Holding ourselves to higher quality-first standards is our trademark.
We select raw materials based on quality and performance, not price.
“While the competition has been formulating their oils down to a price, we have been formulating ours up to the highest performance standards.”
A.J. "Al" Amatuzio
As anyone who has tried AMSOIL synthetic lubricants knows, AMSOIL offers the highest-quality products on the market. A large part of the success AMSOIL has achieved is due to technical and chemical innovations that have set industry standards in lubrication. But consistency in quality is another large part of the value that AMSOIL lubricants offer. Every product that leaves the AMSOIL manufacturing plant is subject to the same rigorous testing to insure quality control.
Sourced From: AMSOIL Action News Magazine Issue 2006 March Page # 11
The AMSOIL chemical laboratory plays an important role in the daily operations at AMSOIL headquarters. The lab fulfills tech service requests, performs competitor testing and comparisons, and works on the research and development of products at AMSOIL. One of the most important jobs at the lab is quality control. AMSOIL is known for formulating high-quality products and the AMSOIL chemists ensure that everything coming in and going out meets AMSOIL standards. How do they do it?
“We test everything,” said Chief Chemist Mike Rodeghiero.
Rodeghiero oversees quality control in the lab, and to say they test everything is not an overstatement.
Quality control at AMSOIL begins long before blending begins. Maintaining a clean and controlled working environment is also a large part of insuring quality products, but testing ensures perfection.
“All of our raw materials, packaging, labels, drums – all of it gets tested,” said Rodeghiero.
It is obviously important to test raw materials for quality, contaminants and other reasons, but packaging?
“Our bottles are more rigid and durable for shipping purposes,” said Rodeghiero.
Notice how some competitors’ bottles feel thin and puncture easily. AMSOIL bottles are more dense and always square, making them more durable and identifiable. Each tanker that transports AMSOIL products is also tested by the lab to insure that water and other contaminants are thoroughly removed and will not jeopardize the integrity of the products.
As for oil, the blenders blend it, the lab tests it against all AMSOIL quality parameters, and corrections are made if necessary. Products undergo IR scans, viscosity tests, and tests for water, color and clarity. Quality control tests are performed on everything AMSOIL produces, every day. Rodeghiero said AMSOIL products pass quality control testing the first time 98 to 99 percent of the time.
“We see the product three times before Dealers see it,” said Rodeghiero.
During the blending of base stocks and additives, two 16-ounce samples are drawn from each batch and examined by the blenders. If anything is visibly wrong with the oil, the process is stopped and tests are conducted on blending equipment. If the samples pass this visual examination they are sent on to the chemists.
Next, chemists test both samples in the lab. This testing is conducted to make sure each batch of oil meets AMSOIL specifications, which are considerably tighter than standards set for most other lubricant manufacturers.
After a batch has been properly blended, it is sent to packaging. Here the lubricant is bottled and then boxed or put into drums and totes. At this stage, the lab draws another set of samples which will be tested by the chemists. If this testing reveals any inconsistencies, the batch is restarted from the beginning. If it passes this second series of tests, the chemists and blenders sign off on a production board. This helps to keep track of each batch produced and any inconsistencies that were reported.
If any problems with products were ever to occur after shipping, AMSOIL has a system for tracking which batch the product originated from. Each product contains a batch code on its packaging that can be traced to which batch the product came from, when it was produced and who worked on it.
AMSOIL has earned a staunch reputation for producing the highest quality synthetic lubricants and for demanding the best raw materials.
“Our suppliers know that we won't accept anything but their best materials,” said Rodeghiero.
Raw materials are inspected upon delivery and if they don't make the grade, they're sent back immediately. Incoming chemicals and additives are quarantined until they successfully complete the same series of tests that finished AMSOIL products receive.
Why is quality control so important to AMSOIL? The simple answer is that quality control insures quality products. Customers can be sure that every quart, gallon, drum and tote of product that leaves the AMSOIL manufacturing plant is consistent with AMSOIL specifications and will perform as expected.
Many other lubricant manufacturers whose quality standards do not match those of AMSOIL cannot make these claims. In fact, regular studies of motor oils with the same brand name labels, but produced and bottled in different locations, revealed that consistency can vary considerably by location. Many national brands are blended and packaged at different contracted oil companies around the country. They depend on someone else to do their quality control. Bottles of motor oil with the same brand name purchased on opposite ends of the country had different chemical properties and were even visibly a different color. These oils could not be expected to perform the same. The only thing similar is the label.
The Bottom Line:
Quality control at AMSOIL insures that lubricants will perform as expected and that labeling and packaging will be correct. Since all AMSOIL lubricants are produced from the same factory, AMSOIL products will not vary according to the area they are purchased in. For these reasons and many more, AMSOIL continues to be "The First In Synthetics"®.
The rigorous testing and strive for perfection demonstrated by the AMSOIL chemical lab is a testament to what the company's founder believes in and a big reason why AMSOIL is "The First In Synthetics"®.
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