Protecting Reputable Lubricants Manufacturers Against Counterfeiters

The lubricants industry is just as much a victim of counterfeit products such as engine oils as the fashion industry is for clothing and perfume, or the pharmaceutical industry is for medicines.

Fake lubricants can be anything from inferior formulations to substandard oil which has been repackaged and sold off as a high grade product.

The effects of counterfeit lubricants:

Buying and using counterfeit lubricants in vehicles, equipment and machinery damages the reputation of lubricant manufacturers and suppliers. Consumer confidence is also weakened and ultimately whatever vehicles, equipment and machinery the lubricants are used in can suffer damage as well as the possibility of causing serious injury or even in the extreme, death to end users.

How to beat the lubricant counterfeiters

Many lubricant manufacturers include batch codes on their product labels as a means of authentication and traceability, but many consumers don’t know to look for them. Another means of traceability is the inclusion of chemical markers which can be added to a lubricant’s formulation which show up under laboratory testing, but individual lubricants must first be suspected of being fake and then subject to testing.

The Verification of Lubrication Specifications (VLS) is an independent industry body funded by its members. Consumers and businesses can raise concerns with the VLS if any lubricant is suspected of being counterfeit or non-compliant. The VLS have carried out dozens of investigations into the performance claims and technical specifications of suspect lubricants and where counterfeit lubricants are identified have escalated their findings to Trading Standards to take further action if required.

As members of the VLS, Ferguson & Menzies Ltd have a strict Quality Management System to ISO 9001:2015 standard to ensure that all lubricants we manufacture and supply, use the highest quality ingredients and comply with up-to-date industry and manufacturer specifications.

For more information about the quality of lubricants manufactured by Ferguson & Menzies call us on 0141 445 3555, email us or use our enquiry form.