Congratulations to: Garrett Bapp, Howard Haselhuhn, Jeff Howard, Tobiah Isbell, Devon McCune, Paul Riedel, Behshad Sabah
JUNE 10 – 13, 2024 • La Cantera Resort & Spa • San Antonio, TX, USA
• 21 Technical presentations
• Technical Symposium
• Basic Lubricating Grease Cours
• Advanced Lubricating Grease Course
• CLGS Exam
• Industry Speaker presentation
• Women In Grease Interest Network (WIGIN) panel discussion
• New Member / First-Time Attendee Reception
• Welcome Reception
• Networking Reception
• Golf Tournament
• Fun Run
• Display Tables
• Breakfasts & Lunches
• Afternoon Coffee / Snack Breaks
• Closing Night Celebration
Thank you to all who participated in our 2024 Annual Meeting Survey.
Congrats to our $50 gift card winner: TuLai Turner, Afton Chemical Corporation
FUN RUN
1-mile Men:
1st
2nd Raj
3rd George
Women:
1-mile Women:
1st Eirini Spilioti
2nd Adriany Cruz
3rd J.R. Hannan
2-mile Men:
1st
2nd Kevin
3rd Mark
Robert Mulken
Shah
Dodos
Jacob Fisher
Butler
Nyholm
1st Tu Lai Turner
2-mile
2nd Susana Ramirez
3rd Kat Guillen
GOLF TOURNAMENT
1st: Matt Hardy, John Lorimor, Adam Smothers, Greg Henke
(2)3rd: Gene Bowden, Andrea Meyer, Junichi Imai, Yoshiyuki Nagasawa
2nd: Jeremy Kriska, Kolby Myer, Reed Williams
3rd: Mike Anderson, James Hepp, Ken Hope, Tom Malinski
Longest Putt: Maurico Galvez
Longest Drive: Chad Dolan
Closest to the Pin: Kolby Myer
Straightest Drive: Andrea Meyer
“This
is a good place to network with our customers and their technical staff.”
INDUSTRY SPEAKER - Dr. Wenyang Zhang
Dr. Zhang, who leads the Lubricant and Tribology team at Tesla, presented the following insights to our attendees:
• Tesla’s system design approach to EV lubricants
• Integration of designed lubricants as part of the hardware
• Strategies to extend the past success of EV greases
• Importance of partnerships among OEMs, tier-1s, and the grease industry for developing next-gen high-performance EV grease products
• Outline of the future vision for the industry
• Challenges facing the industry in advancing EV lubricant technology
NEW MEMBER/FIRST-TIMER RECEPTION
“As a first-time attendee, I gained a great deal of knowledge and met many wonderful people through great networking opportunities.”
“This was my first conference that I have attended since starting in the industry. It was extremely welcoming and a great way to connect with NLGI members, organizers and other attendees. I felt very welcome by all and was able to learn a lot and make many connections during my time there.”
WELCOME AND NETWORKING RECEPTIONS
“I enjoy the meeting and the content. The annual conference provides an opportunity to review important industry issues and trends.”
TECHNICAL SESSIONS
“One-of-a-kind conference in the US! Suiting anyone in our industry.”
“It is a phenomenal educational and networking conference for the global grease professionals”
2024 New Events
WIGIN INDUSTRY PANEL
“Diverse Journeys, Unified Impact: Personal Pathways to Success Within the Grease Industry”
This panel session was comprised of four panelists with over 100 years in the industry and provided an open dialog on their professional and personal experiences. They highlighted the significance of those experiences and shared insights that positively impacted the audience.
2024 New Events
MANUFACTURER’S
BREAKFAST
The Manufacturer’s Council covered industry topics that included: HPM, GC-LB, the Grease Production Survey, and more.
TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUM
Technical Symposium focused on updates from working groups as well as ad hoc committee work related to key industry tests and specifications, including HPM and GC-LB. Updates will include HPM certification testing requirements as well as work on future HPM certification requirements. Additionally, updates were provided from both North America and Europe on the ELGI/ NLGI joint working groups (i.e. Food Grade, Bio-Based and Grease Particle).
CLOSING PARTY
“The
best technical and networking grease event in the industry.”
CLOSING PARTY
PLATINUM SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSORS
DISCUSSION
PLATINUM SPONSOR
Mobile App
PLATINUM SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSORS
Networking Reception (Tuesday)
SPONSOR
Welcome Reception (Monday)
Welcome Reception (Monday)
Closing Night Entertainment
SILVER SPONSORS
AXEL Americas, LLC
Technical Sessions
Tuesday, June 11 ~ 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday, June 12 ~ 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Thursday, June 13 ~ 10:15 AM – 5:00 PM
Sponsored by:
Americas, LLC FedChem Lubrication Engineers
Technical Sessions
Technical Sessions
Tuesday, June 11 ~ 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday, June 12 ~ 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Thursday, June 13 ~ 10:15 AM – 5:00 PM
Sponsored by:
Americas, LLC FedChem Lubrication Engineers
Technical Sessions
Technical Sessions
Tuesday, June 11 ~ 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday, June 12 ~ 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Thursday, June 13 ~ 10:15 AM – 5:00 PM
Sponsored by:
Technical Sessions
BRONZE SPONSORS
Kyodo Yushi
DISPLAY TABLES
ERGON, Inc. Functional Products, Inc.
Afton Chemical Corporation
Bisley International
ExxonMobil
H.L. Blachford Ltd
American Refining Group, Inc.
Catalynt Solutions, Inc.
Fluid-Bag Ltd
Industries, Inc.
Koehler
DISPLAY TABLES
“NLGI Annual meeting is excellent for networking with supplier, universities, final customers, and partners of the grease industry. And it has excellent technical sessions.”
“The NLGI is a great place to keep up with the progress made in the grease industry and meet with the industry leaders”
NASYN GROUP INC.
NSF
ProSys Fill LLC
Soltex, Inc.
Novagard
PACS LLC
Savant Labs
Tulstar Products, Inc.
MOBILE APP STATS
Thank you to all who downloaded and utilized the meeting mobile app – Whova!
Congrats to our leaderboard winner Jonathan Davis, INVISTA!
76% downloaded and loved the app
54 photos shared
38 announcements sent
375 active users
3,052 attendee profile views
47% of attendees created a personalized agenda
254,923 Sponsor impressions
230 community board messages
149 business cards exchanged
Over 80 sponsor page visits from the app
2,673 private messages sent
AWARD WINNERS
Author Award – Application
Jacob Bonta
Sponsored by Afton Chemical Corporation
The Author Award for Application is for the best paper presented at our Annual Meeting that focuses on selection, application, or use of lubricating grease.
Jacob Bonta is the Lead Formulation Scientist – Industrial Fluids and Grease, Americas for Valvoline Global Operations and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Kentucky.
Jacob has 10 years of experience in designing and testing new chemical products for various industrial sectors. He was hired by Valvoline in 2018, where he leads grease and industrial fluids research and development in the Americas and supports related operations for Valvoline globally.
His graduate research is focused on lubricating grease fundamental material properties. He has multiple patents issued or pending for chemical products with 4 being specific to lubricating greases. He is a member of SAE, STLE, and NLGI and holds the NLGI CLGS certification.
Author Award – Development Kaustav Chaudhuri
Sponsored by Texas Refinery Corp
The Author Award for Development is presented for the best paper presented at our Annual Meeting that focuses on formulation, development, and manufacture of finished greases.
Kaustav Chaudhuri received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Centenary College of Shreveport, Louisiana, and his master’s degree in chemical engineering with a special focus in materials science from the University of California, Davis. He is currently pursuing his MBA also from the University of California, Davis with an expected commencement in 2025.
Kaustav was hired by Chevron Corporation straight out of school and has been employed there for more than 12 years. During this time, he was promoted twice with current role as lead research chemist. Kaustav has 4 patents and 11 publications (including pending and submitted). Please join me in congratulating Kaustav Chaudhuri.
Clarence E. Earle Memorial Award
Joe Kaperick
Sponsored by FUCHS Lubricants Co.
For outstanding contribution to the technical literature relating to lubricating greases during the year.
Joe Kaperick is a Technical Advisor for Greases at Afton Chemical Corporation. Joe received a Master’s Degree in Analytical Chemistry from St. Louis University as well as undergraduate degrees in Chemistry, Fine Arts and Classical Humanities. He has been in the Industrial R&D area with primary focus on Grease since 1999.
Joe has actively served on the NLGI Board of Directors since 2007 and has been recognized as a Certified Lubricating Grease Specialist by NLGI. He chairs the joint NLGI/ELGI Working Group on Grease Particle Evaluation, and ASTM’s Section G.01
Ralph Beard Memorial Academic Award
Professor Michael Khonsari
Sponsored by Novel Reliable Technologies
Acknowledges valuable work within Academia, in the technical development of greases, grease tests, or the promotion of grease usage.
Professor Michael Khonsari earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Before joining LSU, he was a faculty member at The Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, and Southern Illinois University. He currently serves on the editorial board of 10 scientific journals and is the Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering. He has mentored nearly 100 postdocs, Ph.D. and MS graduates, authored 3 technical books and over 450 archival publications including 15 articles in encyclopedias.
Award for Educational Excellence Dwaine (Greg) Morris
Sponsored by Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc.
Educational Excellence is presented for outstanding instruction as exemplified by subject knowledge and presentation skills in NLGI education courses.
Greg Morris is a Chemist with over 30 years of industry experience both in the laboratory and in field technical sales and support. Since joining Shell in 1998, he has held multiple roles across the lubricants manufacturing, business, and R&D spectrum.
Currently he serves as the managing lead for the Americas Product Application Specialists, a team of twelve that cover all sectors and product families in the region for Shell. He has served on the NLGI Board of Directors for 11 years, been an active member of the working group for HPM specification as well as Sustainability and has also chaired multiple committees. He is a routine contributor and author during the annual meeting Technical Sessions.
John A. Bellanti Sr. Memorial Award Tom
Schroeder & Pat Walsh
Sponsored by Climax Molybdenum Marketing Corp.
Acknowledges meritorious service on the NLGI Board for three or more years, or on Technical Committee projects, or to the industry.
Tom Schroeder with AXEL Americas, Inc. & Pat Walsh with Texas Refinery Corp.
Tom joined AXEL AMERICAS, LLC in their Kansas City office in November of 2011, shortly after AXEL bought Jesco Resources. Tom joined the Board of Directors in January of 2013 where he has served on many committees including the Finance Committee, the Annual Meeting Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Membership Committee.
He also led the ad-hoc Human Resource Committee when NLGI recruited for a new executive director and during the transition. In 2020, Tom was elected to the Executive Committee, where he served as both Treasurer and Secretary.
Patrick M. Walsh, President, Texas Refinery Corp and Affiliated TRC subsidiaries, has worked for TRC for more 40 years. While at TRC, Pat has held numerous Management and Executive Level positions across various divisions of the company. During his tenure at TRC, Pat successfully managed all international operations in Canada, Mexico, Central & South America and across Europe.
Pat directly oversees the company’s Domestic Lubricant Sales and International Sales Divisions, as well as several other key departments.
Pat is active in several charitable organizations. He and his wife Kathy have been married for thirty-six years. They have two children, daughter Samantha and son Nicholas, who both attended the University of Texas at Austin.
PLAY VIDEO
Golden Grease Gun Award
Carol Koopman & Dr. T. Singh
Sponsored by Koehler Instrument Company, Inc.
Acknowledges valuable work within the grease industry in the development of grease technology, manufacturing, testing, applications and better understanding of grease behavior or the promotion of grease usage.
Carol Koopman was born in South Africa 1957, but her heritage can be traced back to India, Ethiopia, Europe and beyond.
Under Apartheid, education was inferior for people of colour, but her parents ensured she attended school. In 1980 she was employed at The National Mutual Insurance Company as a Supervisor in the new business department. In 1987 she fled South Africa and started a new life in The Netherlands. Carol travelled for a while and in 1991, was hired by the ELGI and worked for them for 33 years until she retired this year.
In her teens, she was a ballet dancer then switched to Karate. In 1997, she passed the 4th Dan Exams. Carol taught Karate for several years and trained in Okinawa and in Australia. She also had a stint at skiing & horse riding.
Now retired, she is reviewing signing up for ballet lessons for 67+ and with all the free time, hopes to take up rowing again on the Amstel River and will continue bridge lessons & yoga.
Dr T Singh has been associated with NLGI – India Chapter since beginning . He is energy behind NLGI-India and currently VP of NLGI-India . Every year he run conference tech program and also their education courses. He has significant contribution in the success of NLGI-India. He has presented papers in NLGI-India conference several times and also attended couple of times NLGI . He is technical and well respected in and around India in grease industry . He has already been awarded by NLGI by long service award
PLAY VIDEO
Dr. T Singh’s award was presented to him during this year’s India Chapter meeting.
PLAY VIDEO
Fellows Award
John Kay
Sponsored by Grease Technology Solutions, LLC.
Acknowledges valuable work within the Institute in the technical development of greases, grease tests, or the promotion of grease usage.
John Kay graduated summa cum laude with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering in 1979. He was the Principal Design Engineer for a Mechanical Contractor for 15 years before joining STRATCO in 1996. He has been Vice President – Engineering for STRATCO, Inc. for 20 years.
He was an NLGI Board Member for 10 years & is a Licensed Professional Engineer. He has a CLGS certification & has received the NLGI Meritorious Service Award and Clarence Earle Memorial and several Best Paper awards. He has been an instructor in both NLGI and ELGI Education Courses for many years and has contributed to the NLGI Lubricating Grease Guide.
President’s Plaque Dr. Anoop Kumar
Sponsored by CITGO Lubricants
The President’s award is presented to the outgoing President for outstanding leadership over the past term.
Dr. Anoop Kumar has over 33 years’ global experience in product & process development, manufacturing, and applications of lubricating greases & Industrial Oils.
He started his career with Indian Oil Corporation in 1991 and moved to the United States in 2008.
From 2008 until 2018, he worked with Royal Mfg Co, (now AXEL Royal LLC) as Director of R&D and Business Development. He Joined NLGI Board in 2010. He joined Chevron Corporation in 2018 and is currently working at Richmond Technology Center, California as Senior Staff Scientist.
He has over 30 worldwide patents on lubricating greases and has contributed to over 100 worldwide technical publications, presentations and journals of international repute.
He is currently TLT’s Technical Editor, ASTM D0G0.02 Sub-Committee Chair and has also received several awards and recognitions over the years.
What does this scholarship mean to you?
This scholarship truly means a lot to me. Although I’m receiving help from my family to fund my time here at Auburn this scholarship will reduce the financial burden of going through college and help ensure that I can get my degree before joining the workforce. I’m also incredibly grateful that someone I don’t know would choose to send money my way and help me out.
Why did you choose to attend Auburn?
I decided I wanted to come to Auburn after my first time visiting the campus. After seeing everything the school had to offer and the beautiful campus, it was truly difficult to say no. Tour guides and Camp War Eagle counselors were very inviting and friendly. I also did some research into the school before committing and the school’s engineering program really caught my eye, with great professors and world-class research constantly happening.
Who is your biggest influence or inspiration, and why?
My most significant influence in life is my parents. Growing up, they were my role models, and they left a lasting impression of the importance of hard work and dedication. They demonstrated a healthy balance between work and fun. Almost as often as they were working or being strict parents, they were doing some fun activity with my sisters and me. Whether on a day trip to an amusement park, renting a boat, or spending an evening with their friends, they demonstrated how having fun was essential.
NLGI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NLGI warmly welcomes our new board members and extends a sincere thank you to those departing the board for their invaluable contributions.
NLGI OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Wayne Mackwood LANXESS Corporation
TREASURER
Tyler Jark AOCUSA
VICE PRESIDENT
Chad Chichester Molykote by DuPont
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Anoop Kumar Chevron Products Company, a division of Chevron USA Inc.
SECRETARY
David Cardy Italmatch Chemicals
DIRECTORS
Josef Barreto-Pohlen Quaker Houghton
Chuck R. Coe Grease Technology Solutions LLC
Gareth Fish The Lubrizol Corporation
Muibat Gbadamosi Calumet Branded Products, LLC
Jim Hunt Textile Rubber & Chemical Company, Inc. dba TRCC
Maureen Hunter King Industries, Inc.
Martin Keenan Petro-Canada Lubricants / HF Sinclair
Matthew McGinnis Daubert Chemical Company
Dwaine (Greg) Morris Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc.
Melissa Quinn BP / Castrol
Doug Rice CITGO Petroleum Corp
John Sander Lubrication Engineers, Inc.
Constantin Madius AXEL Americas, LLC
Simona Shafto Koehler Instrument Company, Inc.
Joshua Sheffield Arcadium Lithium
Alyson Wilson Afton Chemical Corporation
Ruiming “Ray” Zhang Vanderbilt Chemicals, LLC
Outgoing Board/Executive Committee Members
JOE KAPERICK Afton Chemical NLGI Board 2006-2024 TOM SCHROEDER AXEL Americas, LLC NLGI Board 2013-2024
DAVID TURNER CITGO Petroleum Corporation NLGI Technical Co-Chair 2008-2024
