Prime Lube, a distributor of lubricants and antifreeze in the Mid-Atlantic, announced it has secured a strategic partnership with Germany’s Kruse Group to become the first Mid-Atlantic manufacturer of BlueSky Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) for distribution across 12 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces.
Effective January 1, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates require that all diesel-powered passenger and commercial vehicles produced must meet new, lower nitrous oxide emission standards. DEF technology, used in conjunction with selective catalytic reduction (SCR), has emerged as the most effective, safe and affordable means to meet the required mandate.
As part of the arrangement, Kruse will provide Prime Lube with the manufacturing equipment and raw materials, namely automotive-grade urea, to produce BlueSky DEF for sale to Prime Lube’s fuel and lubricant distributor network throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Prime Lube will begin production of BlueSky DEF in June. They company is already distributing Kruse-manufactured DEF throughout Ontario, Quebec, all of New England, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Washington D.C.
“We’re very pleased to partner with Kruse Group and leverage their proven, scalable DEF manufacturing system to provide this emissions-reducing Diesel Exhaust Fluid to our local and regional customer base,” said Robert Arbasetti, COO of Prime Lube. “With DEF now mandated by the EPA to control diesel emissions, our customers will be able to save money through reduced transportation costs by buying locally and help further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing the distance required for delivery.”
Kruse’s innovative, scalable BlueSky manufacturing process has enabled the company to garner a significant share of the DEF market in Germany and secure manufacturing and distribution partnerships in Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Dubai and India and Brazil. Kruse provides both the manufacturing equipment and the raw materials to suppliers who then produce BlueSky for distribution into their local and regional markets. The company is currently expanding into other U.S. markets.
BlueSky is ISO and API approved for its ability to help neutralize the nitrous oxide emissions generated through diesel exhaust. In January, the U.S. EPA began requiring a DEF system to be onboard all commercial and passenger diesel-powered vehicles to reduce emissions. In its most basic form, DEF is a blend of urea, derived from natural gas, and de-ionized water that combine to form ammonia, which turns nitrous oxide emissions into harmless water vapor and elemental nitrogen. It has shown to increase fuel economy of up to 5 percent.
