Agealube has ambition to lead change

GVG Oil Trade is a specialist in fuels, lubricants and cleaners, representing six brands. In addition to being a Benelux importer of Aspen alkylate fuel, the family business operates internationally in numerous sectors with its own brands, including Agealube, Fillpartner, Ecomaxx and Firelux.

GVG goes green. With The Green Tour, the company is showing how easy it is to be more sustainable today. Reducing CO2 emissions? Work fossil-free? Use biodegradable hydraulic or transmission oil or lubricating grease? It's all possible! Easily and without buying new equipment. "These products are all cleaner and better for people and the environment, without compromising on quality. This is often even higher than what manufacturers prescribe, but we are happy to let you experience that for yourself," says Ernst van Gelder, who together with his brother Frans is the management of Gebroeders Van Gelder.

Agealube offers technical solutions for proper oil management in addition to lubricants, cleaners and greases. All products meet the highest specifications and often exceed those of machine manufacturers, making the products more widely applicable. "The oil market has quite a few suppliers," Ernst knows. "Thanks to our decades of experience, Agealube still manages to distinguish itself. We supply a wide range of as many as 400 formulations, available in five or six packs. Each product can be purchased from 1-liter packs to bulk shipments. By keeping some of the logistics in-house, we can often deliver throughout the Benelux within 24 hours."

GVG Oil Trade employs techies at heart. Van Gelder himself, for example, is a mechanical engineer. In addition to maximum technical performance, products must hardly burden the environment and health. A tricky combination, in which Agealube succeeds wonderfully. "There is currently a transition going on and we have the ambition to be at the forefront of it. The demand for cleaner lubricants and fuels is increasing, although sometimes it remains difficult to determine what savings it will bring. With hydraulic oil, for example, it is easier to demonstrate than with motor oil. But you also see in the market that the idea persists that biodegradable hydraulic oil is sticky. Of course, that has long since ceased to be the case."

Anyone wondering whether environmentally conscious lubricants might offer a solution in a specific application can always seek advice. "We like to think along in solutions to a problem. Efficient production also allows Agealube to keep prices low, so sustainable is not automatically costly." According to Ernst, the same applies to fuel. "In the future, more and more will be electric, although nobody knows whether that will be in ten or thirty years. The carbon footprint of a battery pack is so large that machines running on fossil-free Eco Diesel are (still) much cleaner now. Several market players are taking more control in terms of sustainability. The construction industry is facing big changes and we are ready for them!"