Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd., a Miniratna I Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India today unveiled the newly modernised ‘Applications Research Laboratory (ARL)’, the state-of-the-art R&D Centre at Kolkata. Mr. Prabal Basu, C&MD, Balmer Lawrie inaugurated the new facility in the presence of Directors, Senior Officials and others. The new facility is part of the Company’s endeavour to enhance its technological leadership in the domain of Greases & Lubricants.

Balmer Lawrie is a pioneer in grease manufacturing and ARL, which is one of best R&D centres in the industry, was established in 1981 with the objective of carrying out applications-oriented research in greases and lubricants. The Research Laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art test rigs and instruments and backed by highly qualified scientists. It is recognised by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India since November 1981. The major thrust areas of ARL are development of new high performance and speciality greases and lubricants through applications based research, with added focus on biodegradable and eco-friendly lubricants. These products also meet the stringent customer requirements. The Research Laboratory is committed to maintaining cost competitiveness through introduction of innovative products, product upgradation and value engineering. 15 Indian Patents have been filed by ARL out of which 10 have been granted. Some of the new instruments added in ARL include the Tapping Torque Tester, Quenchometer, High Temperature-High Shear Tester, and Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometer.

ARL is engaged in the development of various high performance lubricants with critical application parameters like high temperature, extreme pressure, low temperature and long life lubrication. Presently, the centre is focusing on development of synthetic, eco-friendly / biodegradable and food grade greases and lubricating oils. The Research Laboratory is instrumental in developing various speciality lubricants and providing innovative lubrication solutions to the core sectors like Steel, Defence, Railways, Mines and Sponge Iron.

ARL has been continually working on providing best-in-class, environment-friendly tribological solutions, which are at par with the competition. The Research Laboratory is involved in collaborative research with R&D laboratories of leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). It continuously works very closely with customers and OEMs to develop speciality lubricants, meeting their precise quality standards. Working with the sales and marketing team, it has developed and commercialised new generation of lubricants, especially bio-degradable and environment-friendly products.

The new generation ‘Balmerol’ lubricants provide not only unmatched performance, but also has minimal impact on the environment. The service life of some of the long life products specially designed for the automotive sector like wheel bearing grease surpasses 150000 km and long life gear oil surpasses 160000 km. ARL also prides on patented synthetic mould oil for steel industries, API CI4+ engine oil, energy efficient synthetic industrial gear oil and a host of other new products and solutions. Besides speciality and contemporary products, the 'Balmerol' range also includes conventional products for all sectors. The TechTonic packaging of Balmerol lubricants, launched couple of years ago symbolised technological advancement, achieved with the use of the exclusive ‘DEKATROL’ and ‘WOWtech’ technologies. These technologies were developed in-house by ARL.