A passion for people, learning and lubricants
By Steffen Bots, STLE President | TLT President's Report July 2026
STLE has been the community that fuels my drive to keep learning and help others do the same.
I truly believe that we all work in one of the greatest, most fascinating and most interesting industries imaginable. And STLE, in my opinion, is not only the largest association in this field, but also by far the most exciting one.
I started my career almost 25 years ago at OELCHECK, an oil condition monitoring laboratory and transitioned eight years ago to ADDINOL Lube Oil GmbH, into the lubricant manufacturing industry. Diagnosing lubricants for one of the leading laboratories in Europe, and now working in international sales and technical support for a lubricant manufacturer, have one thing in common:
You can learn something new every single day.
We deal with such a wide variety of machines and industries and special requirements. How cool is it, as an engineer, to visit a power plant in the morning to discuss turbine oils and then in the afternoon to support a customer in the afternoon who produces Chicken McNuggets and needs the right lubricant for a spiral freezer gearbox or a specialty grease for conveyor belts? Lubricants and tribology are truly everywhere, and the incredible variety of machines and applications has always been fascinating for me. These constant learning processes and focus on education also brought me to STLE about 15 years ago.
In 2010 I attended my first STLE annual meeting in Las Vegas, and during that event I took my STLE Certified Oil Monitoring Analyst™ (OMA) certification exam—which, by the way, I successfully passed. I was immediately fascinated by the STLE concept of certifying people and helping them to demonstrate a certain level of knowledge and professional skill within the industry. That experience also started the discussion about bringing certification programs to Europe, especially to Germany. This initiative has been a great success, and today we can proudly say that outside of the U.S., Germany currently has the highest number of STLE Certified Lubrication Specialist™ (CLS) professionals.
2026-2027 STLE President Steffen Bots receiving the gavel of leadership from 2025-2026 STLE President Kevin Delaney.
The second thing that fascinated me was the diversity of people who came together at the STLE annual meeting and who are all part of the STLE community. I had attended tribology and lubrication conferences before, but they were often very isolated within their specific fields. Usually you either had very academic groups discussing tribology research, and reliability and maintenance professionals exchanging practical experiences, or lubricant specialists talking about chemistry and additives. What makes STLE so special is that all these groups come together.
I believe the exchange of ideas and the diverse perspectives people bring from their different backgrounds are among the most valuable networking benefits STLE provides. I have also always been overwhelmed by how welcoming STLE and its members have been, and how open everyone is to start a conversation or discuss a technical topic.
When I first joined, Ed Salek was the STLE executive director, and Bob Gresham was leading the technical and education programs. I truly enjoyed both the personal exchange and the professional discussions with them.
Since my very first visit, I have been a strong supporter of everything STLE stands for—connecting people, encouraging learning and helping individuals achieve their goals. And these are exactly the areas I want to focus on during my presidency.
People who know me know that I travel extensively due to my international role at ADDINOL Lube Oil GmbH. During our biweekly STLE Executive Committee meetings, there’s often a running joke called, “Where is Steffen?” because I am usually somewhere in the world rather than sitting in my office. I want to use this international exposure to further strengthen STLE’s global network and collaboration opportunities. I also remain deeply passionate about education and certification, and I would love to see these programs continue to grow and thrive worldwide. I believe they are a tremendous value for our entire community and especially important for the next generation entering our industry.
Finally, there are several people I would like to thank. First of all, I want to thank my wife, Petra Bots, who is also active in our industry. Thirty-five years ago her parents founded my starting point into the lubrication industry, the oil analysis laboratory Oelcheck. Today she runs the business together with her brother, Paul. She has also managed education programs and created the OilDoc Conference, which has become one of the major and most successful lubrication events in Central Europe. Besides that she’s the mother of our three wonderful kids.
The second person I want to thank is her father and my father-in-law, Peter Weismann, who essentially brought me into this industry after I finished university. At that time, like many others, I actually wanted to move into the IT industry because I studied industrial engineering. But he convinced me that the lubricant industry was a more fascinating field to work in, and I’ve never regretted that decision.
Another person I want to thank is Rüdiger Krethe. He is a recipient of the STLE Raymond L. Thibault Excellence in Education Award for practical education. He was also the first person who truly taught me the fundamentals of lubricants, friction and wear, reliability and tribology. I consider him a true mentor!
The final person I would like to thank is Georg Wildegger, owner and general manager of ADDINOL, the lubricant company where I currently work. He is a great example of how hard work, a commitment to innovation and forward-thinking leadership can successfully guide a company through major transformations and crises. As I mentioned earlier, I have a real passion for what I do. And to truly live that passion, you need the right environment. I am extremely thankful that he creates this environment within his company and also supports all of my activities here at STLE.
Finally, I would also like to thank the current STLE executive director and the entire STLE staff, my colleagues on the STLE Executive Committee, and all STLE Board of Directors members for the excellent collaboration throughout my journey toward becoming STLE President.
The challenges ahead for our industries are significant, but so are the opportunities. I firmly believe that through collaboration, innovation and the exchange of ideas across generations, cultures and disciplines, STLE will continue to play a leading role in shaping the future.
I am excited for the year ahead and committed to serving this organization with energy, openness and dedication.
Steffen Bots is vice president of global sales & R&D for ADDINOL Lube Oil GmbH based in Leuna, Germany. You can reach him at Steffen.Bots@addinol.de.