MEYERTON. – Flexilube, a highly respected role-player in the lubricant business, was named National Processor of the Year at the ROSE Foundation’s 30th Anniversary Gala and Awards Evening. This distinguished event was held on May 23 at Emperors Palace.
The prestigious National Processor of the Year Award is in recognition of the exceptional service and significant contribution that Flexilube has made in used oil recycling in South Africa, and was presented by Bubele Nyiba, CEO of the ROSE Foundation.

The ROSE Foundation, an NPO, was founded in 1994, and is a registered Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) for the lubricants sector. The event was a celebration of three decades of dedication to environmental stewardship in used oil, and was attended by more than 300 people, representing organisations that collect, transport, store and/or process used oil in South Africa.
The recipient of the award, Flexilube, founded in 1984, is a manufacturer of industrial and automotive lubricants and metalworking fluids as well as a used oil re-refiner. Their head office and plant are in Meyerton, and they also have offices in Benoni. The company services customers throughout South Africa.

Flexilube is committed to the environmentally acceptable collection, storage and re-refining of used lubricating oil back into its original condition, meeting all international lubricant standards. This Cradle-to-Grave model is what they call, true recycling. This sustainability model has been developed and used for over 70 years by three generations of the von Knoblauch family in South Africa.

Irene von Knoblauch-Dreyer, Managing Director of Flexilube, explains: “As a true recycler of used lubricating oils, we are proud to be practicing and contributing to the sustainability of the South African lubricants industry by offering our customers ‘Responsible Lubricants’. It is an honour to be recognised by the ROSE Foundation for the work we do, and we hope this will encourage more businesses to be environmentally compliant and responsible by sending their used lubricating oil to be re-refined and not sell to processors for burner fuel or a carrier for explosives.”

For further information on Flexilube’s full range of industrial, automotive lubricants and metalworking fluids and services, please contact Paul Linaker on 082 655 9999, or via email at paul@flexilube.com

* More about the ROSE Foundation:
The basis for the ROSE foundation was first laid in April 1994 after the government withdrew support for the used oil re-refining industry. Previously lubricants were taxed to subsidize the re-refining of used oil back into lubricating oil. When this subsidy was removed, the major lubricant companies operating in South Africa took it upon themselves to help protect the environment, so they formed the ROSE Foundation to prevent the irresponsible dumping and burning of used lubricating oil. ROSE’s primary objective is to collect as much used lubricating oil as possible and to add as much value to this oil within the strictest environmental standards. The foundation’s stated objective is to encourage cleaner production before waste reduction and waste minimisation. Failing that, they aim to recycle or reprocess used lube oil into economically valuable products.