1. The function of grease is to prevent primarily moving parts in equipment from damaging each other. It further protects from dust and moisture, which cause wear and corrosion. 

2. Carefully maintained, the right grease can prolong the life of machinery, reduce breakdowns and minimise maintenance costs.

3. Unlike other liquid lubricants, a grease stays in place as it contains a thickener. The most common applications are in bearings and joints.

4. Over one million tonnes of greases are used every year. That’s about 3% of all the lubricants used in the world.

5. About 60% of grease applications are industrial, such as manufacturing, metals, mining and power. About 40% is used in transport, such as construction, fleets and passenger cars. Virtually every item of equipment requires grease lubrication. 

6. When selecting a grease, there are four properties which are key:

• Thickener type (It is the fibre mesh of the thickener's structure, which contains the lubricant and releases sufficient quantities for lubrication)
• Oil viscosity (measure of a lubricant’s resistance to flow)
• Operating conditions (e.g. temperature) and applications
• It’s consistency (how hard or soft the grease is)

7. Shell produces the vast majority of our greases in our own manufacturing plants. This enables us to guarantee consistent product performance throughout the world with in-depth support knowledge.

8. 70 years ago, Shell pioneered and patented the Lithium-thickener technology. It is now the world’s most popular grease thickener.

9. Shell greases are sold under the brand Shell Gadus, and can be found in Ferrari Formula 1 race cars, Boeing aircrafts and Shinkansen bullet trains.

10. We just opened our 18^th grease plant in China, our largest in the world.