25 Years Inside India's Steel Plants
From crushers and coke ovens to continuous casters, rolling mills and open gears, PSC has spent more than 25 years solving lubrication problems where heat, water, dust, shock loads and downtime make ordinary solutions inadequate.
We Didn't Start
With a Catalogue
Project Sales Corp's industrial lubrication journey began in 2000. We did not enter the business simply by stocking grease and oil.
We entered through applications.
Bearings failing too frequently. Grease being washed away by cooling water. Lubrication intervals requiring too much manpower. Components operating under heat, scale, dust, shock loads and contamination. Open gears requiring specialised lubrication. Equipment where an inexpensive lubricant could influence the reliability of a much more expensive machine.
Over the years, PSC worked across steel, power, heavy engineering, mining, offshore and process industries.
But steel became one of the environments that taught us the most.
The cost of the lubricant is rarely the real cost.
The real cost begins when the machine stops.
The question that guided PSC's application work was never "which grease is cheapest for this bearing?" It was: what does this machine actually do, what happens to it while it runs, and what does the lubricant need to survive if it is going to keep the bearing alive between planned maintenance intervals?
That question led us, consistently, into India's steel plants.
Every Stage Creates a Different Lubrication Problem
Heat, water and contamination — simultaneously
The thermal end of a steel plant is where lubrication fails most visibly. Torpedo ladles subject spherical sliding surfaces to oscillating motion at temperatures that destroy conventional lubricants. Continuous casters demand a grease that survives both intense radiant heat and the direct spray of cooling water — conditions that are individually demanding and together almost contradictory.
Rolling mill work-roll bearing housings operate under extreme radial loads, speed cycling and water contamination simultaneously. The grease has to stay in the housing, resist washout, maintain film strength under load, and last a meaningful interval between relubrication. Many standard greases are not formulated for this combination of conditions.
Blast furnace and coke oven equipment adds chemical contamination and radiant heat to an already challenging load environment. These applications drove PSC to look well beyond the first page of any lubricant catalogue.
Dust, shock loads and continuous operation
At the raw material end — crushers, stacker-reclaimers, vibratory screens, conveyor drive systems — the demands are different but no less severe. Shock loads on hammer crushers destroy lubricant film. Abrasive ore dust penetrates inadequately sealed housings and destroys bearing races. Conveyor systems running 24 hours need lubrication intervals that match operational cycles, not guesswork.
Open gears on large drives — grinding mills, rotary kilns, ring granulators — carry extreme contact loads on exposed, often contaminated gearing. These applications need lubricants that cling under load, resist fling-off, and provide a film that does not crack or wash out during cleaning.
The common thread across every application in every steel plant: temperature alone never describes the problem. What the machine does, how fast it runs, how it is contaminated, how it is lubricated and how frequently — these are the real parameters. The lubricant selection follows from those answers. It does not precede them.
When Better Lubrication Meant Less Intervention
PSC's historical work at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant expanded across multiple departments over several years. What began as individual application trials became a documented record of lubrication interval improvements, volume reductions, and engineering outcomes.
The following cases are drawn from PSC's archived application records. They represent the kind of engineering result — not marketing claim — that comes from starting with the machine, not the product shelf.
| Equipment | Operating Conditions & Problem | Relubrication Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Hammer Crusher | Severe shock loads, dust, vibration and high bearing loads in raw material handling. Conventional grease failing under shock conditions. | Daily (conventional) Weekly after trial |
| Blender Reclaimer | Spherical roller bearings suffering progressive abrasive wear. Continuous operation in ore dust environment with inadequate lubrication life. | Daily (conventional) 5-day stable interval |
| Vibratory Screens | Continuous operation, vibration and shock loads across multiple screen units. High lubricant consumption with short service intervals. | Frequent intervention Significantly extended |
| Continuous Caster (Secondary cooling zone) |
High temperature combined with direct cooling water spray. Lubricant wash-out contributing to sticking and corrosion of cassette components. Extremely demanding combined thermal/water environment. | Frequent failure Satisfactory performance documented over extended trials |
| Torpedo Ladle | Spherical sliding surfaces exposed to oscillating motion and very high temperatures during molten iron transport. Standard greases decomposing in service. | Short service life Long-term successful use documented with specialised assembly paste |
PSC's archived Visakhapatnam Steel Plant records documented annual specialty lubricant consumption exceeding two tonnes across the established applications, before additional products were introduced in later phases.
These case results were not achieved by recommending the highest-specification product available. They came from analysing the operating conditions, selecting a lubricant matched to those conditions, monitoring the result, and adjusting where necessary. That is the only reliable route to a meaningful interval extension.
The machines at Vizag taught PSC that the lubrication problem is an engineering problem — and that it has to be solved on the machine, not in a product catalogue.
Historical note: The above cases document PSC's specialty lubrication work conducted over many years. Molykote® is a registered trademark of Dow and is referenced here solely as part of PSC's documented commercial history. PSC does not currently represent or supply Molykote products.
When Application Engineering Became a Business
PSC's specialty lubrication activity did not remain confined to single-plant trials. The application work expanded, documented results built customer confidence, and supply volumes grew accordingly.
PSC's historical customer records document sales to Vizag Steel, Tata Steel, JSW, Bhushan Steel, Usha Martin and Sunflag — companies spanning integrated steelworks, wire rod, flat products and long products.
PSC's internal commercial records document individual purchase orders for specialty lubricants that exceeded one million US dollars in value. These were not annual supply agreements — they were single order executions, reflecting the scale of demand created when application work translates into long-term plant-level adoption.
Five Things 25 Years Taught Us
In PSC's experience, the most consistently successful lubrication outcomes began with a description of the machine — what it does, how it runs, what loads it carries, how it is contaminated. The lubricant specification follows from that analysis. It does not precede it.
Load, speed, water presence, dust, vibration, lubrication method and relubrication interval matter as much as operating temperature — and the combination of factors is what determines lubricant selection. A grease that survives heat may fail under shock load. A grease that survives water may not survive the combination of water and heat simultaneously.
The cost argument for a specialty lubricant is not made against the price of a standard product. It is made against the cost of a bearing failure, a relubrication shutdown, a component replacement, or an unplanned production stop. When that comparison is made correctly, the economics of specialty lubrication can become much clearer.
Long-term supply reliability, product consistency and application monitoring matter as much as the initial trial result. A trial that works once and cannot be sustained — because the product becomes unavailable, the specification changes, or no one monitors performance over time — does not deliver the value the trial promised.
Brands change. Suppliers change. Ownership changes. Distribution arrangements change. The machine's lubrication problem remains an engineering problem, and the knowledge of how to solve it persists regardless of whose name is on the tin.
A Familiar Way of Thinking
Years after PSC first began solving steel-plant lubrication problems, we encountered something familiar in LUBCHEM Korea's technical literature.
The approach did not begin with a product range. It began with the plant.
This closely matches the application-led approach PSC developed over two and a half decades in Indian plants. PSC's existing commercial records document PSC's appointment as Channel Partner for LUBCHEM Co., Ltd. for the Indian market.
LUBCHEM Korea's published technical material includes dedicated application guidance for steel plants, cement and mining operations, hyper compressor installations, automotive manufacturing lines and textile machinery.
The steel plant application material is the most developed — and the closest to PSC's own field experience. The product range includes bearing greases, high-temperature greases, open-gear lubricants, kiln tyre lubricants and specialised pastes — each mapped to documented steel plant applications rather than positioned as general-purpose alternatives.
PSC's role is not simply to distribute those products. It is to bring the application knowledge — built over 25 years in Indian steel plants — to the technical evaluation of where each product belongs and where it will perform.
View LUBCHEM Korea India HubWalk Through a Steel Plant with LUBCHEM
The following application recommendations are drawn from LUBCHEM Korea's published technical documentation. They are presented as documented application guidance — not OEM approvals, not factory-fill specifications, and not direct equivalency claims against any other product.
| Application / Lubrication Point | LUBCHEM Product |
|---|---|
| Stacker / reclaimer — slew ring and slew gear | BE 2102 G |
| Conveyor drive / return cylinder rolling bearings Continuous operation, dust, moderate load | HB 3101 EP |
| Vibrating screen — eccentric shaft bearings Shock, vibration, continuous operation | HB 3101 P |
| Grinding mill — rolling bearings Heavy load, abrasive environment | BE 2181 |
| Grinding mill — open gear Extreme contact load, exposed gearing | EO 210 G Series |
Grinding mill bearings and open gear drives represent some of the most demanding applications in raw material handling — combining heavy continuous load with abrasive contamination and, in many installations, outdoor exposure.
| Application / Lubrication Point | LUBCHEM Product | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coke oven — reversible gas valve actuator | HB 3101 EP | Heat, chemical contamination |
| Pusher / guide machine — rack and rail | EO 2107 G | Linear open-gear contact, heat |
| Blast furnace — top ring gear and pinion | EO 210 G Series | Severe environment, high load |
| Torpedo ladle — trunnion bearing / sliding surface Oscillating motion, very high temperature | Specialised paste — contact PSC | Application review required |
| Application / Lubrication Point | LUBCHEM Product |
|---|---|
| Rotary kiln — open gear drive Extreme contact load, high temperature | EO 210 G Series |
| Rotary kiln — internal riding ring / tyre Sliding contact, oscillating, heat | HM 9059 GM |
| Support roller / thrust roller bearings Continuous load, elevated temperature | BE 2181 / HB 3101 EP |
| Lime / cement rotary cooler bearings | HB 3101 EP |
Rotary kiln applications combine two of the most demanding conditions for lubricants: sustained very high temperature on the tyre/riding ring, and extreme open-gear contact loads on the drive. LUBCHEM Korea's documentation addresses both points specifically.
| Application / Lubrication Point | LUBCHEM Product | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rotary mixer — open gear Continuous operation, contamination | EO 2100 G | Operational open-gear lubricant |
| Sinter machine — trolley wheel roller bearings Heat, abrasion, continuous cycling | BE 2181 | High-temp bearing grease |
| Sinter machine — slide tracks | HP 3101 / HP 3102 | High-load sliding surfaces |
| Sinter cooler fan bearings High temperature, continuous duty | HB 3101 EP |
LUBCHEM Korea's Portfolio Extends Across Industry
Steel remains the primary focus of PSC's LUBCHEM Korea work in India. The portfolio also includes dedicated technical documentation for several other industrial sectors.
Open gears, rotary kilns, ball mills and conveyor systems. LUBCHEM's EO-series and GM-series products are documented for large-scale cement and mining applications.
LUBCHEM documentation includes PE 270 and HC 220 W technical and pumpability test information associated with high-pressure compressor applications including Burckhardt Compression equipment. This documentation does not establish OEM approval status.
Press line bearings, paint plant conveyors, transfer press guides, assembly line equipment. LUBCHEM's range includes products documented for automotive plant environments.
High-speed spindle bearings, drafting system components, winding machine elements. Dedicated application guidance for textile plant operating conditions.
We're Rebuilding From Applications, Not Inventory
In 2026, PSC began rebuilding the LUBCHEM Korea business in India. The approach is deliberate — and deliberately familiar.
- Start with real applications from real customers
- Review the equipment — what it does, how it runs, what it is currently using
- Understand the operating problem or the performance gap
- Select the appropriate LUBCHEM product from documented application guidance
- Support the application through the trial and into routine supply
- Build inventory as confirmed demand develops — not ahead of it
PSC's first renewed orders against LUBCHEM Korea products are against confirmed customer requirements, not speculative stock. This is a deliberate choice. The alternative — stocking a full product range in anticipation of unknown demand — is how application knowledge gets replaced by product management.
That is not how PSC built its specialty lubrication business the first time. It is not how we are rebuilding it now.
Don't Ask Us
for a Lubricant.
Show Us the Application.
Send us a photograph of the machine. Send the OEM and model. Send the current lubricant brand and grade. Or simply tell us what isn't working.
Heat. Water. Dust. Load. Short relubrication intervals. Excess consumption. Bearing failures. Availability. We'll start there.
We need to know:
- Plant name and location
- Equipment / machine type and OEM
- Lubrication point — bearing, gear, slide, joint
- Current lubricant brand and grade
- Operating conditions — temperature, load, water, dust
- Current relubrication interval
- The problem — failure, consumption, interval, availability
- Approximate annual consumption
- Photograph or TDS of current product (optional but helpful)
If you can tell us what isn't working, we can usually tell you whether LUBCHEM Korea has a documented solution for it. If we don't, we'll tell you that too.