This technical advisor for greases at Afton Chemical discusses grease and tribolayers. TLT: How long have you worked in a lubrication-related field, and how did you decide to pursue a career in the lubricants industry? Kaperick: I've been working for Afton since 1991 when I finished up my master's degree in analytical chemistry at St. Louis University. The St. Louis plant of Ethyl Petroleum Additives, Inc. (now Afton Chemical Corp., Richmond, Va.) was looking for an analytical chemist, and one of my classmates happened to work there and brought it to my attention. I had no idea what Ethyl made, so I went to the university library, researched the company, applied for the job and then started work for them in February 1991. I provided support for the process chemistry department as they scaled up new products or did troubleshooting on current products, and I supported the QC Lab, helped develop new methods and resolved problems with current ones. So, at that time, I was much more internally focused on components and not on how they were used.
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