What Lubrication Specialties makes

Lubrication Specialties, LLC (LSI) formulates, blends, and packages engine oils, gear oils, fuel and oil additives, greases, coolants, and specialty lubricants for diesel and gas engines. The company is best known for its consumer brand, Hot Shot's Secret, a line of more than 50 additives, oils, coolants, and fluids sold across the automotive aftermarket. Its catalog spans engine and gear oils, diesel fuel additives, gasoline additives, oil additives, greases, hydraulic fluid, transmission fluid, antifreeze and coolant, and bypass oil filters under the Frantz Filters brand.

The company frames its work as problem-solving chemistry rather than commodity blending. Its on-site laboratory, LSI Labs, handles research, testing, and formulation, and the company promotes third-party validation of its product claims. Beyond its own brands, LSI runs a private-label and custom product-development service: it takes a customer's lubrication or additive problem through research and testing, formulation and blending, and bottling, packaging, and labeling, to a market-ready product. That contract-manufacturing capability, aimed at OEMs and other companies that need small-run or custom formulations, sits alongside the retail business.

LSI's flagship product traces the company's approach. In 2005, founder Chris Gabrelcik was approached by a major engine manufacturer to solve premature injector failures on the Ford 6.0-liter Power Stroke diesel. Gabrelcik, a Certified Lubrication Specialist, formulated an oil additive treatment now sold as Hot Shot's Secret Stiction Eliminator. That single fix seeded the product family the company sells today to automotive, heavy-duty and fleet, diesel motorsports, RV, powersports, agriculture, and industrial-equipment markets.

Ownership and history

Chris Gabrelcik founded Lubrication Specialties in Mt. Gilead, Ohio in 1997, starting with lubrication services for industrial and commercial accounts before moving into branded additives. The company grew both organically and through acquisition, buying Frantz Filters and Fluid Recovery in 2014 and later standing up LSI Chemical, an industrial and nanotechnology additive line and a member of the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association. In 2017, LSI expanded its bottling capacity by about 30 percent and added storage for 20,000 units to keep pace with Hot Shot's Secret demand.

On July 5, 2022, Gold Eagle Company, a family-owned manufacturer based in Chicago, acquired Lubrication Specialties. Gold Eagle described the deal as merging two privately held manufacturers into a single operating unit, and stated that LSI would keep its team, roles, and Mt. Gilead operations. LSI now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Gold Eagle. In June 2023, founder and CEO Chris Gabrelcik retired, closing 26 years at the company he started; he continues to own and oversee a separate venture, Microwave Renewable Technologies, in Mt. Gilead. Brett Tennar, who became president in 2019 after serving as plant manager and vice president of operations, leads the operating company, with Kevin Adams as vice president of research and development and Kyle Fischer as director of branding and promotions.

Known customers

Most of LSI's volume moves through retail and consumer channels rather than named programs, but the company has repeatedly published a set of industrial and commercial accounts it has solved lubrication problems for. These are the company's own on-record statements, not third-party filings.

On the retail side, the company states that Hot Shot's Secret products reach more than 30,000 stores nationwide, with placement at chains including Walmart, O'Reilly Auto Parts, AutoZone, Tractor Supply, Advance Auto Parts, Meijer, Menards, Love's, TA Petro, and Summit Racing. As a contract manufacturer, LSI also produces private-label and custom formulations for other companies, work that by its nature is rarely named publicly.

Certifications and quality

LSI centers its quality story on in-house research and testing through LSI Labs and on third-party validation of its performance claims. Its parent, Gold Eagle Company, was described as ISO 9001 certified at the time of the 2022 acquisition. LSI does not publish a dated, company-specific quality-system certificate on its own site, so this profile reports the parent's certification as a claim rather than as a verified LSI credential. Buyers who require a current PPAP package or a site-level ISO or IATF certificate for a supplied part should request current documentation directly. LSI Chemical, the industrial additive arm, lists membership in the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association.

Sourcing evidence

Lubrication Specialties does not appear in US import bill-of-lading records under this entity, which is consistent with a domestic blender that sources most of its base oils, additive chemistries, and packaging within North America rather than importing finished goods by ocean freight. Because there is no customs record to read, this profile does not publish an import-activity panel or a shipment trend for LSI. Absence of a customs record is not evidence of inactivity; it reflects a domestic-sourcing and domestic-blending footprint. Buyers evaluating supply resilience for a blended or private-label program will get more from LSI's raw-material sourcing and capacity disclosures than from customs data, and may find our overview of nearshoring trade-offs useful when weighing domestic versus imported additive supply.

Frequently asked questions

What does Lubrication Specialties make?

Lubrication Specialties, LLC (LSI) formulates, blends, and packages engine oils, gear oils, fuel and oil additives, greases, coolants, hydraulic and transmission fluids, and specialty lubricants for diesel and gas engines. Its flagship consumer brand is Hot Shot's Secret, a line of more than 50 products. LSI also offers private-label and custom chemical product development for other companies.

Who owns Lubrication Specialties?

Lubrication Specialties is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gold Eagle Company, a family-owned manufacturer based in Chicago, which acquired it on July 5, 2022. LSI was founded in 1997 by Chris Gabrelcik and operated independently until the acquisition. It continues to run from Mt. Gilead, Ohio.

What is Hot Shot's Secret?

Hot Shot's Secret is Lubrication Specialties' flagship aftermarket brand. It began in 2005 with the Stiction Eliminator, an oil additive developed to fix injector failures on the Ford 6.0-liter Power Stroke diesel, and has grown to more than 50 additives, oils, coolants, and fluids sold in over 30,000 retail stores nationwide. In 2025 the brand won Circana's performance-chemical category award for dollar-share growth.

Where is Lubrication Specialties located?

Lubrication Specialties is headquartered at 3975 Morrow Meadows Drive, Mt. Gilead, Ohio 43338, in Morrow County. Research, blending, packaging, and distribution run from that Ohio facility, where the company reports employing more than 60 people.

Who are Lubrication Specialties' customers?

Most of LSI's volume reaches consumers through more than 30,000 retail stores, including Walmart, O'Reilly Auto Parts, AutoZone, and Tractor Supply. The company has also publicly named industrial and commercial accounts it has solved lubrication problems for, including International Truck and Engine, Nucor Steel, American Showa, and Midwest Industries.

How many employees does Lubrication Specialties have?

Lubrication Specialties reports employing more than 60 people at its Mt. Gilead, Ohio headquarters, placing it in a 50-to-100 employee band. Third-party databases that model headcount from public profiles show lower numbers, which typically undercount manufacturing and blending workforces.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.