Laboratory

Production Laboratory – A Key Element of Product Quality Assurance

Specialty fluids used in modern vehicles are complex formulations of ingredients designed to maximize the performance of your “iron horse.” They ensure reliable operation of the brake system (brake fluids) and cooling system (antifreeze coolants, antifreezes, Tosols, and heat transfer fluids), deliver sparkling-clean windshields (windshield washer fluids), and protect the environment from harmful exhaust emissions (EcoTruck exhaust fluid).

Shelves in specialized and general retail stores are crowded with cans, bottles, and flasks of every shape and size, filled with rainbow-colored liquids and eye-catching labels—overwhelming even the most experienced buyer. How do you choose? What factors should you prioritize? Which performance indicators matter most when selecting specialty automotive fluids? Understanding the answers to these questions is critically important for consumers.

For manufacturers, this knowledge is even more crucial—only by producing top-tier products can a company compete effectively in today’s automotive chemicals market. Implementing an ISO 9001 Quality Management System provides a guarantee of customer satisfaction with product quality. One of the core requirements of this system is continuous monitoring of both raw materials and finished goods. This is precisely why a production control laboratory is essential.

Production Laboratory – Objectives and Functions

The activities of BAKSS Company’s production laboratory can be divided into three main areas:

1. Raw material incoming inspection;

2. Finished product outgoing inspection;

3. Technological research and development.

It’s difficult to single out any one of these areas as more important than the others. Like three support points, they jointly uphold a well-organized production process—ultimately forming a robust chain that includes high-quality raw materials, refined formulations, and verified results.

Key Types of Testing

For production purposes, the focus is not on the chemical composition of raw materials and finished products, but rather on their functional (consumer) properties. These are the parameters specified in regulatory documents governing specialty fluids, as well as in the Eurasian Economic Union Technical Regulation TR CU 030/2012 “On Requirements for Lubricants, Oils, and Specialty Fluids.”

BAKSS Company’s production laboratory conducts the following tests:

• Appearance;
• Density at 20 °C;
• Crystallization onset temperature;
• Fractional composition, including:
• – Initial distillation temperature;
• – Mass fraction of liquid distilled below 150 °C;
• Corrosiveness to metals;
• Foaming tendency;
• Rubber swell;
• pH (hydrogen ion concentration);
• Alkalinity;
• Stability in hard water;
• Boiling point;
• Kinematic viscosity;
• Water content (mass fraction);
• Cleaning efficiency;
• Water hardness;
• Total iron content in water.

All incoming raw materials are tested for compliance with applicable specifications. Every new formulation undergoes thorough laboratory validation before being introduced into production. All finished products are rigorously tested for both performance characteristics and safety parameters.

As a result, the manufacturer guarantees that customers receive a product that meets—even exceeds—their highest expectations.

Looking Ahead

The production laboratory is an indispensable part of any competitive enterprise. Staying ahead in the marketplace demands constant innovation. Therefore, developing new formulations of specialty fluids using modern reagents from Russian and international suppliers—and expanding the product portfolio—is one of the laboratory’s key responsibilities, carried out in close collaboration with the company’s technology department. A mandatory requirement for all new formulations is full compliance with regulatory standards and legislation, particularly regarding safety.

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