TLT: How long have you worked in a lubrication-related field, and how did you decide to pursue a career in the lubricants industry?
Anisco: I have worked in the industry since December 1, 2011. I will never forget that day because it was a week after I got married to my kindergarten crush.
My career started with Formula 1 winning team Petronas, and I was assigned to the marine industry. We had recently closed a huge deal with the biggest shipping company in my home country, and my role was supporting the sales team in converting marine vessels to our diesel engine oil product. My task was to go on the maiden voyages of each vessel after conversion and monitor the engine and hydraulic oil condition.
The conversions were quite successful, and I felt I was where I needed to be in my career.
I then expanded into the mining and cement world, focusing on mill equipment, kilns and mobile fleets.
This experience has opened up opportunities for me, especially when I moved to Canada in 2016. It didn’t take me long to get hired by Fuchs Lubricants. My British mentor was retiring, and the company was looking for somebody experienced in the mining industry. My experience in the Philippines has allowed me the experience and know-how to fill its current need and has provided me and my family a stable foundation to our new life in Canada.
TLT: What has been your most rewarding accomplishment throughout your career in the lubricants industry?
Anisco: The biggest rewards of my job are seeing new places and meeting people in the industry. Coming from a humble country (the Philippines), I never imagined this industry would open up the world for me. Now I have serviced industries across North America and other parts of the globe.
Marc Anisco working on mining gears.
TLT: What is the No. 1 piece of advice you would give to a person who might be interested in starting a career in the lubricants industry?
Anisco: The lubricants world is very saturated now compared to what it was in the 1990s. There’s an endless supply of lubrication experts. Don’t be afraid to start from the bottom and work your way up. I started my career in North America shoveling grease along the railroads in the coldest of winters and the hottest of summers. Never be afraid of getting your hands dirty. Just do things safely and in a professional manner. Learn as much as possible from your colleagues and other experts in the industry who are willing to share their experiences and know-how. I am blessed enough to have worked with giants in the industry.
Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself as well. Try to obtain certifications and licenses—i.e., Machinery Lubrication Technician (MLT), Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA), Machinery Lubrication Engineer (MLE) and STLE Certified Lubrication Specialist™ (CLS) certification—and try to find a pilot project as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
TLT: Throughout the different segments within your career, which one has been the most interesting, challenging and/or rewarding?
Anisco: I try to approach things with passion and see things with a challenger approach. It doesn’t always turn out the way that I envision it, but having this lens has given me the motivation to push through various challenges along the way.
There’s really no one segment that stands out. Every world I’ve been in has presented different interests and challenges. I have met and kept memories and friends in most industries I have been in—from the railway industry, where I got to ride on-track vehicles and see isolated places that other people do not get a chance to see in their lifetime, to the mining world, where I get to appreciate how this industry has grown the modern world. The industry gave birth to so many small, isolated towns and gave opportunities for local people to make good money, and the people that emerged from these small towns are now shaping the world in their own small or big ways.
TLT: What are some of the most technical lubrication-based concepts or topics you have encountered throughout your career?
Anisco: I worked for a German lubricants company from 2016 to 2021—and I mean German in a highly technical way. It has allowed me to dissect certain applications and appreciate the numerous compounds and raw materials that go in the lubricant/grease blending process to meet the specific demands of certain heavy applications.
They have their lubrication principles down to a science where we have to calculate the effective lubrication film considering various equipment conditions such as operating speed, temperature, wear rates, lubrication regime and material, among others.
An example is the railway industry. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the rule of thumb on railroad track replacement was that a mile of track cost around U.S. $1,000,000 to replace. I imagine this cost going way up during and after 2020.
Therefore, the track lubrication, particularly in Canada, demands for a lubricant that will perform both in the coldest temperatures (down to -50°C or lower) up to the arid, dry summer temperatures (40°C or higher). The lubricant should dispense easily in both conditions while not melting/dropping off of the tracks. The heavy tonnages on the axles of Class 1 freight trains across Canada and the U.S. also demand for the grease to sustain a protective film under tons of centrifugal forces and reduce metal-to-metal friction between the track and the wheel.
The same concept goes for open gear lubrication, particularly for mills and kilns. Gears for these applications are subject to hundreds if not thousands of kpf and undergo both rolling and sliding forces. The high rpms on most balls’ mills also should be considered among other factors. Many lubricant manufacturers have the same general formulation when it comes to open gear lubrication, but in my hundreds of gear inspections, only a few really protect the gears sufficiently.
TLT: What is the common gear inspection method in the industry?
Anisco: This varies case to case, but for mining open gear inspections, there are three that are mostly used.
Magnetic testing (MT or MPI) is the most inexpensive method, but it is highly time consuming. This method employs principles of magnetism as the name suggests. It is practically used for smaller gearsets or for inspecting a small population of the whole gear.
For inspection of bigger gearsets, two methods stand out: alternating current field measurement (ACFM) and eddy current array (ECA).
I personally like ECA due to the fact that most gear failures start on the surface. ECA is best and fastest in detecting small surface flaws, which is the best time to do repairs, before any crack propagates. The current ACFM technologies I’ve seen so far do not compare to the efficiency and speed of ECA. It might change in a few more years, but as of now, I’d still use ECA.
A fourth method, phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT), is a good complement to MPI or ECA to accurately size and measure the depth of the crack for better mapping.
TLT: What is the one thing you wish you would have learned earlier in your career?
Anisco: I think it’s not the “what” that I have learned earlier in my career, but the “who.” There are a few really knowledgeable and helpful resources in the industry that I have met in the recent stages of my career, and I am very vocal that I wish I had met and worked with them a few years back.
You can reach Marc Anisco at marc.anisco.rme@gmail.com.