L.B. Foster, FUCHS Enter Partnership to Develop Friction Management Products
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor, Railway Age
L.B. Foster photo
L.B. Foster on Dec. 14 announced a strategic partnership with FUCHS to develop friction management products for the rail industry.
The partnership, which will give end users access to a portfolio of co-branded greases to choose from, as well as high-performance grease that will overall reduce their total cost of ownership, “combines L.B. Foster’s renowned expertise in the development and implementation of railroad friction management technologies with FUCH’s world-class lubricant manufacturing capabilities,” said the solutions provider of products and services for the rail and infrastructure markets.
L.B. Foster, which offers trackside and on-board friction management solutions, pioneered Total Friction Management® (TFM) to work with railroads around the world, “delivering holistic, optimized friction management programs.” The company “continues to push innovation in friction management lubricant products to drive considerable savings to its customers through rail and wheel wear reduction, increased operational efficiencies and improved safety,” L.B. Foster said.
FUCHS is a global company that develops, produces and distributes more than 10,000 lubricants and related services with industry-specific solutions for demanding applications. This strategic partnership, FUCHS says, “facilitates driving global production of the L.B. Foster and FUCHS co-branded greases in international growth regions, as well as supporting increasing demands in North America.” The partnership, the company adds, also “provides in-country manufacturing benefits for customers and the ability to deliver on overall increased demand.”
“We are excited to work with FUCHS as our preferred partner for manufacturing our advanced friction management lubricants,” said L.B. Foster President and CEO John Kasel. “The combination of our wheel/rail engineering expertise with FUCHS’s lubricant manufacturing competencies will bring best-in-class solutions that will benefit the global rail industry.”
“FUCHS and L.B. Foster have similar core values and a shared vision to advance innovation,” said FUCHS President and CEO Keith Brewer. “Through this partnership customers in the rail industry can now purchase all their lubrication solutions and services from a single source.”
