Dear NLGI Family,
Jim Hunt NLGI President 2020 – 2022
We sincerely hope that you and your families are safe and healthy. As you may well know, we are getting closer and closer to our NLGI Annual Meeting planned at the Loews Ventana Canyon, Tucson, AZ September 27-30, 2021. The theme of this year’s annual meeting is “The Future of High-Performance Lubricating Greases.” We understand there may be some concerns and other dynamics occurring with our NLGI members and meeting attendees that could impact your decision to attend the meeting. Please rest assure the NLGI team is working diligently to provide a successful meeting, including following all local, state and federal safety protocols. The NLGI’s annual meeting success will also dependent upon achieving the highest level of attendees possible. We recognize that many companies may decide to wait to until closer to the meeting date to confirm their intentions to attend the meeting. We truly hope that everyone will attend and register in advance to assist the NLGI team in planning a successful meeting. As part of our ongoing commitment to continue to keep NLGI members well informed on the status of our six strategic priorities, we will focus this on the High Performance Multiuse (HPM) Certification, including implementation, engagement and marketing. In December 2020, NLGI launched its High-Performance Grease Multiuse (HPM) Certification and subcategories with enhanced performance. The implementation of the High Performance Multiuse (HPM) Certification has progressed at an unprecedented rate. The level of participation from the grease producers has been outstanding and continues to grow daily. The tremendous efforts from NLGI and the Center for Quality Assurance (CQA) supporting teams, to invest and promote the value of the HPM certification has also had a significant positive impact on future demand for the HPM Certification. In fact, the NLGI is thrilled to announce the first product approved for the High-Performance Multiuse (HPM) Grease Certification. Castrol’s GR SW 460-1 is the first product certified against the new NLGI HighPerformance Multiuse (HPM) grease specification. In addition, NLGI has certified its enhanced copper corrosion protection, high load carrying capacity and low temperature performance. Tribol GR-SW 460-1 is a specialized product for main bearing applications in wind turbines. NLGI anticipates a significant increase in NLGI High-Performance Multiuse (HPM) grease specification approvals in the months and years to come. With the assistance of our valued partner, CQA, we will continue to promote the HPM grease certification in future publications, collectively with global grease and lubricant partners and future trade shows to educate and increase the demand for the HPM grease specification certifications in the lubrication industry. We will also provide the highest level of support for all companies requiring assistance in obtaining the HPM certification and/or enhanced sub-categories on their grease. Additionally, NLGI and CQA will focus marketing efforts on the end-user community. A HPM marketing taskforce was established in January 2021. This taskforce created a robust marketing plan that has been successfully executed over the past several months. These efforts will continue through the remainder of 2021 and into 2022. As of today, NLGI has reached over 622,000 end-users! Once again, the NLGI is tremendously grateful for your continued support, loyalty, and commitment. We would also want to continue to encourage membership engagement and your attendance at the 2021 Annual Meeting as well as future annual meetings. The NLGI continues to encourage volunteers for our committees. For more information on volunteer opportunities, please visit HERE. We remain committed to growing our global NLGI membership. If you are interested in becoming a future NLGI member, please contact NLGI HQ at nlgi@nlgi.org or 816-524-2500. Stay safe and healthy, Jim Hunt President, 2020 – 2022 -4NLGI Spokesman | VOLUME 85, NUMBER 3 | July/August 2021
