PERRYSBURG – Master Fluid Solutions celebrated its 70th anniversary in November — because of its focus on innovation and sustainability.

The Global metalworking fluids manufacturer is based in Perrysburg, where they research, develop and manufacture industrial coolants, metalworking fluids, cutting fluids and grinding fluids.

“Primarily what our fluids are used for is machining and grinding. We help customers efficiently remove metal. We cool and lubricate their tools and improve the quality of their parts,” David Barned, senior vice president and general manager of North America, said. “One of the failure mechanisms for a lot of materials and tools, is they get too hot, so there is burning or cracking. We keep the process cooler, so the tools last longer.”

They serve aerospace, automotive and industrial manufacturers.

The company was started in Toledo in 1951. Barned said they moved to Perrysburg in 1964, and it is the world headquarters. In addition to the administration, the chemists are based there.

“One of the reasons we’re successful, and one of the reasons people like me have been around here for 30 years, is because of the culture and the people. Our basic philosophy comes down to the golden rule, treating others like you want to be treated. That’s your peer, your employee, your customer and distributor. It’s served us well and helped us grow as we’ve become a global business,” Barned said.

It’s a business based on chemistry and it’s the chemists job to look at new materials and technologies to improve the manufacturing process.

“What our company founder, Clyde Sluhan, developed is a water-miscible metalworking fluid. Before that most machine shops used an oil based, mineral oil product to machine parts. What his idea was is that he could make a concentrate that could be diluted by the customer with water,” Barned said. “It would reduce their cost. It would reduce the number of resources. His philosophy was to conserve. We always talk about maximizing productivity and minimizing waste. It would extend the life of the fluids in the machine and reduce the amount of fluids to make parts.”

Perrysburg is also the company’s research and development center. Part of the efficiency concept is a philosophy of environmental sustainability, but the company chemists also has the machinist and other manufacturing employees in mind.

“The other thing that we always emphasize is that anything we manufacture should be friendly to the operators that use it and the machines that it gets put in. Our products go through a lot of testing with outside independent labs, to make sure that they are going to be safe for the operators, and minimize any concerns,” Barned said. “Because typically a manufacturing environment is not the cleanest environment. Our products tend to keep the machines clean, they tend to be operator friendly, so they don’t have skin issues or have any health issues that could be related to the manufacturing process.”

They also have a product recycling equipment product line. It’s meant to help extend the life of the fluid and machinery, reducing the amount of waste that comes out of the manufacturing process.

“I guess green has always been popular, but we ask how we can conserve materials and reduce waste. We do that through the chemistry, by making formulations that last longer and form less waste and then we do it through our recycling equipment to help remove any contaminants,” Barned said.

They have over 130 employees in North America, with the majority working in Perrysburg. With the larger organization, about a third are involved in R&D with chemistry or other high tech function. Perrysburg is also the only North American manufacturing site, so all of the blending and packaging is done there.

They have approximately 400 employees worldwide, with manufacturing in the U.S., Germany, India, China and Thailand, but they also have sales offices in Japan, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and distributors in many more countries.

They serve about 15,000 end users in North America.

“We’re in the manufacturing business, which maybe hasn’t been too glamorous over the years, but I think that’s one of the things with the pandemic, it’s highlighted how important manufacturing is to the U.S. economy,” Barned said.

He pointed out that the company has been doing business throughout the pandemic. They utilized a work-from-home concept for everyone that could, in order to protect the employees who had to be in the lab.

Master Fluid Solutions world headquarters is located at 501 W. Boundary St., Perrysburg. For more information, visit https://masterfluids.com.