A summer of strategy
By Steffen Bots, STLE President | TLT President's Report October 2026
As we reflect on the STLE Executive Committee retreat and upcoming international events, one principle emerges: together, we achieve more.
In Europe, July and August are traditionally the main months for summer vacations. With schools closed for an extended summer break, it is often the perfect time to spend quality time with the family, travel together or simply stay at home and recharge the batteries for the second half of the year.
In my case, this year's summer vacation also blended nicely with my STLE responsibilities.
Each year, the current STLE president organizes an STLE Executive Committee retreat during the summer. It provides an opportunity for the complete Executive Committee to come together, step away from the day-to-day activities of the society and focus on STLE's strategic direction for the coming year.
This year, our Executive Committee retreat took place in the beautiful city of Savannah, Ga.
I thought this would also be an excellent opportunity to bring my family along, so we decided to turn the trip into a broader family vacation. We flew to Washington, D.C., spent some time sightseeing there and then continued our journey through the southern U.S. before arriving in Savannah.
Both the family vacation and the Executive Committee retreat were a great success. We had a fantastic time exploring this part of the U.S., meeting interesting people, experiencing the local culture and, of course, enjoying some excellent Southern food.
At the same time, the retreat gave us the opportunity for very productive discussions about the future of STLE. We talked about how we can engage even more closely with our members, further grow our education and certification programs, provide the most relevant technical information to our community and continue developing highly recognized events such as the STLE Annual Meeting: Innovating Through Tribology & Lubrication.
These discussions are important because STLE operates in an industry that is constantly evolving. New technologies, changing industrial requirements and global challenges continuously influence tribology and lubrication engineering. Our responsibility as a professional society is to make sure that we evolve with them and continue providing value to our members and the broader technical community.
For me personally, combining work and travel in this way is something I particularly enjoy. My wife also works in the lubricant industry, and we have always appreciated opportunities where professional activities and family travel can come together. And, of course, with three children joining us on these trips, we still have some hope that at least one of them might eventually become fascinated by the world of tribology and lubrication engineering as well.
With the summer break now behind us, the coming months will again provide several interesting opportunities to represent STLE internationally and exchange ideas with colleagues from across our industry.
On October 2, I will participate in a panel discussion during the autumn meeting of the Union of the European Lubricants Industry (UEIL). The theme of this year's meeting is "Formulating the Future," and I am very much looking forward to contributing to the discussion, providing a global perspective and exchanging views on the developments currently shaping our industry.
The UEIL meeting will take place in Amsterdam, and from there I will travel directly to Chicago, where only a few days later (Oct. 5-7) the 2026 Fall Technical Meeting of the Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA), and cohosted by STLE, will take place.
MPMA was formed through the combination of the American Gear Manufacturers Association and the American Bearing Manufacturers Association, bringing together important areas of mechanical engineering that are naturally closely connected to tribology and lubrication.
STLE is cooperating with MPMA on the conference and is organizing a dedicated technical session focused on "STLE Trends in Tribology and Lubrication." Together with several STLE members, we have put together what I believe will be a very interesting series of presentations addressing current and emerging topics in our field.
It will also be my privilege to present highlights from the recently published 2026 STLE Report on Emerging Issues and Trends in Tribology and Lubrication Engineering. This report examines four major areas that are expected to significantly influence our profession: artificial intelligence, manufacturing, thermal management and decarbonization.
These topics demonstrate once again how broad and dynamic the world of tribology has become. Lubrication engineering may be a highly specialized field, but it connects directly with some of the most important technological and societal developments taking place today.
What connects the Executive Committee retreat in Savannah, the UEIL meeting in Amsterdam and the STLE and MPMA Fall Technical Meeting in Chicago is ultimately the same idea: bringing people together. STLE is not only about technical information, conferences or certifications. At its core, it is a global community of people who are willing to share knowledge, learn from one another and work together to advance our profession.
For me, this international exchange is one of the greatest strengths of STLE. Wherever we meet—whether in North America, Europe, Asia or elsewhere—the technical challenges may vary, but the value of personal relationships, open discussion and shared experience remains the same.
There is a German saying that captures this spirit very well:
"Gemeinsam erreicht man mehr." (Together, we achieve more.)
I believe this simple idea describes very well what STLE stands for. The more effectively we connect our members, industries, disciplines and regions, the more value we can create for our profession and for the industries we serve.
I am therefore very much looking forward to the coming months, to meeting new people, reconnecting with colleagues and friends and continuing these conversations across our international STLE community.
If you would like to learn more about the 2026 STLE Report on Emerging Issues and Trends in Tribology and Lubrication Engineering, our upcoming events or any of STLE's activities, please feel free to contact me or visit
www.stle.org. I always enjoy hearing from our members and learning more about the topics that are important to you.
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.