Eden and Fuchs: working together for a sustainable future

Citation

(2005), "Eden and Fuchs: working together for a sustainable future", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 57 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilt.2005.01857cab.001

Eden and Fuchs: working together for a sustainable future

Eden and Fuchs: working together for a sustainable future

Keywords: Fuchs Lubricants, Lubricants, Construction engineering

The Eden Project, one of the UK's most popular visitor attractions, are working with Fuchs Lubricants (UK) in a project which will be using a range of their crop-based lubricants in the construction of its Education Resource Centre.

The Eden Project, near St Austell in Cornwall, attracts almost 2 million visitors a year and has become famous for its enormous “Biomes”, which recreate the world's tropical, arid and temperate ecosystems. Known as the eighth wonder of the world, it aims to promote understanding and awareness of the relationship that exists between the earth's plants, people and resources.

It has now become a global centre of environmental knowledge and the second phase of its development, Big Build 2, will concentrate on the building of an Education Resource Centre, which will be used as an inspirational hub for events, workshops and exhibitions.

For the building of the new exhibition area, The Eden Project has teamed up with Fuchs Lubricants (UK), the world's largest independent lubricant manufacturer. Much of the onsite construction equipment, used by Eden and their contractors, such as McAlpine, will be converted from mineral oils to the Fuchs PLANTO range of biodegradable lubricants.

Fuchs Lubricants (UK) are world leaders in biodegradable technology and have been developing the environmentally friendly PLANTO range since the late 1970s, with many of the products being awarded the coveted “Blue Angel” environmental seal.

PLANTO oils are based on harvestable raw materials, such as rapeseed and sunflowers, and the technical properties of these are equal to, if not better than, conventional mineral oil based lubricants. They also offer a solution for all applications, including hydraulic, gear, engine and compressor oils, greases, metalworking fluids and chainbar lubricants.

To further demonstrate the many applications and benefits of plants, and in particular, how lubricants can be made from crops, the PLANTO products used in the centre's erection will also feature in a major forthcoming exhibition at Eden.

The “Plants for Tomorrow's Industries” exhibition is strongly supported by the Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and will highlight the environmental and sustainable development benefits of using plant oils over mineral oils.

The project is already underway and will run over the next couple of years.

For further information, please contact: Natalie Baker, Sales and Marketing Administrator at Fuchs Lubricants (UK). Tel: +44 (0)1782 203811; E-mail: Natalie.Baker@&fuchs-oil.com