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This Months News...
Another Federal Election has come and gone and while the kids will continue to get
up to their tricks in Canberra the rest of us are back to the grind stone (not that
we were ever away form it) to make sure the country keeps running.
The election, as it does everytime, for some unknown reason always slows things down
in retail and this time it was even more pronounced. However most retailers seem
to have taken it in their stride as since the GFC nothing seems to be able to den
their spirit!
Big News is that we have moved! After squeezing way to many things into a space not
even remotely big enough we have bitten the bullet and moved to a larger premises.
This is great as we are able to comfortably hold greater levels of stock as well
as look to expand our product offering. As always enjoy and keep smiling!
This Months Feature Store.
Rainbow Cycles - Coffs Harbour
Rainbow Cycles is owned and operated by family of dedicated cyclists. Daniel and
his father Ed, together with their wives, Amy and Judy, are passionate about serving
the cyclists of the mid north coast and catering for all their cycling needs. The
owners and staff at Rainbow Cycles are all dedicated and active cyclists collectively.
The Blotter Spot Method - Sample Preparation and Test Procedure: A Quick Guide
The blotter spot test is a two-step process, namely sample preparation and sample
analysis. In both cases, consistency must be maintained to ensure that data from
each sample can be compared. . ..read more...
Originally when we developed SFR 100 in 1988 the additive market was just developing around extreme pressure (EP) agents. EP additives were deemed necessary but not found in most oils. Gear oil and metal working applications were the only place they were being used. Thus, most formulations for oil fortifiers were fairly simple as this industry category developed.
Technology has increased at an extremely rapid rate. With highly specialised engines and equipment, customers are demanding greater performance. With this improved performance comes the added stress on the engine or machine.
Marketers in the additive treatment industry have focused entirely on the extreme pressure agents and thus most formulations are based on only one main ingredient, figuring motor oil would suffice in the other areas, such as:
* oxidation control—the life of the oil,
* corrosion protection—caused by high heat and contaminants,
* detergency to keep these high performance engines etc. clean,
* friction modifiers to aid in metal to metal contact that is not extreme but does cause wear, and
* thermal stability under high heat and heavy loads—called shear stability in the industry.
At SFR we have always looked at every possibility to improve engine and equipment performance. This led to a multi-functional approach to maximize performance. In other words not just concentrating on extreme pressure but all of the lubrication needs. In doing this the more simplistic formulations like SFR 100 had to give way to more specialized and complex formulations. Making only one product to use in all applications could still be done, but certain additives had to be left out, and others might not aid in friction reduction. For example, in an engine if a cracked headliner occurs or a blown head gasket, water and anti-freeze are injected into the motor oil. With motor oil, which floats on water, immediate seizure of the engine is inevitable. With SFR 100, the product was developed to be heavier than water, thus staying on the metal and emulsifying thus mixing with the water and anti-freeze to provide film strength. Though this saved many an engine, in a compressor where water from condensation is manufactured every day, this was not a desirable characteristic. With a compressor you want to de-emulsify so that you can separate the oil from the water and not have to change the oil regularly. As we investigated, we found more and more situations like this. Would it be easier to make only one product? Of course, but with the sophistication of equipment today, we had to look at specializing in each equipment group. This included: Petrol Engines, Diesel Engines, Hydraulics, Compressors, and Gear Boxes. We found that we could make much more effective products and include more additives when we formulated with this approach.
Testing has shown that by concentrating on one specific category such as petrol engines, we could make a product to make the petrol engine perform at its highest level possible. And the same for gear boxes etc. We could even add warranty packages to meet warranty requirements along with our proprietary additives. Thus at SFR we not only concentrate on treating the metal, but the oil as well and for each type of equipment that quite frankly requires different additives.
