Customer Overview
A UK salad processing and packing facility supplying washed leaves, herbs, and prepared vegetables to major retailers approached Orbic Engineering Solutions to review their lubrication programme. The site operates high-care production lines in a cold, wet environment with continuous wash-down, stainless steel conveyors, and strict retailer and BRC food safety requirements.
Maintenance and quality teams were using lubricants from multiple suppliers with inconsistent NSF H1 credentials, no unified product list, and growing concern about their ability to demonstrate compliance at audit.
The Challenge
A review of the site's existing lubrication products identified significant operational and compliance risks across the processing lines:
- Multiple suppliers with inconsistent or unverified NSF H1 food-grade registration
- Non-food-grade lubricants identified in use within high-care processing areas
- No site-wide lubrication schedule or unified product reference for maintenance staff
- Cold, wet environment accelerating lubricant wash-off on conveyor chains and bearings
- Stainless steel equipment requiring specific compatible lubricant formulations
- Inability to produce complete lubricant compliance documentation at BRC audit
- Over-stocking of overlapping aerosol products from different brands and suppliers
The combination of unverified products, absent documentation, and no standardised lubrication schedule represented a serious risk to BRC certification and retailer approval — both of which are critical to the facility's trading relationships.
Orbic's Solution
Orbic Engineering Solutions conducted a full lubrication point audit across the site and specified a consolidated range of TYGRIS Protean food-safe lubricants to replace the existing multi-supplier mix. TYGRIS Protean is a comprehensive range of NSF H1 registered food-grade lubricants covering sprays, greases, chain oils, and penetrating fluids — all manufactured to the same food-safe standard and supplied from a single source through Orbic.
Key Features of the TYGRIS Protean Range
- NSF H1 registered — approved for incidental food contact in food processing environments
- Comprehensive range covering aerosol sprays, greases, chain & conveyor oils, and penetrants
- Replaces multiple supplier relationships with a single, auditable food-safe product list
- Clear, consistent product labelling simplifying correct product selection at point of use
- Full technical data sheets and safety data sheets available for every product
- Suitable for BRC, SALSA, and retailer audit compliance documentation
- Manufactured to consistent quality standards across the entire Protean product family
Orbic worked with the site's maintenance manager and quality team to walk every lubrication point across the salad processing and packing lines — from conveyor chain drives and bearing housings to cooling fan motors and wash-down equipment.
The correct TYGRIS Protean product was matched to each application, with particular attention to wash-resistant formulations for wet conveyor environments and coldstore-compatible greases for refrigerated areas. A site-specific lubrication schedule was produced and incorporated into the quality management system.
Stock holding was rationalised from eleven products across four suppliers down to six TYGRIS Protean products, all NSF H1 registered and supplied through Orbic. As an authorised TYGRIS distributor, Orbic provided full NSF registration certificates and product data sheets ready for the site's next BRC audit.
Results
- Full NSF H1 compliance achieved across all lubrication points on site
- Product range consolidated from 11 SKUs across four suppliers to 6 TYGRIS Protean products
- Single supplier — simplified procurement and a clean, auditable trail
- Reduced risk of incorrect product application through consistent, clearly labelled product range
- Improved confidence going into BRC and retailer audits with complete documentation pack
- Site-specific lubrication schedule embedded into the quality management system
Why Orbic?
- Authorised TYGRIS distributor — access to full NSF registration certificates and technical data sheets
- Full lubrication point audit service across processing and packing lines
- Product-to-application matching with food-processing environment expertise
- Site-specific lubrication schedule production for QMS integration
- Single-source supply of a complete, compliant food-safe lubricant range
- Audit-ready documentation pack supplied as standard