UKLA President’s Report


My opening comments relate to our immediate past President David Jukes. In the February 2012 edition of Lube, David referred to his first Lube report when he became President in 2008, “I firmly believe that if you are involved in any organisation you should aim to leave it in a better condition than when you joined it”. Little did he consider at that point four years hence he would be our longest ever serving President and that he would face many challenges during his tenure. The UKLA organisation has changed dramatically over this period and his leadership and dedication have steered these developments through some tricky situations to where we are today. He can truly reflect on his opening statement with great satisfaction, thank you David both personally and on behalf of the membership.


I consider myself very fortunate to become President at a time when the ‘Berkhamsted’ team has never been so strong. Rod Parker is still involved as Editor together with Suzy Jarman and Debs Grigg plus the luxury of having Gerard Heaton as Director General, this is something that past incoming Presidents never enjoyed and hopefully bodes well for the future, the evidence is already obvious, for example the launch of Lube Digital this month reflects Rod’s ambition and the team effort driven by Suzy.


Despite recent achievements the UKLA still has numerous tasks in hand and perhaps


the most onerous of these is to address the concerns of many lubricants manufacturing members that not everyone in the business is playing ‘according to the rules’, with the problem centreing around incorrect and misleading claims regarding product performance levels, despite the existence of Codes of Ethics and Codes of Practice. The UKLA is actively working with the UK Trading Standards Authority on one such recent example, guiding them through the complexity of numerous product performance standards and industry compliance requirements in order that they may pursue the matter to a conclusion. This issue is not ‘UK only’, with similar problems being experienced across many other countries. Resolution of this long standing and thorny issue within the industry will need joint effort across trade associations and trade bodies in the pursuit of establishing a level competitive playing field for an industry that supplies correct quality products to consumers.


If any UKLA member or Lube reader wishes to comment specifically on this subject please email Gerard Heaton gh@ukla.org.uk or myself jalton@morris-lubricants.co.uk.


John Alton UKLA President


UEIL President’s Report onto a very


Dear LUBE Readers,


October is always one of the most important months for UEIL because it is when the Annual Congress of the European Lubricants Industry takes place. Our Congress is taking place in Lisbon this year and I am sure most of you have already registered for this unique event.


We have the privilege this year to host a very special keynote speaker, Mr Hamish McRae. Hamish McRae, whose presentation is kindly supported by Lubrizol, is an inspiring speaker who works as an economic journalist at the prestigious ‘The Independent’ newspaper in London. During his speech at our Annual Congress he will share his views on the future of the Eurozone and tell us about the book he wrote ‘The World in 2020’ which was published in 2010.


Another October-not-to-be-missed industry event is the ILMA Annual Meeting. It will take place in Scottsdale, Arizona, on 13-16 October and as usual UEIL will attend to know more about the latest trends of the American industry.


I would also like to draw your attention


important fact: the Commission has finally published a document clarifying the application of the EU Motor Vehicle Block


Exemption Regulation – which was adopted back in 2010. This document clearly states that vehicle manufacturers cannot require the use of a spare part (such as a lubricant) from a specific supplier as this would result in a breach of EU competition rules. In addition, it has also stressed the fact that independent operators should have with appropriate access to its brand-specific technical repair and maintenance information. After years lobbying on this issue, UEIL welcomes the Commission’s clarifications on this point which is quintes- sential for the lubricant industry and which will ensure level playing field for our industry.


See you in Lisbon! Jos Jong


UEIL President


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