Lower-impact Lubrication Without Lower Standards

Posted on August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 by Motion

Eco-friendly lubricants only make sense if they still protect equipment properly. Through Motion, customers in Australia and New Zealand can access biodegradable lubricant options and oil-life solutions that help reduce environmental risk without compromising performance.

Conventional lubricants can create a difficult trade-off in environmentally sensitive operations. A spill near soil, waterways, farmland, or marine assets presents maintenance issues, compliance issues, clean-up costs, and – potentially – a reputational problem. That is why more operators are looking for products that reduce environmental impact while still standing up to hard service in agriculture, forestry, marine, and industrial work.

Biodegradable options for sensitive environments

In New Zealand, the FUCHS PLANTO range features rapidly biodegradable lubricants based on synthetic esters or vegetable oils, developed to achieve or exceed the technical performance expected of conventional mineral-oil-based lubricants. In practice, that gives customers a route to more environmentally considerate lubrication without defaulting to lower-grade protection.

Reducing oil use as well as oil impact

There is also another side to the sustainability equation: using less oil in the first place. SKF RecondOil takes that approach by regenerating circulating oil and removing contaminants that conventional filtration can miss. SKF says the technology can significantly extend oil life, reduce the need for oil changes, and improve machine performance, while also lowering the environmental burden associated with fresh oil supply, storage, and disposal.

A practical conversation, not a one-size-fits-all one

While no one eco-friendly product suits every application, Motion can help customers work through the options – whether that means biodegradable lubricants, longer-life oil strategies, or both – and identify the best fit for the equipment.

Clean Up Rust The Smart Way

Posted on August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 by Motion

CRC Evapo-Rust gives industrial operators a fast, non-toxic and highly effective way to remove rust, reducing downtime and eliminating the hazards of traditional cleaning methods.

In the past, removing rust meant sparks, fumes and hours of grinding. It was dirty, dangerous work that risked doing more harm than good. Today, thanks to CRC Evapo-Rust, the process has become effortless. With its non-toxic, reusable formula, this innovative solution is helping workshops and industrial operators clean smarter – not harder.

Enter CRC Evapo-Rust, a smarter and safer maintenance solution designed to restore metal parts quickly and effectively, without the usual risks. Developed by CRC Industries, this non-toxic, non-caustic, and non-corrosive rust remover has been engineered to simplify maintenance, boost productivity, and support sustainability in industrial operations.

Across Motion’s customer base – from mining workshops refurbishing components, to transport depots restoring spares, to food and beverage plants cleaning corroded fixtures – Evapo-Rust provides a safe and repeatable way to reclaim parts that would previously be scrapped or labour-intensive to clean.

“Evapo-Rust is one of those rare products that genuinely changes how maintenance teams work,” says Adam Schlatter,

Product Manager – Adhesives, Sealants & Chemicals at Motion. “You’re removing rust without blasting, fumes or the risk of taking too much material off the part. It’s cleaner, safer, and dramatically reduces the labour usually tied up in restoring components.”

From labour-intensive to low effort

Operators accustomed to lengthy rust removal routines find that Evapo-Rust fundamentally changes the process. There is no need for vigorous wire brushing, sanding, or grinding – tasks that prolong downtime and risk damaging the underlying metal.

“Anyone who’s spent time in a workshop knows how dirty, noisy, and frankly hazardous traditional rust removal can be,” says Adam. “Evapo-Rust removes all of that. You simply immerse the part, wait, and rinse – the rust lifts away on its own without effort.”

This shift to a faster, safer workflow allows teams to restore components efficiently while preserving their integrity.

Safe for equipment and the environment

Evapo-Rust is suitable for a wide range of applications, including parts with delicate sealing elements made of rubber or plastic, something many harsh cleaners cannot handle. It is reusable, ready to use straight from the container, and produces no foul odours, fumes, or hazardous waste. For those seeking to minimise chemical exposure and extend equipment life, these are major advantages.

Speed, reliability and cost savings

In industrial maintenance, downtime is one of the biggest hidden costs. When a component fails and a replacement is not immediately available, teams often turn to stored parts, which may have developed surface rust. Evapo-Rust removes both heavy corrosion and minor surface rust quickly, enabling faster turnaround and less disruption. Because it can be reused multiple times, it also helps reduce waste and chemical handling costs.

Supporting sustainable maintenance

Beyond the practical advantages, Evapo-Rust contributes to more sustainable maintenance practices. By avoiding aggressive, single-use chemical treatments and preserving components rather than replacing them prematurely, it protects machinery, budgets, and the environment.

Easy application

Application is straightforward: pre-clean heavily soiled parts, immerse them in a tray or drum of Evapo-Rust (or drape-soaked towels over large or irregular shapes), allow the rust to lift, then rinse and dry. Finish with a protective anti-rust coating to maintain optimal condition.

For maintenance teams still grinding or chemically stripping rust from parts, Evapo-Rust offers a modern, high-performing, and low-risk alternative. It is a practical choice for improving productivity while supporting safer and more sustainable industrial operations.

“For any site looking to cut downtime and improve safety outcomes, Evapo-Rust is a simple win,” Adam adds. “By pairing CRC’s proven chemistry with Motion’s national technical support, customers get a safer, more sustainable, and far more efficient approach to rust removal.”

Smarter Belting for Reliable Food Production

Posted on August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 by Motion

In food and beverage processing, a conveyor belt is not just a moving surface. It is part of the hygiene system, the uptime equation, and increasingly a way of meeting compliance requirements. Motion New Zealand’s light conveyor belting capability is designed to help processors respond to all three.

In food processing, a damaged or poorly specified belt can create problems quickly. Production stops. Hygiene risks rise. Maintenance teams scramble to replace a belt that should have lasted longer, or to solve a recurring issue that was never properly engineered out in the first place.

That is why Motion’s light conveyor belting offer in New Zealand covers specification, fabrication, onsite installation, and where needed, re-engineering the solution to better suit the application.

Tony Greene, National Heavy weight Conveyor & Export Sales Engineer at Motion, says the work often starts with a customer problem rather than a simple product request. “We can go into a food processing factory and replace a damaged conveyor or install a new one,” he says. “Or if they’re having issues around the life expectancy on a belt, we can re-engineer the solution for them, because downtime in food production is obviously quite costly.”

A different kind of conveyor challenge

Within Motion’s conveyor division, light conveyor belting sits apart from the heavy rubber belting used in mining and quarrying. In New Zealand, it is closely tied to food and beverage, packaging, logistics, and automation, with strong demand across industries such as meat processing, produce handling and wider food manufacturing.

The technical demands are different too. In these environments, performance is not only about moving product. It is also about cleanability, hygiene, product safety, and the ability to meet increasingly strict standards.

Hygiene is driving belt selection

Greene says one of the biggest shifts in the New Zealand market has been the growing focus on bacteria control and swab-test performance. “MPI [Ministry for Primary Industries] and others will come in and do swab testing on the componentry in the plant,” he says. “That has made us take a shift from traditional fabric belts to homogeneous belting.”

That matters because homogeneous belts are better suited to high-hygiene applications where pathogen control and low bacterial counts are critical.

Greene also points to newer developments such as metal-detectable belting, which adds another layer of product protection. If a fragment of belt were ever to break away, the material can be picked up through detection systems before it becomes a consumer issue. In high-care food production, that kind of safeguard is increasingly valuable.

A nationwide, one-stop offer

Motion’s capability is broader than belting alone. While there are competitors who may specialise in one part of the conveyor equation, Greene says Motion’s advantage is the ability to bring multiple disciplines together.

“If you wanted to build a new conveyor, you might normally be going to one company for belting, another for bearings, and another for your gearbox and motor drive,” he says. “Motion can do the whole lot, like a turnkey solution.”

That is an important point for processors trying to reduce complexity. Rather than managing multiple suppliers and interfaces, they can work with one partner across belting, bearings, power transmission, and installation support.

Motion also supports customers nationwide. Even where work is fabricated offsite, belts and assemblies can be produced in workshop locations and sent directly to site, giving customers a practical mix of local capability and national reach.

For New Zealand’s food and beverage sector, that combination matters. High standards are already a given. The next step is meeting our customers with equipment solutions that are cleaner, smarter, and easier to keep running.

Science beats elbow grease in proven parts washing system

Posted on July 31, 2026July 31, 2026 by Motion

CRC’s SmartWasher® replaces solvent-based parts cleaning with a safe, closed-loop bioremediation process – cutting hazardous waste, simplifying maintenance, and improving WHS outcomes.

Traditional parts washing often involves the constant purchase of solvent cleaners and the tedious removal of hazardous waste, wasting time and money for maintenance teams. Whether removing oil, carbon, gunk, or grease from parts, the process has long called for an easier, safer, and more environmentally friendly solution.

Thanks to Motion’s partnership with CRC Industries, a leading supplier of chemical maintenance products, that solution is readily available, easy to use, and conveniently mobile for busy workshops and plants.

The CRC SmartWasher® is a bioremediating parts washing system that removes the need for manual solvent cleaners or aqueous-based parts washers. Bioremediation uses beneficial microbes to break down or neutralise contaminants – a proven approach used on much larger scales for oil-spill clean-ups.

How does the SmartWasher® work?

Parts are cleaned with OzzyJuice®, CRC’s powerful water-based degreasing solution that is non-hazardous and non-flammable. The used fluid drains into the SmartWasher® reservoir and passes through the OzzyMat®, which releases specific microbes that digest oils and greases. As microbes consume the contaminants, OzzyJuice® is restored to a usable state – ready for reuse on the next batch of parts.

Routine upkeep is simple: replace the OzzyMat® monthly, top up OzzyJuice® when the low-fluid light appears, and remove any non-organic debris (e.g., dirt, other particle matter) the microbes can’t digest.

The closed-loop process means no hazardous solvent disposal, fewer fluid purchases, and lower admin and transport costs. With non-flammable, low-odour chemistry, teams also reduce fumes and fire risk – supporting WHS and environmental compliance. Because OzzyJuice® is continually restored, cleaning performance stays consistent while running costs remain predictable.

Motion recognises SmartWasher® as a convenient, cost-effective, and safer alternative to solvent cleaning. For system care – or to restock OzzyJuice® and OzzyMats® – contact Motion.