WICHITA, Kan., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --  Universal Lubricants announced today that Oregon-based SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel has switched the motor oil used by its fleet to the company's ECO ULTRA® line. SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel, an environmentally minded company, collects used cooking oil from restaurants throughout the Pacific Northwest, recycles it into biodiesel, and supplies hundreds of trucking fleets with the clean burning fuel. SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel's move to ECO ULTRA – a performance driven suite of motor oil that relies on used oil, instead of crude, as a feedstock to produce a re-refined base – demonstrates the transport industry's ability to promote impactful sustainability initiatives.

"Sustainability is a grounding premise for our business, so the decision to use ECO ULTRA in our equipment made sense to us," said Brad Marluke, Sequential Pacific Biodiesel's marketing director. "Our trucks average 38 quarts of oil a piece. We are greatly reducing our dependence on foreign oil between using ECO ULTRA motor oil and running our fleet on locally produced biodiesel."

The U.S. produces approximately 1.1 billion gallons of used motor oil every year, of which approximately 800 million gallons is collected for re-use.  However, less than 20 percent of that 800 million gallons collected is re-refined.  Most of the collected oil is burned as an industrial fuel, reducing supplies of limited petroleum reserves and perpetuating the need to import foreign oil.  What's more, an estimated 200 million gallons of used motor oil is disposed of improperly, damaging the environment.  Universal Lubricants is dedicated to reversing this trend with its Closed Loop Process™ by completely controlling every aspect of the proprietary system. The Company collects, re-refines, blends, packages and redistributes its own oil, the ECO ULTRA line—without ever losing guardianship within the chain—in an infinitely repeatable, sustainable cycle.

"Fleet operators across America, from the Pacific Northwest to the country's heartland to the East Coast, are finding that Universal Lubricants' ECO ULTRA line and its Closed Loop Process redefine what it means to be environmentally minded," said John Wesley, Universal Lubricants' chief executive officer. "Couple consideration of ECO ULTRA's competitive pricing with its long lasting, top-quality performance, and being environmentally minded also means being business savvy. The more fleet operators choose environmentally sustainable practices, the more petroleum we can turn into a truly renewable resource."

Added Wesley: "The fleet industry reduces the need for up to 24 barrels of crude oil from being imported or extracted with every 12 gallon motor oil change that uses a re-refined option. Imagine the consequence the industry could have if each fleet followed SeQuential Pacific Biodiesels' example."

For more information about Universal Lubricant's ECO ULTRA® products, visit www.ecoultraoil.com.

About Universal Lubricants

Universal Lubricants, since its founding in 1929, has balanced tradition with innovation to emerge over the past four decades as a driving force in used oil collection, base oil refining and distribution. The Company collects, re-refines, blends and re-distributes its own motor oil—never losing guardianship within the chain—to ensure that every quart, every gallon is of the highest quality for optimal performance. Universal Lubricants, with its Closed Loop Process™, boasts a national presence to supply ECO ULTRA® throughout the country by operating 36 facilities in 16 states. This includes one of the world's most technologically advanced re-refineries in Wichita, Kansas. The Company employs 465 workers and is a Pegasus Capital Advisors portfolio company.

Universal Lubricants, a leader in R&D and in the marketplace, will continue to drive progress and drive performance in the motor oil industry. For more information visit www.universallubes.com.

Media Contact:
Kelly Gerson
MWW Group
202.600.4524
kgerson@mww.com

SOURCE Universal Lubricants