PAPER & PULP

Royal Purple was founded as an industrial lubricants company by John Williams, a pioneer
in developing synthetic lubricants as far back as the 1950’s. He continued pursuing
his passion for lubrication by serving as a consultant to numerous companies after his
retirement in the 1980’s.
In 1986, an oil production company asked Williams to solve chronic bearing failures in their
large compressors. He found that there was not a lubricant available that could handle the
extreme demands of the equipment. He put his extensive lubrication background to work
in developing a new lubrication technology.
Williams developed a new additive technology that fortified lubricants with unusually high
film strength capable of protecting bearings under extreme loads. This unique technology
also had exceptional oxidation stability for long oil life. It provided outstanding protection
against rust and corrosion in wet and high temperature applications, cleaned equipment
and prevented varnishing and sludge build-up.
The new lubricant easily solved the company’s equipment problems. The plant manager
said it was so superior to anything he had tried before that it should not look like other
lubricants. Williams elected to make the lubricant purple. That lubricant became the
cornerstone of Royal Purple’s product line. Williams decided to name the company Royal
Purple since historically the color purple was so expensive to produce that only royalty
used the color.
Industrial customers initially tried Royal Purple on the most demanding and problem
equipment. Customers could easily explain the rationale for switching lubricants because no
other products performed as well. Over time, industrial customers were able to document
the energy and maintenance cost savings to justify upgrading their entire plants to Royal
Purple industrial lubricants.