What Fiske Brothers Refining makes

Fiske Brothers Refining Company, which operates as LUBRIPLATE Lubricants Company, is a lubricant and grease manufacturer. Its catalog runs to roughly 450 products, split about 291 oils to 161 greases, with 160 synthetic formulations and 128 registered as NSF H1 food grade. The company groups the range into multi-purpose greases (about 129 products), food grade lubricants (about 124), gear, bearing, chain and recirculating fluids (about 86), environmentally responsible Eco-Green lubricants (about 40), compressor fluids, hydraulic fluids, and specialty and spray lubricants. The three original LUBRIPLATE white greases, Light, Medium and Heavy, patented in 1933 and built on a zinc-oxide anti-wear additive, are still a major part of the line.

Automotive is one of the named end markets. The company lists a dedicated automotive lubricants and motor oils category, about 31 industrial automotive products plus a 34-product consumer automotive line, and describes itself as supplying lubricants that original equipment manufacturers increasingly specify for their machinery. Alongside the industrial catalog it sells consumer products for general purpose and home improvement use, boating and water sports, and a GreenTop firearm and fishing line. Beyond the products themselves, the company offers plant surveys, fluid and grease analysis, and lubrication maintenance software as support services.

The food grade portfolio is the technical center of gravity. LUBRIPLATE H1 mineral-oil products use USP white mineral oil permitted under FDA 21 CFR 172.878, and the company runs dedicated kettles for PAO, PAG and ester synthetic H1 oils, per a distributor briefing covered by the trade press. That matters as European machine builders increasingly write mineral-oil restrictions into equipment manuals arriving in US plants, a specification shift that pushes maintenance teams toward synthetic base oils rather than a different brand.

Ownership and history

The company was founded in 1870 and has operated continuously since, which it uses to claim the title of oldest independent lubricant manufacturer in the United States. It remains privately held and independent, with no parent company. Multiple members of the Girard family hold senior and sales roles, including Jim Girard, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

The LUBRIPLATE name arrived through acquisition. Robert L. Watts patented his three original greases in 1933, combining a calcium thickening agent with mineral oil, zinc-oxide and other compounds to make a grease that resisted wear and corrosion and carried a distinctive white color. In 1937, Fiske Brothers Refining Company acquired the LUBRIPLATE Corporation from Watts. Over time the LUBRIPLATE brand became the company's public identity, and its founding name was changed to LUBRIPLATE Lubricants in 2007 per company histories. Today the corporate, financial and sales headquarters sit at 129 Lockwood Street in Newark, New Jersey, in the Ironbound district, while manufacturing and packaging run at the company's wholly-owned plant at 1500 Oakdale Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, a site whose lineage traces back to the original Fiske refinery. Finished lubricants ship from distribution centers in both Toledo and Newark. Apollo places the workforce in a 51 to 200 band; the company does not publish a headcount or revenue figure.

Certifications and quality

The company is ISO 9001 registered for its quality management system. Its NSF H1 registered food grade lubricants are ISO 21469 certified, the hygiene standard for lubricants that may have incidental contact with food, which requires periodic audits to maintain. The catalog carries well over one hundred NSF H1 registrations, and the company markets REACH, RoHS and VGP compliant formulations within its environmentally responsible range. It describes ISO 9001 as the framework that lets it, in its own words, prove that it practices what it preaches on quality. For buyers, the relevant point is that food grade and eco-compliance claims here rest on third-party registration schemes rather than self-declaration alone, which is the meaningful distinction in this category.

Sourcing evidence

Fiske Brothers Refining imports the way a blender does, not the way a reseller does. Its US sea-import bills of lading show 41 shipments since 2015 from 8 foreign suppliers, dominated by lubricant additives, specialty base oils and packaging rather than finished goods. The most active suppliers:

Seven shown of 8 recorded suppliers. The mix reads cleanly: additive packages, bio base oils and packaging come in, and finished lubricants go out from Toledo. The bio base-oil lane from Belgium, high-erucic rapeseed and colza oils, maps directly onto the Eco-Green product range, and the Tribotecc metal sulfides are classic solid-lubricant additives. Origins are Europe-dominant, led by Belgium, Italy and Germany, with Taiwan supplying packaging. There is no China lane on record.

Import cadence is low and steady, averaging under half a container per month across the window, with the most recent shipment landing in August 2026. That thin footprint is by design: the company blends and packages domestically, so most of its material flow never crosses an ocean. For buyers weighing nearshoring and tariff exposure, a domestically manufactured lubricant with a short, additive-only import tail is a different risk profile than a finished-goods importer.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Truck, rail and air movements, including most North American cross-border flows and any domestic base-oil purchasing, do not appear. Some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers, and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does Fiske Brothers Refining Company make?

Fiske Brothers Refining Company, operating as LUBRIPLATE Lubricants Company, manufactures industrial, automotive, marine, recreational and household lubricants and greases. Its roughly 450-product catalog spans multi-purpose greases, NSF H1 food grade lubricants, gear and hydraulic fluids, compressor fluids, and synthetic and eco-friendly oils. Its three original 1933 white greases are still sold today.

Is Fiske Brothers Refining the same company as Lubriplate?

Yes. Fiske Brothers Refining Company does business as LUBRIPLATE Lubricants Company. The company was founded as Fiske Brothers Refining in 1870 and acquired the LUBRIPLATE Corporation in 1937; LUBRIPLATE has since become its public brand and operating name. It is not related to Lucas Oil Products, a separate company founded in 1989.

Who owns Fiske Brothers Refining Company?

The company is privately held and independent, with no parent company, and it describes itself as the oldest independent lubricant manufacturer in the United States. Several members of the Girard family hold senior leadership and sales roles, including Jim Girard as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

Where is Fiske Brothers Refining located?

Its corporate, financial and sales headquarters are at 129 Lockwood Street, Newark, New Jersey 07105. Manufacturing and packaging take place at a wholly-owned facility at 1500 Oakdale Avenue, Toledo, Ohio 43605, and finished lubricants ship from distribution centers in both Toledo and Newark.

What certifications does Fiske Brothers Refining hold?

The company is ISO 9001 registered, and its NSF H1 registered food grade lubricants are ISO 21469 certified, the hygiene standard for lubricants with incidental food contact. It carries well over one hundred NSF H1 product registrations and markets REACH, RoHS and VGP compliant formulations in its environmentally responsible line.

Who are Fiske Brothers Refining's customers?

No individual customer is documented in public filings or the company's own named announcements. The company states that a growing number of original equipment manufacturers specify LUBRIPLATE lubricants for their machinery, and it serves industrial, food processing, automotive, marine and recreational markets through a broad distributor network.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.