Greasing Equipment In Some of the Most Demanding Environments

LONDON, August 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Shell's newly revamped Gadus grease range is designed to perform even in the hottest, coldest and wettest places on Earth and is used in some of the largest marine applications, fastest trains and biggest mines

Shell Lubricants has launched a new, improved range of Shell Gadus greases. The range is designed to meet the challenges of the biggest, fastest and largest equipment in operation today, in some of the wettest, coldest, hottest and most extreme conditions.

The Gadus Range of greases has been specifically designed to lubricate bearings in some of the most arduous conditions. For example in steel manufacturing the bearings in a continuous caster have to cope with temperatures in excess of 180 degrees C, often in the presence of dust and water. Meanwhile Shell's mining customers operate in some of the world's coldest regions such as the Russian Far East, Siberia and Fort McMurray in Canada. They are continuously applying grease to excavators and electric shovels at temperatures as low as -50 degrees C.

Shell's hydro-electric power customers include Hydro Tasmania in Australia, one of the world's largest hydro schemes by number of dams and power stations. At the power stations the turbines are found up to 180 metres below water level where the Shell greases used have been developed for lubrication in very wet conditions.

Shell's marine customers include Van Oord, the Dutch specialist in dredging and marine contracting, who are behind developments such as Palm Jumeirah and The World in Dubai. The Shell greases used in such projects are developed for and together with these companies in order to lubricate very large slow-moving gears, wire ropes and cables that are in use on these marine vessels.

Finally Shell's rail customers include SNCF in France and Deutsche Bahn AG in Germany with Shell greases now in use on the TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse), Eurostar, Thalys and ICE (Inter City Express) in Europe and the new Shinkansen in Japan. These trains run at speeds over 330kph and operate at ambient temperatures ranging from -30 degrees C to 50 degrees C.

Shell's international research and development team works in close co-operation with customers and equipment makers to create new greases that come with quality assurance.  Shell's expertise also combines the cost savings available from the wide range of Shell products, and offers reliable global supplies.

Gordan Dillaman, Global GM for Grease at Shell explains:  "Shell Gadus is the new unifying name for Shell greases, creating one of the largest global grease brands. The range of products has been developed to deliver value through enhanced wear protection, long grease life and increased system efficiency."  

Shell Gadus has also made it simpler for customers to compare product benefits and performance while taking into account other variables such as compatible thickeners, base oil viscosity, NLGI (National Lubricating Grease Institute) grade and any other special performance characteristics that make a grease suited for a specific or unique customer challenge. To aid the selection process, the range is based around key tiers, each offering increasing levels of performance and protection, including: Entry, Mainline, Premium and Advanced, which uses the latest synthetic, high-performance technology.

The re-design of the Shell Gadus range is aligned with a refresh of the entire range of Shell industrial lubricants and Shell Spirax transmission fluids. It involved removing products with overlapping applications - or whose technology had been replaced by more advanced formulas - and improving choice by adding speciality and synthetic products.

For further information on the new Shell Gadus range, customers can visit http://www.shell.com/lubricants.