| Company history |
Having owned and operated a large textile finishing company for more than 30 years, the Pinchuk family had first-hand knowledge of the difficulties in keeping sophisticated, high-speed production equipment up and running. With operating temperatures often in excess of 250°C, and high pressure super-heated steam used in almost every process, this combination produces an extremely hostile and reactive environment that provides some of the most difficult operating conditions a tribologist will ever encounter.
Equipment manufacturers, aware of these operating conditions, recommended comprehensive preventative maintenance programs for each piece of equipment. These programs included the use of special synthetic lubricants that exceeded the performance capabilities of conventional lubrication and resist the effects of high–temperature, corrosive environments. Unfortunately, these specialty lubricants were not readily available in Canada, as most of the producers were in Europe. This resulted in exorbitant prices and unreliable supply.
Having learned that substituting the wrong lubricant often resulted in costly breakdowns and lost production, the family decided to explore a Canadian lubricant supply program. Success came in the early 1980’s when they developed a formula and a way to synthesise new types of lubricants; therefore eliminating dependence on foreign suppliers.
Thermal-Lube Inc. was founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1983. Having started with a few high-temperature greases and oils formulated primarily for use in the textile finishing industry, the company quickly established itself as an innovative manufacturer of specialty lubricants. As word spread throughout the textile industry, the customer base grew, as did the requests for more specialised products, and we soon found our space too small to keep up with our customers’ demands.
With a solid business foundation now in place, a decision was made to expand the operation, increase production and invest more resources in the research and development of new products as well as fine tuning existing ones. In 1985 we moved to Lachine, Quebec, where we tripled our production capacity and built a state-of-the-art lubricant lab. The dedication of our research team and the products they developed earned us credibility within the Canadian industrial establishment. We decided to increase our commitment to R&D and forged an alliance with McGill University to develop our line of infrared-based analytical equipment.
This rapid expansion meant that additional space was required, so in 1992 we relocated to our current premises in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. We have continued to invest in research and development of our lines of lubricants and analytical equipment, and we expanded our facilities to include a development lab for our COAT® System in 1996. We again expanded our production facilities in 2001 to develop and produce our line of environmental analysis systems. In 2003, we began the R&D phase on our line of antimicrobial products, with full-scale production beginning in late 2007.
Today, as the third generation of Pinchuks occupy various managerial positions within the company, we are no longer the "new kids on the block". We are well-known and respected in the industry as a developer of specialty lubricants, and as a world leader in the field of lubricant condition-monitoring and analysis, and we have earned an excellent reputation as being innovative, motivated, service-oriented problem solvers.
Some interesting milestones for our company:
- In 1993, Thermal-Lube established a permanent representative office in Beijing and developed an innovative and secure strategy to penetrate the enormous Chinese lubricant market. We have successfully registered four joint-venture partnership companies in the Peoples' Republic of China manufacturing a variety of lubricants using Thermal-Lube's concentrated additive technology.
- In 1994, Thermal-Lube completed the R&D phase of the first Continuous Oil Analysis and Treatment (COAT®) System. This research, in collaboration with Montreal's McGill University, is based on Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) technology. The COAT® System is designed to monitor "real-time" lubricant additive depletion, and is capable of automatically re-dosing depleted performance additives, thereby increasing the useful life of the fluid.
- In 1997, Thermal-Lube, in partnership with McGill University's IR Group, won an "honourable mention" for their joint research in Lubricant Degradation. This was awarded in a Canada-wide competition sponsored by the Conference Board of Canada and NSERC.
- In 1999 Thermal-Lube Inc. partnered with Environment Canada and Abitibi Consolidated Inc. on the “Vision 2000 St-Lawrence” project to clean up the St-Lawrence River, and was recognised as an innovative leader in the science of fluid life extension technologies.
- In 2001, Thermal-Lube was assessed, audited, and registered by SGS International Certification Services Canada, Inc. as meeting the requirements of ISO 9001 for the design and manufacture of specialty lubricants and analytical equipment.
In 2002, a government report revealed that the excessive malfunctioning of diesel engines was a major contributor to air pollution and global warming. Thermal-Lube recognised the potential presented by these findings and began the R&D phase of designing and manufacturing instruments to analyse air quality as well as the emissions from diesel and gasoline engines and stationary boilers; all the pertinent data garnered from the emissions analysis was then used to improve our lubricant formulae. This practice is ongoing, and today we are the largest manufacturer of portable emissions monitoring equipment in Canada.
- In 2005 our EXL® Diesel Exhaust Opacimeter was certified compliant to SAE standards and approved for use by Environment Canada. We were also awarded the “Bronze Medal of Achievement” from The National Bank of Canada for superior business management.
- In 2006, Thermal-Lube was honoured by the West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce, winning an Accolade award for Business Excellence in the "High Technology and Innovation" sector.
- In 2007, Thermal-Lube introduced the I.M.O.D.E® (Integrated Monitoring of Diesel Emissions) and became the first company in Canada to produce a portable continuous emissions diagnostic instrument to monitor and quantify exhaust emissions from onboard ocean-going ships and diesel locomotives.
- In 2010, Thermal-Lube was accredited by the Quebec Better Business Bureau.
Thermal-Lube has been recognized by both the Canadian and Québec governments as an accredited research institution, and is therefore eligible for Federal research funding for hiring successful university graduate and post-graduate scholarship candidates.