LUBRICANT RATIONALISATION CASE STUDY: A.M Borrill & Son Farmers

Robert Borrill, farmer, businessman, and past-Chairman of Woldmarsh Producers Limited, has employed Woldmarsh Buying Group and one of its preferred suppliers – Witham Group, to take a look at the farm’s lubricant purchases to see how they could support. Find out more about how we teamed up to help…

With lubricant requirements for farm machinery becoming more and more precise and specifications very often confusing with which application they relate to, sometimes selecting the correct oil and grease to use is a difficult case of guesswork. Acting on your behalf, Woldmarsh continue to offer a professional approach to lubricant purchases, through the latest products and services of Witham Group offering further beneficial prices to members.

Witham Group have been preferred suppliers to Woldmarsh Producers for over 50 years and have been established manufacturers and blenders of lubricants for agriculture since 1921. Based in the City of Lincoln they supply the agricultural, industrial, horticultural, road-haulage, marine and renewable power generation markets both throughout the UK and also strategic countries in Europe. No matter how small your enterprise is or how large, Witham Group has some trusted credentials and a century of reliability to help members. Nigel R Bottom, Managing Director of Witham Group, explains more:

“Robert and I met recently, and we opened discussions about purchasing warranty-approved lubricants at preferable rates through the Woldmarsh Group. After a brief and constructive meeting with both Robert and the Farm Manager David, who oversees the maintenance of all vehicles and machinery on the farm for Robert, we were able to arrange the following services.

We carried out a full and complete technical lubrication survey, free of charge, to ensure we offered the correct lubricant for the correct application. We also rationalised the number of lubricants purchased by the Borrills, reducing the workshop from three different engine oils to one, two different back-end / transmission oils to one type, and two different hydraulic oils to one, without jeopardising warranty or compromising protection in any way.

It was a good project to do, not only to rationalise products but also, we found some gaps in the cover for the products which were currently being purchased. This was not the fault of the farm, but the advice given by a local dealership that would of course only be able to offer the oils for their brand of tractor and not a product that would cover multiple brands together in one product.

All the products we proposed were warranty approved by the global tractor OEM machinery manufacturers and all showed significant savings in cost through the power of group purchasing.

We also offered and supplied, free of charge, colour-coded, bulk storage tanks, complete with sight gauges and taps for easy stocking levels and quick, safe, and clean dispensing of the product. A selection of colour coded oil jugs was supplied free of charge to complete the set-up. The tanks’ capacities ranged from 300 litres to 450 litres with a minimum top-up of 200 litres per product.

Delivery of the product was key to A M Borrill & Son also, and after guaranteeing every other day delivery, or sooner, if necessary, this helped the farm ensure they had the correct amount of oils at the busiest times of year. It also negated the need to run a van and operator to a local tractor dealership to fetch smaller more expensive packs of products”.

Witham’s Simon Ranshaw (left) with farm manager David (centre) and Robert Borrill (right).

Robert and Nigel also discussed the environmental offering from Witham Group and Woldmarsh and how important this was for the farm now and in the future. It was confirmed that all lubricants supplied by Witham Group are blended carbon-neutral thanks to a revolutionary process at Witham Group HQ which is leading the lubricants industry using ultrasound to blend as opposed to heating up raw materials for hours on end. Witham Group has been able to reduce its gas consumption by over 93% using this process.

Robert commented:

As the environmental credentials on-farm become more and more important, I am proud to be one of the leaders in the industry by having carbon neutral blended lubricants for my fleet of tractors and machinery. The agricultural industry is well and truly under the microscope and any small increments of improvement that can help both our business and the whole environment we work within is excellent and key to our continued success.

Robert added, “The manufacturer-branded lubricants are being advertised by the local dealerships, and with careful recommendations by these professionals this can be achieved using Qualube Lubricants at beneficial prices through the Group, which is fantastic. I am also pleased to support a UK manufacturing company, which is family owned and run, plus based in my home county of Lincolnshire”.

Paul Massey, Machinery Sector Head at Woldmarsh added:

The membership of Woldmarsh throughout Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and further afield, have used Witham Group and Qualube Lubricants for many years with complete satisfaction on quality, price, and service. This service has been taken up by many existing Woldmarsh members, both farmers and contractors who have rationalised grades, made the application of lubricants simpler and appreciate this approach to lubrication our trusted supplier makes. I am so pleased that through our relationship and our team’s recommendation, Robert has been able to find further improvements and savings to his already efficient operation.

Paul continued, “If any Woldmarsh member would like to investigate further what Witham Group can do for them, please do not hesitate to contact either the Woldmarsh Office, or Witham Group direct. They will professionally organise a technical lubrication survey, hopefully rationalise products and most of all show significant savings without jeopardising warranty, even on brand new machines”.

Woldmarsh Agricultural Buying Group and Witham Group work hard to ensure their customers get the best service, price and efficiencies for their business.