Speaking a common language across the lubrication value chain
By Steffen Bots, STLE President | TLT President's Report September 2026
The breadth of STLE's technical community, from OEM designers to shop floor specialists, is strengthened when every voice is heard and valued.
Tribology is a team effort. The STLE community connects people across the complete value chain of tribology and lubrication engineering, from fundamental researchers and additive chemists to lubricant formulators, OEM engineers, oil analysts and the maintenance and reliability professionals who keep machinery running every day.
Each group contributes a different perspective. OEMs design and manufacture the equipment, lubricant and additive companies develop the products needed to protect it and technical professionals on the shop floor ensure that machines are properly lubricated, operate efficiently and deliver the longest possible service life.
I strongly believe that networking and technical exchange across every part of this value chain are among the greatest benefits STLE can provide. One important benefit may sound deceptively simple: helping different technical disciplines develop a common language.
I began my career as an engineer in an oil analysis laboratory. Although I was familiar with the language of mechanical engineering, I quickly realized that chemists often used very different terminology and approached technical problems from a different perspective. Learning enough chemistry, as far as my engineering brain would allow, helped me connect these two worlds.
That ability became extremely valuable. It allowed me to understand technical challenges in the field, translate them into meaningful requirements for lubricant chemistry and work with specialists from different disciplines to identify practical solutions.
This experience also convinced me that no single discipline holds the entire answer. A researcher may understand the underlying friction or wear mechanism. A chemist can formulate a lubricant to address it. An OEM engineer understands the design and operating limits of the component. An oil analyst can identify a developing problem, while the maintenance technician knows how the equipment actually behaves under real operating conditions.
When these perspectives come together, the result can be better equipment design, more appropriate lubricant selection, faster troubleshooting, greater energy efficiency and longer machine life.
To ensure that STLE remains a valuable community for technical professionals throughout the value chain, we continue to strengthen and adapt our offerings. One important step this year is the STLE OEM Organization Membership.
We recognized that the value of STLE membership for an OEM may be different from that for a traditional corporate member, such as an additive supplier or lubricant company. OEMs need practical access to technical expertise, education, certification, conferences and professionals who can help them address specific equipment, lubrication, efficiency and reliability challenges.
The OEM Organization Membership is therefore designed to involve multiple technical employees and make it easier for OEMs to participate in STLE conferences, educational programs, certification and networking activities. It gives design engineers, application specialists, reliability experts and other technical professionals direct access to the broad knowledge available within the STLE community.
This participation can help OEM employees expand their technical knowledge, build relationships beyond their own organizations and find better solutions for their specific requirements. At the same time, greater OEM involvement also benefits the entire STLE community. OEM engineers bring first-hand knowledge of component design, operating conditions, new technologies and future performance requirements. Their perspective can help researchers, lubricant formulators, additive suppliers and technical service providers focus on the challenges that matter most in real equipment.
Just as importantly, we are continuing to improve our offerings for the professionals who work closest to the machinery.
The STLE Certified Lubrication Specialist™ (CLS) program remains one of STLE's cornerstone credentials. Together with the recently introduced STLE Oil Monitoring Expert (OMX) certification, our certification programs support professionals who are responsible for lubrication, oil analysis, condition monitoring and equipment reliability.
These programs are continually reviewed and updated to ensure that they remain technically rigorous, relevant and valuable. Our education courses and technical resources must also continue to evolve as machinery, lubricant technology, analytical methods and maintenance practices change.
As my STLE Executive Committee colleague Doug Sackett recently observed in his July TLT Shop Floor column, the technical professionals who work directly with machinery are often the unsung heroes who keep operations running smoothly. I fully agree.
Their knowledge is practical, immediate and essential. They are often the first to notice a change in noise, temperature, vibration, oil condition or machine behavior. Their observations can prevent costly failures and provide the practical insights needed to improve equipment, lubricants and maintenance practices.
Our ambition should therefore be clear: STLE should be the go-to platform for everyone who researches, develops, designs, specifies, analyzes, applies or maintains lubrication systems.
We want OEM experts and shop floor professionals not only to use STLE as a source of knowledge, education, certification and networking but also to become active members and contributors. Their experience, questions and ideas strengthen our technical discussions and help us translate scientific knowledge into practical solutions.
If you are interested in learning more about the new OEM Organization Membership, CLS, OMX or other opportunities to become involved, please contact STLE or reach out to me directly.
Nur gemeinsam läuft es rund und ich wünsche maximale Schmiererfolge!
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.