Interview with,
RSC Bio Solutions
MIKE GUGGENHEIMER, President & CEO
THOMAS TO, Director of Business Development, APAC
RSC Bio Solutions, which is headquartered in the United States and manufactures and sells biodegradable lubricants and greases for equipment operators that allow them to meet the demanding needs of their operations while reducing environmental and employee risk, came to Japan to attend Sea Japan 2024 at Tokyo Big Sight, where many of the company’s users, ship owners and shipping companies, will exhibit.
The company’s President & CEO, MIKE GUGGENHEIMER, and Director of Business Development APAC, THOMAS TO, spoke to us about the current development of marine lubricants in Japan and the future. We asked them about their prospects.
● Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EAL) that complies with Marine Pollution Regulations
In United States, marine environmental regulations have become stricter and VGP regulations have been enforced since 2013, so we have been supplying HEPR category hydraulic oils as “FUTERRA HF”, gear oils as “EnviroLogic GO” and wire rope greases (EnviroLogic Grease WREP) which are VGP compliant.
We have been involved in activities such as supplying lubricants to the Japanese market through foreign-affiliated distributors and providing certifications to marine equipment manufacturers (OEMs) from the United States.
In 2021, we established a representative in Japan and began full-scale sales at partnership with Standard Oil Osaka Sales Office (SSOH) as our stocking distributor.
Environmental awareness has increased over the years amongst Japanese customers. In order to meet these needs, we are developing environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL)
that comply with marine pollution regulations, and products that make full use of our advanced bio-technology as higher performance is required.
For example, shipping companies face various risks. For example, lubricants encounter the water during operation of the ship and cause lubricant hydrolysis and oxidation, which increases deterioration of machinery, and can cause an oil spill due to malfunction of sealing materials.
RSC Bio Solutions products have been introduced in the United States and Europe under several clean water initiatives including US EPA VGP (2013 Vessel Entry Regulation). We have introduced them in Japan as well. Through collaboration with SSOH, communication with ship owners and end users, our business has continued to grow.
The basic stance is to make proposals while listening to customersʼ needs. We develop products and make product proposals while listening to our customers’ problems. Another feature of our products is the “drop-in replacement” capability, which allows the ship operator to fill up oil without flushing when changing from another company’s oil to our product during a voyage.
I believe that customers are very conscious of whether they can achieve decarbonization without making major changes to their current efforts, such as equipment or investment amounts, and how they can improve fuel efficiency. Therefore, we work with our customers to come up with solutions that match their awareness of their problems and provide consultant-like support using our high level of technical ability and resources.
Also, when proposing environmental awareness products, evidence is required. Therefore, we established a calculation method for decarbonization and are able to show it in numbers. As requirements become more complex due to the wide range of applications and changes in fuel, we select the optimal lubricant, grease, hydraulic oil, etc. in total.
We create a roadmap and evaluate the total cost while conducting engine tests. In the future, we are also considering holding technical seminars for each segment, such as industrial and marine, to provide a technical introduction to lubricants that are environmentally friendly.
Thank you very much for your participation on the interview.