Following the story JobbersWorld ran last week about RelaDyne (click here), a number of our readers asked if Mid-Town Petroleum, Oil Distributing Company, The Hurt Company, and Pumpelly Oil were actually acquired by RelaDyne, or if they are now just working together in some form of an alliance with the newly formed RelaDyne.

Whereas Mid-Town Petroleum, Oil Distributing Company, The Hurt Company, and Pumpelly Oil  were acquired to form RelaDyne, it's clear from the information RelaDyne's CEO shared with JobbersWorld that the RelaDyne business model is far more than four companies simply coming together to reduce costs through economies of scale.

Larry Stoddard, President and Chief Executive Officer of RelaDyne, says the real story is about growth and the careful selection of industry leaders to create RelaDyne. The heads of each founding company have ownership and executive management roles in RelaDyne. They plan to increase their customer centric focus and offer value added services they couldn't have provided independently. 

He said the business model is designed to offer innovative equipment lubrication services  to make  commercial  business operations more reliable, productive, and profitable. According to Jay Hurt, executive vice president for RelaDyne's Field Reliability Management (FRM) services platform, its offering is the first of its kind in the industrial and commercial markets. 

Over the next two weeks, JobbersWorld will take an in-depth look at the RelaDyne business model and provide readers with details and our thoughts about how this business model differs from  various existing consolidation plays in the lubricants industry, and its probability of success. 

Shell Lubricants Revamps Shell LubeAnalyst™ Oil Analysis Program, and Marketers are Asking Good Questions.

Shell Lubricants has revamped its Shell LubeAnalyst™ oil analysis program. Upgrades include an online user interface that offers a worldwide sample history and failure trends on various types of equipment and engine types. In addition, Shell will begin using a new third-party testing laboratory to analyze fuel and oil samples, POLARIS Laboratories LLC. After November 15, all Shell customer and distributor samples in the US will be tested by POLARIS, rather than Analysts Inc.

So what are marketers saying about the changes in the Shell LubeAnalyst program?

Based on the phone calls JobbersWorld received over the past two weeks, the questions on the minds of many marketers typically focus on what these changes mean for users of the Shell LubeAnalyst program, and, will sampling histories for customer's trucks, industrial equipment, trains, planes, and automobiles be retained in the switch?

Great questions. So rather than speculating on the answers, JobbersWorld put these questions to Shell. And here is what they said.

What do these changes mean for users of the Shell LubeAnalyst program?

Shell Lubricants work to provide our customers with technical support services that help improve productivity and save costs through preventative maintenance. In keeping with that commitment, we have invested in a new Shell LubeAnalyst IT platform and web portal that is now being introduced in the US. We have already launched this new service in 40 other countries, and the feedback from customers has been positive. This upgrade will help ensure that our customers continue to receive robust and accurate analysis data quickly.

Are sampling histories for trucks, machines, and others retained in the switch?

Working with Analysts Inc., our customers' and distributors' equipment, component and historical sample test data are all being loaded to our new LubeAnalyst online database. The majority of the data will be in the system ready for the launch on Monday (November 15), and the balance will be loaded in early December 2010. After Monday, POLARIS will feed its new data directly into this IT platform, rather than mailing it to customers. So, customers can simply go into our system and pull their data.

For those not  familiar with used oil analysis programs like Shell LubeAnalyst, oil analysis is one of the most effective ways to monitor the condition of equipment and lubricants.  By taking a proactive approach to preventive maintenance, it helps assess whether fluids and equipment are performing as intended, helping determine the appropriate change intervals for lubricants.  A regular oil analysis program helps customers build a historic database, allowing them to watch for trends in a variety of areas. In the words of Walt Silviera, North American Technical Manager, Shell Lubricants "Analyzing used engine oil after every oil change provides an early warning system that may ultimately help lower customers' total cost of operations." Further, Silviera says  "By leveraging the results of the Shell LubeAnalyst™ program, customers can identify equipment problems before major downtime or expensive maintenance is required."

POLARIS Laboratories™ - one of the largest fluid analysis companies in North America - is again expanding business operations in the United States with a new 6,000 square foot facility just north of Atlanta in Duluth. The laboratory is the company's fifth to open since its headquarters began operations in Indianapolis in 1999. It opened laboratories in Houston in 2003, in Salt Lake City in 2006 and in Edmonton, AB, in 2008.

According to POLARIS CEO Bryan Debshaw, the new facility will provide a local presence for its growing customer base in the southeastern United States. "We've provided technical sales support in the southeast for several years," Debshaw said. "But locating a laboratory in the Atlanta area will improve sample transit time for our customers and increase our production capacity considerably."

POLARIS Laboratories™ specializes in testing and analyzing oils, fuels, coolants and water-based industrial fluids for equipment reliability. The company currently supports more than 100 private label fluid analysis programs for customers that include Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Kendall, Ingersoll Rand, Terex, MTU and Cummins Filtration. It services more than 80,000 customers in over 15 countries worldwide.

POLARIS Laboratories™ Indianapolis, Houston, Salt Lake City and Edmonton are ISO 17025 A2LA accredited facilities, the highest level of quality attainable by a testing laboratory backed by the most stringent accrediting body in the industry. The Atlanta facility will begin preparing for the ISO 17025 A2LA accreditation process in 2011.

For more on POLARIS see: www.polarislabs.com.

POLARIS Laboratories™ is a progressive, high growth leader in the oil and fluid analysis industry. With a diverse customer base that includes the oil & gas, construction, mining, transportation, industrial, power generation and marine industries, we serve more than 60,000 customers in over 50 countries around the world. We are currently hiring for the following positions:

WESTERN TERRITORY SALES MANAGER

This territory sales position is responsible for sourcing new fluid analysis accounts as well as increasing business with current accounts in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. This individual will conduct sales presentations, generate proposals and close activities as well as train customers in gathering fluid samples and represent POLARIS Laboratories™ at selective trade shows.

Read more or apply now

WESTERN TERRITORY FIELD SERVICES ENGINEER

This field services position is responsible for performing fluid analysis assessments and providing consulting services, customer field support and both public and private fluid analysis training for the construction, mining, oil and gas and power generation industries throughout the western United States and Canada.

Read more or apply now

DATA ANALYST, LEVEL II

This position is responsible for learning all aspects of sample analysis, microscopic analysis, interpretation of results and explanation of data to customers.

Read more or apply now

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