Lubricants save money at brickworks

A success story for Sovereign Lubricants and Seals concerns the manufacturing of bricks and the associated machinery that is subject to harsh conditions. All companies involved in this business experience the same problems with machinery wearing out quickly due to poor or inadequate lubrication, A brickworks that has been using Omega since 1983 has proven that quality lubricants make a noticeable difference to wear and tear on plant and equipment and in turn increase productivity results. The brickworks first started using Omega 690 gear oil in January 1983 and after trials is now running Omega 690 in most of its gearboxes.

There are hardly any failures these days and the firm saves about 10% on energy.

The boxes run quieter and the oil lasts longer.

For the past 23 years, the brickworks has used Omega 71 high temperature grease in its kiln fan bearings, which are subjected to extreme heat.

The product has let the firm save on maintenance costs.

It also uses this product on its screen bearings which are in a very dusty and wet environment.

It had big problems finding a suitable high temperature lubricant for its kiln car bearings for many years until Sovereign introduced it to the Omega 35 in November 1994.

This product has been a success in handling the very high under car temperatures.

Sometimes the temperatures are as high as 350C in certain hotspots and this would melt or harden other greases and the bearings would seize.

Now it only uses 10kg of Omega 35 per year to grease all its kiln cars, saving thousands of pounds per year in staff hours and cost of grease as it only greases once per year.

It has also saved money on not having to replace seized bearings.

Finally, it uses Omega 73 on all its open gears.

The Chief Engineer at the brickworks, which is based in South Yorkshire, said: '23 years of satisfaction'.