Getting on board mid-career
By Dr. Bill Tuszynski | TLT Volunteer's Voice August 2026
STLE has given me much more than I’ve put in.
While many in the industry enter the lubricant industry as their first or second jobs, it took me over two decades to “see the light.” While I had some exposure during my time at Pennwalt/Atochem (now part of Arkema) and Inolex, I didn’t go all in until 2005, when three of us bought Ivanhoe Industries, a small chemical distributor based in Tullytown, Pa., not to be confused with the defoamer Ivanhoe Industries out of Illinois.
While Ivanhoe had a diverse portfolio, I quickly became the lubricant maven, partly by default. From that point on, my involvement with STLE went from casual to serious. I became a regular attendee at STLE Annual Meetings, serving twice as chair of the STLE Grease Technical Committee.
Having the good fortune to live near Philadelphia, I joined the STLE Philadelphia Section Board and haven’t looked back. Along with rotating through the chairs, with a second three-year stint as treasurer, our Scholarship Committee has been my area of focus for the last decade. Our area of New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland has many colleges and universities with tribology or tribology-adjacent programs. We do “photo ops” with our awardees and their professors. We have established relationships with a number of academics and stay in touch with our past awardees. While not all have gone into lubrication, they have all gone on to meaningful careers in industry, academia and national labs. Our most recent group of awardees was featured in the March TLT.
Looking back, STLE has given me much more than I’ve put in. The STLE Annual Meeting technical content coupled with the networking opportunities in the technical sessions, exhibits and in formal and informal meetings is invaluable. Working with fellow STLE members on volunteer projects builds great camaraderie. Customers, suppliers and competitors easily set aside business relationships to work for the common good.
I’ve now transitioned into retirement but am staying engaged both at the local level and through our newly formed STLE History Interest Group.
Dr. Bill Tuszynski is partner at The Unami Group, LLC. You can reach him at w.tuszynski@unamigroup.com.