Lubricants and metalworking fluids include cutting fluids, coolants and general industrial lubricants used across manufacturing and engineering. The UK Lubricants Association (UKLA) works with the HSE on safe handling guidance for this sector, reflecting specific health and safety considerations around fluid use and maintenance.
Key points
- UKLA's Metalworking Fluid Product Stewardship Group, formed in the late 1990s, includes manufacturers, additive suppliers and HSE representatives.
- Workshops using metalworking fluids must comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002.
- UKLA and HSE have jointly published good practice guidance on safe handling and disposal of metalworking fluids.
- UKLA has also worked with HSE and suppliers to address marketing claims that didn't accurately reflect the level of risk to human health.
Products Typically Manufactured
Contract manufacturers in this sector produce cutting and grinding fluids, coolants, general industrial and hydraulic lubricants, and specialist metalworking fluid formulations for engineering and manufacturing customers.
Common Manufacturing Processes
Lubricants and metalworking fluids are typically produced by liquid chemical blending, combining base fluids with additive packages. Finished product is filled and packed into drums, IBCs or smaller containers for workshop use.
Regulatory Considerations
Workshops using metalworking fluids must comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, and UKLA's Metalworking Fluid Product Stewardship Group works with the HSE on good practice guidance for safe handling, maintenance and disposal. UKLA has also collaborated with HSE and suppliers on ensuring marketing claims about metalworking fluids accurately reflect health risk. Confirm with a prospective manufacturer how they support end-user compliance with COSHH and current handling guidance.
Why Businesses Use Contract Manufacturing Here
Formulating lubricants and metalworking fluids to specific performance and safety standards requires blending expertise and up-to-date regulatory knowledge, making an experienced contract manufacturer a practical route for brands and distributors supplying this sector - see contract chemical manufacturing in the UK.
Base Plus Additive Package
Lubricants and metalworking fluids are built from a base oil and an additive package, and the two are chosen together. The base sets the ceiling on performance and the additives deliver specific functions - anti-wear, corrosion inhibition, detergency, extreme pressure performance, foam control.
Metalworking fluids add a further dimension. Water-miscible fluids are supplied as concentrates and diluted at the point of use to form emulsions, so both the concentrate and its behaviour on dilution matter - a product that is stable in the drum but unstable in the customer's sump has failed in practice.
Manufacturing and Regulatory Points
Water-containing fluids require preservation against microbial growth, which is a recurring practical issue in metalworking - see preservatives and biocides. Biocidal actives used for this purpose fall under the biocidal products regime, and the permitted list has narrowed over time, making reformulation a periodic reality in this sector.
Manufacturing usually involves blending at elevated temperature, since base oils and additive packages need warmth to blend properly, so heated storage and transfer capability matters - see temperature-controlled manufacturing. Products are commonly supplied in drums, IBCs and bulk.
Questions to Ask a Manufacturer
- How do you support customer compliance with COSHH for metalworking fluids?
- What experience do you have with UKLA good practice guidance on handling and disposal?
- What base fluid and additive supply relationships do you have in place?
- What container and bulk delivery formats can you support?
Related Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all metalworking fluid claims need to be independently verified?
Marketing claims about health risk have come under specific scrutiny from UKLA and HSE, so it's reasonable to ask a manufacturer how they substantiate any such claims rather than accepting them at face value.
Is COSHH compliance the manufacturer's responsibility or the workshop's?
COSHH compliance in the workplace is generally the responsibility of the employer using the fluid, though a good manufacturer will supply the safety data and handling guidance needed to support that compliance.
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Search the DirectoryLast reviewed: August 2026. Regulation and guidance change — verify anything you rely on against the primary source. Tell us if something here is out of date.