Publisher's Note

The industrial world is going through a slow down phase. India is no exception. In spite of high domestic consumption, the economic growth is nowhere near the expected figure that the government or businesses would like.

This has resulted in a huge cut in spending both by corporations and individuals, which further compounds the problem. Most industries are having trouble meeting sales and profit targets.

Industry professionals are looking for innovative ways to reduce consumption of lubricants, make grade/brand substitutions and increase machine reliability. Training in these fields plays a vital part in workers absorbing skills that could help them achieve these goals. VAS Tribology Solutions conducted its first series of Noria training programmes with "Fundamentals of Machinery Lubrication" at Pune and Chennai, and "Practical Oil Analysis" at Mumbai in early 2013. The training programmes were followed by an nternational Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) certification examination, which was also conducted for the first time in the subcontinent. Prior to this, professionals had to travel to Singapore or other destinations in Europe and the United States to take these certification exams.

VAS Tribology Solutions also participated in the 2012 International Conference on Industrial Tribology (ICIT) held in Pune from Dec. 7-9, 2012, and hosted by the Tribology Society of India. Jerry Byers, president of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), was present at the inauguration. He appreciated the efforts in getting Machinery Lubrication Indiato this part of the world and extensively quoted from one of the articles in the inaugural issue.

VAS Tribology Solutions was also invited to speak at the Industrial Lubrication Management seminar organized by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Bangalore and New Delhi in December 2012. A paper on "lubrication-based reliability" was presented, which was widely appreciated by the participants.

The cover story of this issue is on "The Hidden Dangers of Lubricant Starvation", which highlights the attention required for achieving Lubrication Enabled Reliability. The usage of natural gas engines is growing fast, and thus this issue includes an article on the subject, which gives insight into the current developments. There are other articles on varnish monitoring and acceptable levels in turbine oil as well as on varnish removal.

Please keep sending your feedback on the current and expected content, which will help us improve with every issue.

We would like to wish our readers and advertisers a very happy and colorful Holi.

Warm regards,

Udey Dhir