With its machinery working hard all day to deliver the product so that Southern Indiana Hardwoods can supply its customers, greasing the equipment is crucial. Delivering grease every two minutes, the company was using approximately 95 cubic inches of grease each hour during production.

Prior to 2022, Southern Indiana Hardwoods was using a grease from a different supplier and was experiencing significant issues with supply. An inefficient method of supply, which involved drums of grease, was causing significant contamination issues with sawdust and dirt—both typically present at a sawmill facility—mixing with the product.

When the maintenance team found that the previous product was also beginning to damage equipment bearings, they suspected there was an issue with the grease. They noticed air bubbles appearing in the product, caused by airborne contamination from holes in the vendor’s drum liners. This led to Southern Indiana having to throw away 20-30 pounds of grease per every 400-pound drum it purchased. Given its high rate of grease usage, this contributed to significant waste and, for a small business, a big hit on the bottom line.

Southern Indiana Hardwoods decided to review their options and proactively sought out a new vendor, contacting Ackerman Oil, a long-standing Authorized Distributor of Petro-Canada Lubricants, an HF Sinclair brand, based in Jasper, Indiana. Following successful Petro-Canada Lubricants projects at other pellet mills, Ackerman Oil suggested switching to PEERLESS™ OG2 Red, a long-life grease formulated for loaded bearings and suitable in dusty conditions and high operating temperatures.

Southern Indiana Hardwoods could be confident of PEERLESS™ OG2 Red’s performance thanks to its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) approvals:

• NLGI GC-LB standard for wheel bearing and chassis lubrication
• NLGI High Performance Multiuse (HPM) core grease certification

Ackerman Oil also recommended using an innovative fluid bag system to deliver the grease. This bulk greasing solution uses a sealed, heavy-duty flexible bag to prevent contamination of the grease, delivering the product through piping directly to the bearings. As the fluid bag is sealed, airborne contamination is dramatically reduced. Containing 1,800 pounds of grease, the fluid bag system meant that Southern Indiana Hardwoods did not need to frequently move drums in and out of the mill. In fact, the bag’s ability to run unmanned without running out of supply was crucial for a family-run business with a small maintenance team.

After over two years in operation, switching to PEERLESS™ OG2 Red and using the fluid bag delivery system has had a significant impact on Southern Indiana Hardwoods’ business. The increase in productivity has provided significant value to the company and allowed maintenance to keep up with all operations.

REDUCED CONTAMINATION
The innovative fluid bag delivery system, which is sealed so no air can come into contact with the grease, has eliminated airborne contamination and reduced the impact of contaminants such as sawdust or dirt, significantly improving the quality of the grease.

IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
Having addressed the contamination issues, Southern Indiana Hardwoods found that PEERLESS™ OG2 Red also drastically reduced wear on the bearings. Since switching grease, the maintenance team has even able to regularly get a full life from the bearings for the first time in five years.

REDUCED GREASE USAGE
PEERLESS™ OG2 Red’s long life and stability under severe operating conditions have also enabled Southern Indiana to reduce its grease usage significantly. Its maintenance team now orders 10-15% less product than before switching from a competitor product.

Based on the innovative recommendation, service excellence and proven performance of PEERLESS™ OG2 Red, the partnership between Ackerman Oil, Petro-Canada Lubricants and Southern Indiana Hardwoods continues to be successful and deliver results.