German lubricant manufacturer FUCHS Petrolub SE, based in Mannheim, Germany, and L.B. Foster, have announced a strategic partnership to develop industry-leading friction management products for the global rail markets.

L.B. Foster, headquartered in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., provides rail, construction, and energy markets with innovative solutions to build and maintain their critical infrastructure.

The partnership combines FUCHS’s manufacturing capabilities and world-class lubrication solutions for railway traffic with L.B. Foster’s renowned expertise in the development and implementation of railroad friction management technologies. 

FUCHS is a global company that develops, produces, and distributes more than 10,000 lubricants and related services with industry-specific solutions for demanding applications. L.B. Foster offers its rail customers trackside and on-board friction management solutions and pioneered Total Friction Management® (TFM). TFM is how L.B. Foster works with railroads around the world to deliver holistic, optimised friction management programs. 

Together FUCHS and L.B. Foster will continue to push innovation in friction management lubricant products to drive considerable savings to its customers through rail and wheel wear reduction, increased operational efficiencies, and improved safety. 

This strategic partnership facilitates driving global production of the FUCHS and L.B. Foster co-branded lubricating greases in international growth regions, as well as supporting increasing demands in North America. 

“FUCHS and L.B. Foster have similar core values and a shared vision to advance innovation. Through this partnership customers in the rail industry can now purchase all their lubrication solutions and services from a single source,” said Keith Brewer, president and CEO of FUCHS Lubricants Co., based in Harvey, Illinois, U.S.A.

“We are excited to work with FUCHS as our preferred partner for manufacturing our advanced friction management lubricants. The combination of our wheel/rail engineering expertise with FUCHS’s lubricant manufacturing competencies will bring best-in-class solutions that will benefit the global rail industry,” said L.B. Foster President and CEO John Kasel.