MATO: The History of Lube-Shuttle®
Nearly a decade ago the German-based company MATO, which specializes in lubrication equipment and belt lacing equipment/supplies, developed the Lube-Shuttle® cartridge as a replacement for the standard open-ended grease cartridge. Instantly the potential of the new cartridge became evident as it provided a much cleaner and more efficient way of greasing. Not only was the cartridge exceptionally easy to change, but since the cartridge was sealed with a plunger of its own and operated by vacuum it eliminated the need for a heavy spring and plunger found on a standard grease gun. As it turned out the spring and plunger is the source of many of the complications found in a standard grease gun.
The Design
The lube-shuttle® cartridge was designed for efficient use while being used in rough conditions. One of the key advantages of the LS cartridge system is the 1-inch threaded neck. Not only does the threaded neck allow for quick cartridge changes but it also pulls the cartridge tight, creating an airtight seal that prevents air gaps. But equally important is the fact that the 1” neck is durable. If the threaded neck is a smaller diameter it becomes less durable and can break off resulting in a useless tube of grease and the broken threaded neck blocking the threads in the grease gun. However, with the lube-shuttle’s ® 1” neck there is little concern that it will break even under rough use.
Follower Plate Design
The Lube-Shuttle® System removed the need for a spring and plunger assemble as the rear of a grease gun, but this required a specialized yet cost-effective follower plate/plunger design. As seen in the image to the left the follower plate is designed to not only fit securely within the tube to prevent leakage but also is form fit to the top of the tube allowing the plunger to fully empty the cartridge of grease!
The Cartridge
Perhaps the largest advantage of the lube-shuttle cartridge is MATO’s commitment to quality. All the components of the cartridge are made of high-quality components allowing them to be saved and reused over and over again. That’s right, the cartridges once emptied can be refilled and used again and again! Not only does this keep waste out of the landfills but it also reduces the strain on existing resources. Billions of tubes of grease are used every year and these old-style paper cartridges cannot be reused or recycled so they end up in a landfill and new paper cartridges are required. Just imagine how many resources could be saved if only 50% all the tubes in the world were lube-shuttle® and reused just once! However, after a few uses or intense wear the Lube-Shuttle® cartridges do have to be discarded, but not to worry, they are recyclable because they are made of low impurity plastic and because they clean nearly 100% out of grease! So not only is the lube-shuttle system more efficient it is also a much greener solution to the currently troublesome and non-renewable paper cartridges!
Lube-Shuttle® vs. Standard Cartridge
Lube-Shuttle® Advantages
It is time to grease your equipment. This means getting dirty. The grease gun is covered in grease, its leaking grease out from around the plunger/rod assembly, and it is probably sitting in a puddle of grease, but that’s not half of the problem. There is no guarantee it is going to work. If it hasn’t been used for a while it probably has allowed air to seep into the piston and an “air gap” has it stopped from pumping any grease. Or perhaps when you picked it up you noticed it was rather light and now you have to change the tube and that is a messy, cumbersome job that no one enjoys.
What can be Saved?
The Lube-Shuttle® System wastes zero grease.
The grease does not leak out the bottom of the grease gun which not only costs money but also creates a mess that requires time and money to clean up!
The LS cartridge completely cleans out as it uses 99% of the grease in the tube.
The LS system when used correctly eliminates air gaps which means there is a lot less time spent getting the grease gun to work!
The threaded cartridge requires no spring or plunger which means quick and easy cartridge changes
Because it is cleaner and easy to use many companies find that their employees grease more regularly. By taking the headache out of greasing Lube-Shuttle® has removed any excuse not to grease!
The tube can be changed anywhere, there is no reason to stop greasing to change a tube. Just put an extra tube or two in your pocket and start greasing, changing a tube is so easy and clean it can be done anywhere!
Champagne Solutions is the Northeast distributor of Lube-Shuttle® products.
Shop Lube-Shuttle® Northeast if your shipping address is in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island.
All other customers, please use “shop Lube-Shuttle® USA” to complete orders.