Mobil SHC 634 helps Apollo Tyres increase gearbox efficiency by 2.6 per cent; annually save Rs 245,440 ($4,160) only from energy savings.

Apollo Tyres has been in the business of manufacture and sale of tyres since its inception in 1972. The company offers a comprehensive product portfolio spread across passenger car, light truck, truck-bus, off highway and bicycle tyres, retreading material and retreaded tyres. The company firmly believes that to truly move up the value chain, it is critical to use fewer natural resources while optimising its manufacturing output. This is why Apollo is committed to the cautious and careful use of natural resources.

In 2012, Apollo Tyres experienced the benefits of using Mobil premium mineral lubricants in one of their Feed Mill Gearboxes which resulted in a steep drop in temperature, seal life enhancement and significant overall lubrication cost reduction. Thus, Apollo Tyres was satisfied with the services provided by ExxonMobil. But then, Mobil Industrial Lubricants had much more in store for its treasured customer. Keeping ?Sustainability in Motion? and as a result of ExxonMobil?s technical approach to Apollo Tyres, they wanted to experience energy conservation by using Mobil synthetic lubricants in their critical applications.

Cracker Mill Gearbox (202) was chosen to demonstrate ?Energy Efficiency? by using Mobil SHC 600 Series, a fully synthetic gear lubricant offering the following key benefits:

• Increased reliability of the equipment with less wear of internal components
• Reduced ?Total Cost of Ownership?
• Increased ?Energy Efficiency?, all leading to ?Advancing Productivity? of Apollo Tyres.

ExxonMobil engineers recommended Apollo Tyres to replace the cracker mill gearbox with Mobil SHC 634, a fully synthetic gear lubricant with energy-efficient benefits to customers and provided a series of technical services such as thermal imaging of the gearbox and incorporate power logger to measure energy consumption during operation. The gearbox was registered under SIGNUM program to monitor condition of the equipment and Mobil SHC 634.

To achieve the above stated objectives, the Cracker Mill gearbox was first charged with fresh competitor ISO VG 460 gear oil (conventional) and run for approximately 40 days with energy meter installed from Apollo Tyres Electrical division. The gearbox was flushed and then replaced with Mobil SHC 634 and run for another 40 days with the same measurement device and energy readings were compared. During the process, the gearbox output as a parameter of production was also measured to ascertain the actual load on the gearbox. The treading process started with Cracker Mill and completed after extruder through a Feed Mill. The production output was measured as a number of treads produced per shift (8 hr duty) after extruder. Only the cracker mill gearbox was charged with Mobil SHC 634 to evaluate energy efficiency.

With changeover to Mobil SHC 634 alongside SIGNUM Oil Analysis, Apollo Tyres was able to experience an overall 2.6 per cent energy savings calculated through energy meter readings. This was also substantiated by a temperature drop of 5oC through thermal imaging.

Benefits
By changing over to Mobil SHC 634, Apollo Tyres Perambra site achieved the following key benefits:

• Extended oil life and reduction in equipment wear
• Increased reliability of the equipment with reduced overall lubrication cost
• Reduced power consumption by 2.6 per cent (through energy meter) and 3.7 per cent (through temperature profile measurement)
• Energy savings calculated using energy meter is recorded below:
• Motor rating with 80 per cent efficiency, 200 kW
• Energy saved per year in units 200 x 0.026 x 8,000 = 41,600 units
• At an average of Rs 5 as unit cost of energy, annual savings of Rs 2,08,000 ($3,525.42) is recorded

In conclusion, superior product performance of Mobil SHC 634 supported by Signum Oil Analysis based on recommendation by Mobil engineers helped the customer improve energy efficiency of 2.6 per cent in their gearboxes.