Gruetzner GmbH is a specialist for automatic lubrication systems since 1993. Their user-friendly lubrication solutions are used in almost all areas of maintenance in every industry across the globe.
Interview with Volker Grützner, CEO of Gruetzner GmbH.
Easy Engineering: Which are the fields of activity where you are operating?
Volker Grützner: We are active in all kinds of industrial and maintenance sectors worldwide, but mainly in Europe, South America and Asia. Automatic lubrication is our passion and core business. The wide range of accessories we offer enable a simple lubrication solution for all kinds of challenges – and the devices can be installed by the customers themselves. Our field staff develops individual, custom-built lubrication concepts on a daily basis.
E.E: Which are the most significant projects from 2022?
V.G: 2022 we have expanded our product portfolio.
In addition to our main area of Automatic Lubrication Systems, we now also offer Maintenance Equipment for mounting and dismounting bearings like induction heaters, mounting tools and bearing pullers.
We now also offer our special oil dispenser G-LUBE OIL, which is perfect for the lubrications of chains, spindles and linear guides.
We are also very happy that we have been able to exhibit our products at more trade fairs and exhibitions worldwide, which was not possible in the last few years because of the pandemic.
E.E: What projects were the most challenging?
V.G: Because of the current shortage of microchips, we have had to revise some of our products. This was annoying at first, but in the end, it gave us the chance to actually improve our products further.
E.E: What are the usual challenges you encounter? / What are the usual challenges your clients encounter?
V.G: Dirt, moisture and incorrect lubrication affect the service life of machines and often lead to unplanned production downtimes.
Time and manpower requirements for extensive plants and machine locations in hazardous areas often make the manual supply of lubrication points dangerous, impractical and expensive.
E.E: How did you overcome the challenges?
V.G: Automatic lubricators seal the lubrication points, protect them against dust and moisture and ensure a constant supply of lubricant over a long period of time.
In this way, even dangerous or hard-to-reach lubrication points can be supplied automatically, which reduces the costs of maintenance and improves the work safety.
Automatic lubrication systems also prevent under- and over-lubrication, extending the service life of your machines.
E.E: What products / solutions were used in the projects?
V.G: Our best-seller is still G-LUBE, a gas driven, independent lubricator which is reliable and low-priced and therefore the perfect start to enter the field of automatic lubrication as an unexperienced user.
For more demanding applications, however, we also offer more advanced solutions, such as electromechanical lubricators like LUBRICUS, which offer more adjustment possibilities and options in terms of dispensing time and amount of lubricant dispensed, or can be controlled via a PLC.
E.E: Why did the clients choose your products / solutions?
V.G: With almost 30 years of experience in the field of automatic lubrication and thanks to our expertise and extensive product range, we find the right solution for every customer. We also owe this to our well-trained sales team.
E.E: How were these products/solutions used to optimize the client’s business?
V.G: When you use automatic lubrication you have lower lubrication costs, lower lubricant consumption and longer machine service life. And its time saving and much safer for the maintenance crew.
E.E: What innovative features do the products / solutions have?
V.G: One of our latest products is G-LUBE VIB, an electromechanical lubricator that only activates itself when it detects vibration. This makes the device perfectly suitable for machines which don’t run 24/7.
Also, our electromechanical lubricator LUB-S really is something special. Despite its small dimensions it is powerful enough to feed splitters and distributors. Its condition can be monitored at any time and there are various dispensing settings you can choose from.
As mentioned earlier, we have also introduced G-LUBE OIL in 2022. It can be programmed very intuitively with dispensing times up to 2 years and its easily refillable on site and thus produces a minimum of waste and reduces the follow-up costs to a minimum.
E.E: What are your forecasts for 2023?
V.G: We are always working to further develop our current products. Our next product will be the LUB-M. With a larger lubricant volume, higher operating pressure and many different adjustment options, it will be the front runner among our products.
Even though our current portfolio covers practically all areas of application, I am sure that there will also be innovative new developments next year that we do not want to miss. One should never stop evolving. There is still a lot to do, especially in the areas of sustainability and resource conservation. But with our products we are already on the right track.