Lubricants, Grease & Metalworking Fluids

A close up of a gear with oil lubricant pouring out of it

Acme-Hardesty has spent over 80 years providing companies in the lubricant and metalworking industries with the ingredients they need to optimize their formulations and generate the most effective results. We’re dedicated to delivering sustainable, bio-based solutions to customers worldwide while giving them the knowledge they need to solve pressing challenges and help their businesses grow.

We are proud to be one of the largest castor and palm derivative providers in the industry, specializing in natural and sustainably sourced products and ingredients. We developed our extensive inventory of environmentally friendly ingredients to provide high-performing solutions to serve our customers’ individual needs, adding increased functionality to their end products. You can rely on our team of experts and our growing product portfolio to help you bring your metalworking fluids and lubricants to the next level.

Select a Category Below to Learn More:

Castor bean seeds surrounding castor oil in container

Castor Products

As an industry leader in castor oil and derivatives, we supply our customers with a comprehensive selection of castor oil products that bring increased performance to lubricants, grease and metalworking fluids.

Derived from castor bean seeds, castor oil has excellent high-temperature lubricant and low-temperature viscosity properties, making it suitable for use as a lubricant in diesel, jet and racing engines. It’s also ideal for metalworking fluids due to its corrosion resistance, lubricity and emulsion stability.

Castor Products

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Oleochemicals

Acme-Hardesty is your go-to distributor for fatty acids, methyl esters, fatty alcohols and other responsibly sourced oleochemicals derived from sources around the globe. Our oleochemical solutions come from natural fats and oils and are commonly used as lubricants and greases in automotive and industrial fields.

As a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RPSO), we also carry palm oils and palm kernel oil (PKO)-based products available as RSPO Mass Balance.

RSPO: Certified Sustainable Palm Oil
Acme-Hardesty is a member of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil).

Check Out Our RSPO Progress

Glycerine & Glycols

  • Bio-Based Polyethylene Glycols (PEGs)
  • Glycerine
  • Glyceryl Mono Stearate 450 V
  • Glyceryl Mono Stearate SE
  • Hydro Lard Glycerine
  • Hydro Marine Glyceride
  • Hydro Soybean Glyceride
  • Hydro Tallow Glyceride
  • Organic Glycerine
A bottle of oil is being poured

Esters

We’ve spent decades supplying customers with biodegradable esters extracted from renewable sources. At Acme-Hardesty, we combine our experience and drive for innovation to create industrial fluids that emphasize sustainable chemistry, comprising raw materials ideal for the lubrication market.

Esters are naturally derived compounds that result when carboxylic acids and alcohols combine and produce a condensation reaction. Our high-quality ester products serve the needs of numerous industries, such as metalworking, industrial lubricants, compressor oils, high-temperature oils and hydraulic oils with biodegradable and fire-resistant properties.

Traditional Esters

Specialty Esters

  • Adipates
  • Butyl Esters
  • Complex Esters
  • Glycerol Esters
  • Methyl Esters
  • Neopentylglycol Esters
  • PEG Esters
  • Phthalates
  • Saturated Esters
  • Sebacates
  • Sorbitan Esters
  • TMP Esters
  • Trimellitates
  • Unsaturated Esters
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Performance Additives

We keep an ever-expanding inventory of performance additives and other specialty ingredients that bring our customers the unique solutions they need to keep up with industry demands. Our team is always searching for the most high-quality products that will help you boost performance and set your business apart from the competition.

Performance additives are commonly used to address manufacturing and processing concerns and improve as well as maintain product quality and consistency. They often assist in rubber processing for natural and synthetic rubber and certain elastomers.

Metallic Stearates

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Bio-Based Polyethylene Glycols (PEGs)

At Acme-Hardesty, we’re dedicated to providing our clients with renewable materials that help them advance product sustainability — and our bio-based PEG formulas are no exception. This industrial fluid comes from bagasse, a fibrous by-product of sugarcane production, and is often used as biofuel.

Though our PEGs do not comprise petroleum, they feature the same molecular weight and chemical composition as petroleum-based varieties, allowing users to utilize them in the same applications while exercising greater environmental sustainability.

Our bio-based PEGs enable customers to create versatile solutions suitable for any industry. These metalworking fluids are commonly used as lubricants, defoaming agents, and viscosity modifiers in industries ranging from cosmetics and textiles to health and medicine.

Bio-Based Polyethylene Glycols (PEGs)

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Thickeners

As your go-to industrial lubricant distributor, we produce the highest-quality thickeners for industrial use. Thickening agents are molecules, particles or polymers that separate grease from fluid lubricants, arranging themselves in a way that gives the grease a thicker, semi-solid consistency. We carry various types of soap and non-soap thickeners that are ideal for many metalworking applications.

Thickeners

  • Acmepol™ 940
  • Acmepol™ 941
  • Acmepol™ 980
  • Acmepol™ 981
  • Acmepol™ XD 10
  • Acmepol™ XD 20
  • Acmepol™ XD 21
  • Ecomyx THS
Grease and Metalworking

Emulsifiers

We carry naturally derived emulsifiers containing high-quality ingredients that are safe for the environment. These renewable substances exemplify our commitment to sustainability while acting as effective surface agents for the metalworking industry.

Our emulsifiers are suitable for both water- and oil-based metalworking fluids, reducing interfacial tension and facilitating efficient formation and stabilization. These eco-friendly materials have excellent lubricating properties, high solubility and toxicological safety verification, making them the ideal choice for numerous metalworking projects. These applications include both metal forming and removal processes, such as milling, drilling, stamping, turning, tapping, and wire and tube drawing.

Emulsifiers

  • AcMulse™ C20
  • AcMulse™ C25
  • AcMulse™ GMS 450 V
  • AcMulse™ GMS SE
  • AcMulse™ S2
  • AcMulse™ S20
  • AcMulse™ S21
  • AcMulse™ Wax
  • EnThix™ 6000 DS
A machine is cutting a piece of metal with liquid coming out of it

Surfactants

At Acme-Hardesty, we offer a wide variety of surfactants that bring versatility and efficiency to many industrial fields. Surfactants, also known as surface-active agents, are compounds that decrease the surface tension between liquids, liquids and solids, and liquids and gases.

Because surfactants reduce the surface tension of liquids, they subsequently increase their spreading and wetting properties. Wetting describes a metalworking fluid’s ability to spread, penetrate and cover tools and machinery rapidly and evenly. Wetting is a crucial aspect of fluid performance — the better the substance spreads, the better it works. Our high-quality surfactants are suitable for coolants, forming fluids, straight-cutting oils and washing compounds.

Surfactants

The Lubricants and Grease Market

Lubricants and greases are primarily used in machinery for industrial and automotive fields, sealing cracks and openings between mechanical parts and reducing friction in moving components. The market for these products is projected to grow significantly in the coming years due to the expanding popularity of factory automation and increased vehicle ownership. The more machinery that emerges, the more lubricants and greases are needed to maintain new models.

The interest and demand for sustainable greases and lubricants have increased over the past decade, with the bio-based lubricants market growing at a rate between 5% and 10% per year since 2012. Due to the world’s growing concerns with the environment and the impact of petroleum-based products, more industrial companies have begun considering more ethically and sustainably sourced lubricant additive alternatives.

At Acme-Hardesty, we carry a comprehensive lineup of bio-based products that reflects our sustainability ideals. We provide our customers with nothing less than the most responsibly sourced ingredients that meet their specific grease and lubricant needs.

Lubricant and Grease Chemicals

Lubricity, metalworking and grease additives are just a few of the many chemicals used in the lubricant and grease industry. Our high-quality inventory includes a broad range of these chemicals, all ethically sourced with sustainability and eco-friendliness in mind.

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12-Hydroxy Stearic Acid

We offer 12-hydroxy stearic acid (HSA), a castor oil derivative produced through hydrogenation, or the process of adding hydrogen to a substance to create a chemical reaction. This ingredient often comes in a solid white form and is frequently used in lubricant and lithium grease manufacturing. You can purchase 12-HSA flakes from Acme-Hardesty in small bags or super sacks to suit your needs. Online shoppers can also buy this ingredient in 50# bags.

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AHCOHOL 1698

AHCOHOLTM 1698, also known as cetyl alcohol, is a long-chain fatty alcohol that contains 16 carbon atoms and projects a solid white appearance in its natural form. This substance is suitable for various applications, including use as a metalworking lubricant. We offer vegetable-based cetyl alcohol ingredients in both flake and pastille forms. These ingredients are genetically modified organism (GMO)-free with no residual solvents and are available in Kosher and NF grades. All of our cetyl alcohol ingredients have a shelf life of two years from the manufacturing date, and you are offered in bag packaging.

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Rubber Grade Stearic Acid

Our rubber grade stearic acid (RGSA) has the lowest C18 composition of any of the stearic acid products in our inventory, making it highly effective for use in grease and manufacturing processes. This ingredient performs well as a thickening agent in greases and a mold-release lubricant for sintering applications. We offer RGSA ingredients in tallow and vegetable flake varieties packaged in standard bags or super sacks. Our tallow RGSA has a shelf life of one year, while our veg ingredients last for two years.

Purchase Industrial Fluids at Acme-Hardesty Today

If you're in the market for lubricants, greases and metalworking fluids that set the standard for sustainability and efficiency, Acme-Hardesty is your solution. As one of the largest industrial lubricant distributors in the industry, we strive to bring essential materials to customers all over the country. We've been giving oleochemicals a new meaning for over 80 years, continually building on our history of growth and innovation while developing renewable, bio-based solutions for the future.

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