Exciting New Updates

It’s been a bit since we’ve posted to the blog but we have some real exciting new updates coming! Stay tuned…

Food in Canada

Look for us in the April 2009 issue of Food In Canada, on page 16!
www.foodincanada.com

Why NSF? — A Quick and Important Excerpt from the NSF

The following is an excerpt from the NSF website, which is useful for helping to explain the importance of the NSF.

Did you Know that NSF Protects Your Brand and Your Customers?

Trust
The food industry relies on NSF’s independent assessment for determining a product’s safety. We currently support 75 percent of the listed Fortune 500 food retailers and manufacturers with our food safety programs. In the last 60 years, NSF has grown to become a recognized global food safety leader in product certification, standards development and testing.

Global Acceptance
Multi-national companies find that the NSF Mark provides the highest degree of brand protection. NSF Registration and Certification is widely accepted throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, China, India and Africa. The NSF Mark on a product eliminates worries of inferior materials and assures purchasers of a product’s integrity and quality. Several of the world’s leading food companies mandate NSF Registered compounds in their food manufacturing facilities.

History
NSF is the only organization that worked directly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in adopting the former base USDA compound authorization program. Since its inception in 1999, the NSF Registration Program has developed more than 20 additional Registration categories, based on industry input and consensus elevating the former USDA program to new heights and keeping current with new technologies and formulations. See the Ask the Expert column for more information on the categories that have been recently added. Regulatory agencies, such as the FDA and USDA recognize NSF’s long-established role in protecting public health.

Mission
NSF is an independent, not-for-profit organization, dedicated to protecting and improving public health. NSF is the only body to include all three stakeholder groups in its program development processes — the industry, regulators and end-users. As your partner and advocate in food safety, we are committed to protecting your product brand.

For more information on the services NSF provides, contact Sarah Krol at skrol@nsf.org or 734.827.6841

http://www.nsf.org/business/newsroom/articles/nonfood_0812_why_NSF.asp

For Immediate Release

COASTAL Blending and Packaging and Commonwealth Oil develop an exclusive distribution relationship for Quebec, Atlantic Canada and New England.

Saint John, NB-March 5, 2009 – COASTAL Blending & Packaging has signed an official agreement with Commonwealth Oil Corporation to become the exclusive distributor of their high performance Metal Working Fluid, EDM Products, and EXACT® brand of food grade products. Commonwealth products will be co-branded with Irving providing instant recognition of a well established Eastern Canadian brand.

“We are very pleased to partner with Commonwealth Oil”, states Kevin Boyle, General Manager, COASTAL Blending & Packaging. “The addition of Commonwealth’s portfolio of products will help us meet the changing needs for our existing customers and opportunities to penetrate new market segments.”

“We see the entire COASTAL team as being the best and brightest throughout this entire territory.“With COASTAL’s ability to completely blanket this entire region and the influence of their brand identity, we see this as a great combination not only for our respective companies but also for their entire growing client base.”

Commonwealth Oil products will be available directly from COASTAL and through the network of Irving Lubricants branded distributors in Quebec, Eastern Canada and New England.

COASTAL Blending & Packaging specializes in blending and packaging lubricants, solvents and other liquid based chemicals, marketed under the Irving and Cobra brand names as well as a variety of private label customers. Our modern 157,000 square foot facility in Saint John, New Brunswick Canada also provides used oil analysis and Soil & Water Hydrocarbon testing in our state of the art in-house laboratory. COASTAL Blending & Packaging is wholly owned by Irving Oil Limited.

Commonwealth Oil Corporation has been in business since 1978. This Canadian corporation is privately owned by the Herdman family and headquartered in Harrow, which is directly south of Windsor, Ontario. Commonwealth Oil manufactures and markets high performance metalworking & specialty fluids and food grade lubricants and cleaners to a broad range of industrial sectors throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the United Kingdom. They are a leading supplier to Aerospace, Automotive Parts Manufacturers, Tube & Pipe, and Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) sectors.

www.coastalbp.com

www.commonwealthoil.com

The Cutting Edge Expands

The Cutting Edge is proud to announce that it is expanding its list of interests to now cover the sister product line “Exact Specialty Products.” If this is the first you have heard of Exact be sure to check out the website.

Exact Specialty Products

And be sure to check out the blog in the next few days and weeks to expand your knowledge on the food grade world.

Woman Files Suit In Facial Fungi Case

At Commonwealth Oil safety is very important to us. Below is a news article by Nate Hubbard that tells of a woman who is suffering from a fungal infection from coolants. Please read on…

Tue Oct 28, 2008 – 03:35 PM
By NATE HUBBARD/Staff
A Wythe County woman who says she contracted a life-threatening infection from fungi spores in an industrial coolant is suing three corporations and their various subsidiaries for $750,000.
Mary Beth Alderman, 22, of Wytheville filed her lawsuit in Wythe County Circuit Court on Oct. 14, claiming that she has been “substantially and permanently wronged, injured and damaged” after she was sprayed in the face with the coolant in October 2006.
According to the lawsuit, Alderman was an employee at Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing & Hydraulics in Rural Retreat at the time of the incident.
Mid-Atlantic was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Instead, Alderman seeks damages from Fuchs Lubricants, maker of the coolant, Okuma, producer of the lathe machine that sprayed the coolant, and the Morris Group, distributor of Okuma’s machine.
A representative from the Morris Group declined comment on the lawsuit and Fuchs and Okuma failed to return phone messages left Monday morning.
The lawsuit states that Alderman was operating a lathe machine at Mid-Atlantic and had to open its sullied plastic shield in order to monitor components on the device.
“At precisely this moment the Fuchs coolant was released onto the spinning component of the lathe, with such force that it sprayed Alderman directly in the face, exposing her to potentially life-threatening mucor fungi-spores that were actively multiplying and thriving within the Fuchs coolant,” the lawsuit narrative reads.
After being sprayed with the coolant, Alderman claims in the lawsuit that she contracted mucormycosis – which according to multiple online sources is a rare infection that often destroys facial tissue, especially around the nose and eye sockets.
The infection usually only develops in people with weakened immune systems from ailments such as diabetes. Alderman’s lawsuit, though, makes no mention of any conditions that would have made her more susceptible to an infection.
The lawsuit says that Alderman went into a coma as a result of the infection and had to have multiple surgical procedures to remove the infected tissue.
The ordeal left her “permanently scarred, disfigured and paralyzed, greatly affecting her facial features, appearance and vision,” the court paperwork states.
Alderman also cited double-vision as a side effect of her facial paralysis.
When reached by phone last week, Alderman referred all questions to her attorney, Timothy Kirtner.
Kirtner declined additional comment Monday, saying the information available in the lawsuit contains any details he wished to release at this time.
Alderman states in the lawsuit that the lathe machine and the coolant were “defective, dangerous, unfit and unsafe” and that the offending companies failed to properly inspect the equipment to ensure its safety.
In addition to the physical trauma suffered as a result of the infection, Alderman’s lawsuit also says that her injuries have hurt her ability to be employed, have caused her great financial hardship and have forced her to significantly alter her pre-infection lifestyle.
She also cited “severe psychological injuries and extensive mental anguish” due to her “extreme disfigurement.”
The lawsuit states that Alderman expects all of her problems to be lifelong issues, citing her relative youth as a factor that makes the effects of the injuries even more harmful.
A January 2009 date has been set to schedule a hearing for the case.
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or nhubbard@wythenews.com.
http://www.swvatoday.com/comments/woman_files_suit_in_facial_fungi_case/news/3853/

Quick Fact: Copper and Graphite

A popular question that seems to be showing up lately is the use of Copper and Graphite electrodes with our EDM products.

In hopes of making this questions common knowledge the answer is: Yes our EDM products can be used with Copper and Graphite electrodes.

Computers for Kids

Computers for Kids

On July 16th, 2008 we proudly donated several computers, printers and monitors to a recycle charity known as Computers for Kids. Headed by John McCloskey, since 2004, this charity has provided a service that is greatly needed in todays high turnover rate of new computers and gadgets. Computers, printers and monitors use very dangerous materials and need to be disposed of properly and not simply thrown into landfills.

While many people are buying the latest and greatest systems it is fair to say that much of the older technology is still viable and could be put to use. Computers For Kids takes these forgotten computers and puts them back into use to help educate the future generations.

Commonwealth Oil sees this as both an opportunity to help the environment and to help ensure that everyone has a fair chance to a strong education.

If you would like more information on Computers for Kids or would like to donate please visit: http://www.cfkrecycle.com/ or call 519-253-5437.

All About Oxidation of Oil Products

What is Oxidation:

Oxidation is a form of chemical deterioration that can occur in most organic materials. This can affect petroleum products but typically they are very resistant to oxidation.  Oxidation usually involves the addition of oxygen atoms to the molecular structure and can result in degradation of the petroleum product involved.

Signs of Oxidation:

• Increased viscosity of the petroleum product
• Formation of acrid odours
• Increase in Acid Number
• Formation of sludge, varnish, gums & acids

Causes of Oxidation:

Oxidation is promoted by:

• The presence of catalytic metals such as copper and iron, If your oil is working as a lubricant, copper can come from gears or bearing components. If your oil is working as cutting oil and you are machining one of the yellow metals i.e. copper, brass or bronze, that can be the source of copper. Either way, fine copper particles combined with iron particles in oil will accelerate the degradation of oil(s).
• Heat will also accelerate the degradation of oil and this will become significant once the heat exceeds 160°F/71°C. For every 18°F/10°C increase in temperature the rate of oxidation doubles.
• Peroxides and other organic acids which are the initial products of oxidation and are themselves, oxidizing agents.
• Moisture will also greatly accelerate oxidation.
• Entrained air usually from poor design will also contribute.

Oxidation of a petroleum product is a chain reaction. The farther it progresses, the more rapid it becomes and if left unchecked your oil could eventually form into a gel or solid varnish type material. In a screw machine application it can degrade to a level where it renders machinery to the point of being unusable.

How Do We Measure Oxidation:

Total Acid Number (TAN) is a measure of both the weak organic and strong inorganic acids present within oil. Testing for TAN is an essential preventative maintenance tool to maintain and protect your equipment. A rise in TAN is indicative of oil oxidation due to time, operating temperatures and contamination. Monitoring Trends as well as absolute values should be used to determine TAN levels.

Prevention of Oxidation:

You should always start with a high quality product that is suitable to your application. Everyone confuses the difference between cost and price. Price is what you pay for that barrel of oil today. Cost is that price plus all of the other unseen factors such as loss of efficiency, slower machining times, poorer surface finishes, premature replenishing and ultimately catastrophic failure of equipment. These are the hidden costs that build up everyday and can sometimes be almost invisible until your machinery comes to a grinding halt.  The best way to prevent oxidation is to know what is going on in your oil system.

If you want to start a regular program to ensure your lubricants are not oxidized you can do so by contacting your nearest Commonwealth Oil Distributor or by calling our Laboratory at 800-265-3698.

Official Launch of Commonwealth Oil’s Blog

Welcome to Commonwealth Oil Corp’s Blog, the official source for all things Commonwealth Oil.