EDITOR INTERVIEW In conversation with...
Dr Stephan Baumgartel, Director of the Verband Schmierstoff-Industrie e.V. (VSI) Association
www.vsi-schmierstoffe.de
Can you tell us about VSI, its history, how it was established and its purpose? VSI was established in 1947 in response to the industrial and manufacturing disarray left in the wake of WWII. It was set up to help German lubricant manufacturers to source and organise the raw materials necessary to produce the lubricants needed to facilitate industrial practices after the war. Today, VSI is a consortium of manufacturers of automotive and industrial lubricants in Germany, with its purpose being to promote awareness and to enhance the idealistic, economic and technical interests of its members.
In a similar way to that in which the UKLA operates, VSI is the platform between public authorities, public bodies, industry associations, regulatory and standardisation bodies and its membership. Currently, we have over 80 members, mostly small and medium enterprises, all associated with the production and manufacture of lubricants, additive manufacturers and metal working/cutting fluids manufacturers.
How does VSI operate and what is your role within the organisation?
VSI is a small association; our dedicated team is committed to serving its members through working closely together to build relationships, to interact, to influence and educate our membership in best practice standards and methodologies.
The lubricants industry is the niche of a niche market. It’s my role to make it visible to the public and to work closely with standardisation bodies and working groups, particularly in industrial lubricants, and to exchange and share ideas and research to promote best practice.
The German lubricant market is the biggest single market within the EU; as such, the VSI takes on a leading role, a key reason for founding the VSI sustainability initiative (NaSch) in 2017.
I was offered the position of VSI managing director in 2010. I’m looking forward to continuing our very successful track record. The future holds many challenges but also opportunities for our association and our industry in general as well!
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Do other European member states have an equivalent to VSI?
Not all EU member states have their own dedicated lubricants industry association; some states are too small for an independent body, others ‘share’ their interests within a different industry body, for example, in Italy, both the lubricants and Chemistry industries are served by Federchimica.
How do you all work together? And what are the most significant topics/issues the industry is grappling with currently? Representatives from individual EU member states participate in working groups that meet regularly in Brussels to share and exchange information, research and reports. The working groups include members from UEIL (European Union of Lubricants Industries) and ELGI (European Lubricating Grease Institute). I have been Chair of the UEIL Health, Safety and Environment working group (HSE) for many years, setting the agenda for initiatives, studies.
Discussions often centre on the impact of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and how the speed with which new legislation is introduced poses a real challenge to our industry’s potential growth. In particular, SMEs can struggle to keep pace with the ever increasing legislation and compliance minefield; new rules can be introduced before existing ones have been fully implemented. This poses a greater challenge on attempts for standardisation and harmonisation within the industry globally and ultimately, innovation and productivity suffer. I would be keen to see a brief moratorium on regulation just to give the industry time to catch up on itself before the next regulations come into play.
What is VSI’s role today and how will it continue to shape the German lubricants industry? You can’t compare our industry today to how it was 30-40 years ago. Our lifestyles are very different but the same issues fundamentally remain: how to make positive changes for a frictionless society, how to improve fuel and energy consumption and how to reduce the impact on our natural resources. We will continue to work towards encouraging more sustainable practices and to attracting new engineers and talented chemists to help ensure our industry continues to thrive.
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.154 DECEMBER 2019
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