European lubricants body

Citation

Margaroni, D. (1999), "European lubricants body", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 51 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilt.1999.01851baa.001

European lubricants body

European lubricants body

Keyword Lubricants

The European Union of Independent Lubricants Companies (UEIL) recently held its three-yearly meeting, the venue on this occasion being Brussels. By definition, an independent lubricants company is:

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  A lubricants company which is not directly or indirectly controlled by a majority of shares, votes or otherwise by a major oil company or government.

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  A lubricants division or a lubricants subsidiary of a company involved in other fields of activity such as those owned by fuel distributors, engineering and original equipment manufacturers, agricultural cooperatives, chemical companies, automotive companies, etc.

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  A mixed portfolio company where lubricants represent a significant proportion of sale revenues.

Independent lubricant companies or activities are therefore completely autonomous, with full freedom regarding their sources of supply and marketing policies.

This contrasts with a major oil company, which is defined as a vertically integrated company covering both upstream (exploration and production of crude oil) and downstream (refining and marketing). There has been a degree of "opening up" of membership criteria within the UEIL of late, in that membership criteria have now been extended to include "associate members", i.e. subsidiaries of major oil companies in addition to lubricants companies directly or indirectly controlled or owned by governments. However, the activities and influence of associate members within UEIL are restricted in that such members are not allowed to vote or serve on committees or the Board of Directors.

In contrast, membership of the UK British Lubricants Federation (BLF) is unrestricted, and is comprised of both major and independent lubricants companies. Like the UEIL, there is also a category for associate members, in this case for companies which have only a peripheral involvement in lubricants, norsmally as a supplier or service provider.

The overall situation is clearly not completely satisfactory in that there is a need for a strong body within the EC which can represent the whole of the European lubricants industry, since there are many non-competitive matters which are emerging, particularly on environmental issues, which require a united front when dealing with the various organisational bodies within Brussels. At the same time, there are issues on which the interests of the majors and the independents are less united, and time will tell whether a comprehensive European organisation is a workable proposition.