Marking a successful 2023, lubrication solutions supplier ISO-Reliability Partners has secured a five-year contract with State-owned rolling stock company Transnet Engineering. The company will service Transnet’s 20E and 21E locomotives by supplying a specific lubricant for its high-speed traction motor bearings.

ISO-Reliability has held the distribution rights for the industrial range of products from premium US lubricant brand Royal Purple since 2019. At the end of 2023, ISO-Reliability’s acquisition of oil company Power Performance Lubricants provided access to the Royal Purple consumer range of automotive lubricants and specialty products, with ISO-Reliability ultimately becoming the official supplier of all Royal Purple lubricants in Southern Africa.

Royal Purple’s Synfilm and Synslide additives help “reduce friction, vibration, wear and energy consumption” and surpasses the quality and performance of standard additive-pack lubricants that are manufactured according to set formulation “recipes”, says ISO-Reliability Partners CEO Craig FitzGerald.

“The five-year contract with Transnet started in August 2023, with first deliveries . . . in December. We believe that the value of this contract is certainly in favour of the people of South Africa and the Transnet customers who depend on reliable performance of the 20E and 21E locomotives.”

Before being selected as the optimal lubricant to be used in the traction motors of Transnet’s locomotives, 26 competitor greases were tested and all failed at speeds above 160 km/h with high vibration and bearing failures.

Royal Purple Ultra Performance Grease was subjected to thorough testing, with in-field high-speed locomotive trials showing “flawless” performance over 80 000 km, and breaking records with speeds of 321.5 km/h.

“Lubricants for the traction motor were selected based on tests previously conducted at the NSK Tokyo research facility using its dedicated traction motor test equipment. Some products included newly designed greases for the specially designed high-speed bearings,” adds FitzGerald.

He asserts that Royal Purple lubricants are the most efficient available, and the product of choice for various industry and high-performance automotive applications. Proprietary anti- friction additives form an ionic bond to metal surfaces and protection of lubricated components remains intact even when there is no oil to lubricate. This is especially valuable in instances of cold starting or when it takes time for a lubricant to reach the necessary components. Consequently, an attraction is created between the oppositely charged ions of Royal Purple additives and metal surfaces.

The acquisition of Power Performance Lubricants and the securing of a five-year contract with Transnet Engineering are noteworthy milestones for ISO-Reliability Partners, as the market is becoming more competitive, with a broader range of lubrication solutions being introduced to the company’s key markets.

FitzGerald tells Engineering News that the company has now expanded its market reach to service high performance street and motorsport clients with automotive and specialty solutions, including differential, gearbox and transmission lubricants, power steering fluid and radiator treatment products. Specialty products include injector and carburetor cleaners and cetane and octane boosters for increased power availability.

“The range is further bolstered with superior industrial lubricants including environmentally accepted lubricants and fully biodegradable options, without compromising on machine performance or expected life cycles,” he lauds.