
back-serviceable to obsolete
specifications.
that product with our additive supplier, and we are confident that it delivers on the promises we have made about
the service level."
"There is no doubt there are manufacturers that take liberties with economy fluids," Towns continued. "Distributors,
consumers and retailers know who those players are and can
make the choice on what product to buy." He mentioned,
though, that if states can help clean up the market, while
still allowing for businesses to provide customers with an
economy product, he will be satisfied.
It is clear that a program that only leaves room for the
most recent OEM specifications is not a solution that will
work for everyone, though. Such a solution only works for
the major oil companies and the large OEMs at the expense
of the economy customer.
In addition to lubricant manufacturers' efforts, ILMA continues to do its part to solve the problem nationwide. As Luc
Girard, president of Sanjuro Consulting tasked with assessing
the impact of 303 THFs, explained, "ILMA is at the forefront
when dealing with obsolescence issues. In my capacity working with ILMA, I've taken part in activities intended to deal
with obsolete-spec passenger car engine oil, and now obsolete
THFs are being tackled. A part of this issue - and not just
regarding obsolete THFs - lies in the relatively difficult task
of tracking down specifications. Many of these documents
were never in wide release, or there was a reliance on performance testing that cannot be duplicated today; frequently,
both issues are simultaneously at play."
Additionally, many ingredients that went into making
these fluids in the past are now either unavailable or banned
entirely. Considerable effort has been expended to ensure

28

APRIL 2019

| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

that "modern" products remain back-serviceable to obsolete
specifications. In light of this, many OEMs feel that there is
no need to enable the sale of finished lubricants that claim
to protect only older models - in their view, users should
simply use modern products.
ILMA's thinking, as described by Leiter, is to come up
with "something that looks like a generic specification," take
it to the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) or
another consensus-based organization that develops specifications, and have that group author it. "If they could come
up with that and have that recognized by the NCWM,"
Leiter explained, "then perhaps we've brought some clarity,
focus and appropriateness to the market."

IMPACT ON THE U.S. AGRICULTURAL
LUBRICANT MARKET

The agricultural market is divided into two groups as Leiter
sees it: very large commercial farm ventures, where there is
extensive and relatively new equipment; and smaller familyoriented farms with old equipment. A significant portion
of those family-oriented farms using older equipment are
the ones who make up the market for these economy-grade
products, and the issue, as Leiter sees it, can be measured in
two parts: the viscometric and additive chemistry consistency between different containers of the same product.
Therefore, the question becomes whether there is a way for
the industry to develop a consensus specification around
what that product should look like in terms of viscometrics
and additive chemistry.
"People tell me that, particularly in the Southern areas
where you'll have older machines, you have folks who go
into a tractor supply store, buy a 5-gallon pail, and put it
into the tractor and their equipment - by the end of the
day, it has leaked out. Now, that probably is an exaggeration,
but the point that people make to us at ILMA is that the
segment of the agricultural community [that] uses these
economy-grade oils says, 'Why should I buy a high-end
product that works well in a massive multimillion-dollar
piece of equipment when I'm putting it into an old tractor,
where it's just going to run out of the tractor just as quickly
as I put it in?'"

WHO IS AFFECTED THE MOST?

Towns is worried that making the wrong legal decisions on
THFs could impact both smaller lubricant and equipment
manufacturers and consumers. His concern is that one or
more states could force THF manufacturers into complying
with only the most recent OEM specifications.
"This means that OEMs will be forcing their own brands
on consumers no matter what age or type of equipment
they have," he said. "This action will lead to a few key large
OEMs - like John Deere - having more influence over
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