Boosting Canada’s bio-based lubricant sector

Nov 28, 2018

Renewable Lubricants Inc. of Ohio will launch an Ontario subsidiary

Staff Writer

Farms.com

Canadian oilseed producers may soon have another local market for their crops, thanks to the launching of a new Ontario business.

Renewable Lubricants Inc. (RLI) of Ohio, a U.S. manufacturer of vegetable-oil-based lubricants, has formed a Canadian subsidiary that will be in Ontario, said a Tuesday Oilseed Innovation Partners (OIP) release.

RLI, with market and business development support from OIP, will operate as Renewable Lubricants Canada (RLC). RLC has established relationships in Ontario to help with product development and distribution.

RLC expects to be operational before the fall of 2019, creating ten new jobs in the process.

“The thrust of it is that the company is going to develop the market here, and it is currently a user of the used oils from oilseed,” Robert Roe, director of bioproduct commercialization, told Farms.com yesterday. RLI is “using Canadian feedstocks, like canola, in most of the products that it makes. This is an opportunity for us to use Canadian oilseeds in their products, in our market.”

RLI manufacturers environmentally friendly lubricants like greases, hydraulic fluids and engine oils.

“RLI is recognized as an undisputed leader in the North American bio-lubricant space and it is significant to have an American company decide to build a business here in Canada,” said Jeff Schmalz, OIP CEO, in the release. “This is a milestone in the development of a national bio-lubricant industry in our country.”

The Canadian biofuel industry wants to boost market demand for bio-based lubricants, which diminishes the environmental risks of petroleum-based products. The industry also wants to develop local operations.

DanielPrudek/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.