SME News Midlands Enterprise Awards 2025/ 10 Best Industrial Lubricants & Metalworking Fluids Supplier 2025 Boasting more than a century of combined experience within the oil industry, Elite Oils Ltd is a distributor of tried and tested premium lubricant products for UK manufacturers in the fields of industrial, automotive, and agriculture, such as FUCHS UK. It also offers associated services such as coolant monitoring, condition monitoring, and waste oil removal. Join us as we learn more about the company from company Director, Rob Barnfield. Elite Oils Ltd is a fourth-generation family business, formerly named Reliance UK (Reliance). Upon joining the company three years ago, Rob Barnfield, former Industrial Distributor Manager – UK & Ireland for FUCHS UK, said, “A new and exciting chapter in my life has commenced whereby I am now the Director of Reliance UK. Reliance is a leading authorised distributor of engineering components to industry and agriculture. What’s more, reliance is a large distributor of FUCHS products. “I am really looking forward to continuing to promote and technically support the FUCHS brand, a brand I have so much respect for. In addition, Reliance is able to offer related support services to add further value to our customer partnerships.” After three years of exceptional growth, Elite Oils has recently settled into its second bigger unit in Bromsgrove, which it is now using as its headquarters. Upon launching the new depot at the beginning for 2025, Rob was looking forward to the challenge ahead and feeling ambitious and optimistic thanks to having “an experienced team, fantastic new starters lined up, and total support from our supply partners. Here’s to the next three years of growth”. And, six months into the year, Elite Oils is enjoying a fantastic year of success. Currently a small team of four that are very much like a family, Rob tells us that as the business continues to grow and thrive and employ more people, it will certainly retain that family ethos. Stemming from this close-knit relationship is a next-level dedication to customer service and the company’s success. Rob shares more on what he looks for in team members: “The qualities we look for are dependent on the role, but one thing that we need regardless of the role is a positive personality. We all go through difficult times, whether it be business or personally, and it’s the people with the strong, positive personalities that continue to move forward, despite the situation.” With vast experience in the lubricants market, the Elite Oils team use this technical knowledge to offer solutions that save customers money. These solutions are based on efficiency and overall cost savings, as opposed to its competitors, who just offer the same product at a lower cost. Rob explains, “While our competitors look to sell many brands and be somewhat of an oil supermarket, we focus our time working closely with our partners to ensure we’re up-todate with things like new product launches, changes in legislation, and any potential raw material issues.” He goes on to tell us how, in his opinion, the industry seems to have seen a downturn since Q2 2024, with this seeming to coincide with a change of government, and having left companies feeling weary in terms of what the future holds. However, he says, “12 months on, there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, with customers that made tough decisions to make redundancies in 2024 now starting to rebuild by going back to the five-day week, et cetera.” “We are delighted to have been awarded a Midlands Enterprise Award for being the best in our field for industrial lubricants and metal working fluids! Despite the market being difficult and pressure on companies to reduce their consumable costs, we continue to promote the latest innovative products, saving customers money through performance and efficiency.” – Rob Barnfield Focusing more on the company’s central home region, Rob continues, “The Midlands is the lifeblood of the manufacturing industry in the UK. As long as we support British manufacturing, we will continue to see new opportunities popping up, offering employment and new opportunities to potential customers and suppliers.” Not only are its top-tier team and convenient location key towards its success, but also its strategic long-term supply partnership with businesses such as FUCHS UK, the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of lubricants. Regarding the partnership, Julian P., Industrial Distributor Manager – UK & Ireland at FUCHS UK, comments, “FUCHS UK are pleased to be supporting Rob Barnfield and the team – We look forward to working with you and your customers through the coming years and watching you make millions. Thanks for your business to date.” FUCHS UK products available via Elite Oils include FUCHS ECOCOOL, an innovative range of water-miscible fluids designed to provide incredible cutting performance and extended tool life. These lubricants reduce heat build-up during machining and come with a long service life, which means lower operational costs. Operatives can expect impressive results without any compromise on workplace safety and sustainability. Furthermore, by combining the brilliance of FUCHS ECOCOOL with the coolant monitoring services of Elite Oils, bacteria issues can be eliminated in coolant systems, as such improving working conditions for operatives and ensuring the equipment is HSE compliant. Recently, FUCHS’ ECOCOOL GLOBAL 1000 was officially approved by Lockheed Martin, one of the biggest names in aerospace, in addition to already being trusted by Airbus, Boeing, Safran, and Rolls-Royce. Another notable partnership that Elite Oils takes pride in is that with Aztec Oils Ltd, another leading specialist in high performance lubricant manufacture. Among Aztec Oils’ product range are its high-quality CoolSpec winter antifreeze and summer coolant solutions, which ensure reliable protection and durable corrosion prevention for all cooling systems. This is in addition to TOROTEC, AGRITEC, EMPROTEC, excellent products designed to meet the needs of every sector, including automotive, agricultural, and commercial.
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