Vickers Oils to open purpose-built facility for Food Grade Lubricants and Greases
Food Safety – First and Foremost
Vickers Oils is proud to announce that it will formally open a purpose-built facility for the manufacture of Food Grade Lubricants and Greases on 23rd February. The new site is 2 miles from its main ‘Airedale Mills’ factory in Hunslet, Leeds. It is not a food manufacturing site, nor a typical lubricants manufacturing plant, but rather, something in-between. It is also believed to be the only such large-scale facility in the UK. Being self-contained, all raw materials and finished products on site will be Food Grade only, thereby significantly eliminating the risk of any cross-contamination with the type of non-Food Grade chemicals that would typically be present in abundance, were the site multi-purpose. Whilst personnel will move between the two sites in Leeds, the manufacturing team will have dedicated clothing for the new site as another example of contamination avoidance.
As is often said, “we are what we eat” and consumers are increasingly concerned about the provenance, quality and safety of what goes in the shopping basket. “That is the primary reason for building a dedicated manufacturing site” states Paul Vann, Managing Director for Vickers Oils.
Beyond the manufacturing equipment and infrastructure, the development includes a quality control laboratory and training suite. With a modular design to easily enable increased scale with business growth, the mains electricity supply from renewable resources will be complemented by a full array of roof-mounted solar panels.
This significant investment is a clear statement of intent for Vickers Oils’ current and future customers in the food industry. Alongside our channel partners, we are committed to continuous improvement in our products, services and solutions to benefit food and associated manufacturing equipment, operations and last, but by no means least, industry compliance.
Whilst some are intentionally in contact with food during manufacturing, the majority of Food Grade lubricants are formulated for incidental contact that can occur whilst they perform their primary purpose of protecting manufacturing equipment. Vickers Food Grade products are manufactured according to ISO 9001;2015 and ISO 21469 standards, are Halal and Kosher certified and NSF H1 & 3H registered.
About the Company
Vickers Oils is a privately-run family business, established in the UK in 1828, with a worldwide reputation as a reliable and innovative formulator, manufacturer and supplier of high performance, specialty lubricants. In 2002, Vickers Oils launched the world’s first biodegradable, marine stern tube oil and now supply thousands of vessels globally with our award-winning range of Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs). Now, as the company approaches 200 years in business, we are excited to deliver solutions with a reputation for quality, integrity and service based on a range of products and an ambition for leadership to set a new standard for the food and beverage industry.
