ANDY REACHES GOLDEN LANDMARK AT MORRIS LUBRICANTS

A technical director at one of Europe’s leading oil blenders is celebrating 25 years with the company.

Andy Litchfield joined Morris Lubricants in the summer of 1990 and was recently awarded a gold watch to mark the landmark during a presentation at the company’s Shrewsbury headquarters.

Andy began his career in the lubricants industry with Silkolene in his home town of Belper, Derbyshire, working as a lab chemist predominately on Ministry of Defence products before taking the lead on industrial product development.

He made the cross-Midlands switch shortly after John Alton left Silkolene to become managing director of Morris Lubricants, with Andy filling the roles of laboratory manager and chief chemist before becoming technical director three years ago and overseeing an experienced team of chemists.

And the stalwart, who has predominately specialised in metalworking fluids, admitted he has seen numerous changes in the industry over the last 25 years.

He said: “The most obvious change has been the reduction in the number of oil blenders in the UK.

“There was probably in excess of 200 when I started and now we are looking at under 30. The main reason for this has been a lot of buy-outs and major oil companies deciding to move production facilities onto the continent, and that has opened up opportunities in the UK for businesses like Morris Lubricants to grow.

“From an independent blender’s perspective, the most obvious change in technology relates to base oil, the base building block for formulating lubricants. When I began as a development chemist, the choice was limited with just group one base oils and a few specials.

“Now we have got Group one, Group two and Group three base oils, as well as a wide variety of synthetic oils, all with different properties. The starting point for the blending of oils is now quite extensive and that has allowed more creativity in formulations.

“It’s been a fantastic 25 years at Morris Lubricants and even longer in the industry. I’ve enjoyed it immensely and one of the exciting things is that there is always a new challenge around the corner – currently it’s the REACH and CLP regulations and I’m sure another one will follow quickly after that.”