I received this email today, and thought it would be useful info for visitors to read.

JW - Admin

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Good morning,
I hope the following joint press release and attached picture from Mike May's Auto Shed and Morris Lubricants will be of interest to you. Please contact Mike for more information on 231-386-7213.
Best regards and Happy Christmas,
Duncan Foulkes
Duncan Foulkes Public Relations,
The Office,
Hafod Fron,
Tregynon,
Newtown,
Powys,
Wales
SY16 3EH
Tel: 01686 650818
Mobile: 07779 785451
E-mail: duncan.foulkes@btinternet.com

MORRIS LUBRICANTS

BRITISH STEAM CAR OILS LAUNCHED INTO THE UNITED STATES

Immediate: December 19, 2011

Steam car owners in the United States are now able to buy a dedicated range of steam engine oils developed by Britain’s leading family-owned, independent oil blenders and marketers

Michael May, a leading steam car enthusiast based in Northport, Michigan, has become US distributor for Shropshire-based Morris Lubricants. He says it is becoming increasingly difficult to find specialist lubricants that meet all the specific requirements of steam cars.

Through his contacts with fellow steam car enthusiasts David and Diana Goddard and their son Andrew, managing director of Morris Lubricants, Mr May visited the company’s blending plant in Shrewsbury, UK in 2011 and was impressed by what he saw.

All products are supported by a technical support desk at Morris Lubricants, which answers customer queries about the correct oils to use in a wide range of steam engines.

“Even though supplying the steam car hobby is a small part of their overall business, Morris applies the same attention to detail for the steam car lubricants as found in any of their end products,” said Mr May, who bought his first Stanley steam car in 1970 and now owns seven.

“Being steam car enthusiasts themselves and their long company history of supplying steam lubricants gives the Goddard family and Morris Lubricants an excellent understanding of requirements for steam car hobbyists.

“I decided to become a distributor for Morris Lubricants to provide a product that is better suited to the requirements for steam car engines than what we are now able to procure locally.

“In the US, we have begun to see changes to the typical lubricant brands that we have always used. First seen is the lack of cylinder oil colour that allows it to be easily visible in the indicator (known as the "winker"),showing oil is being pumped properly into the steam as it travels to the engine pistons and valves.

“Also becoming common is the noticeable lack of lubricant remaining on the pistons and valves when engines are disassembled, accompanied by the presence of rust in the cylinders. This is an issue with owners of steam cars, as many of them sit unused for periods, such as over the winter months.

“There is always some water present that must be held at bay by the lubricants and allow the free movement of the engine parts on start-up. Morris blends their steam lubricants to address these concerns and provides products that perform properly in steam car applications.”

Mr May spent 30 years with Ford Motor Company in manufacturing engineering, automation and robotics of instrumentation and instrument panel assembly. He has built a wealth of hands-on experience and technical knowledge about Stanley steam cars over the past 41 years.

He will be distributing Morris Lubricants’ steam oils across the whole of the US by advertising in magazines and publications connected with the steam car hobby. He is also developing a website ready for launch in 2012.

“I initially began to sell the Morris products as a service to the steam car hobbyists and have attended the Antique Automobile Club of America Fall meet (October) in Hershey, Pennsylvania, for many years.

“I have a space there that is primarily to sell steam cars and parts and almost all the steam hobbyists in attendance come by the booth. This past year, I put up a banner for Morris Steam Cylinder Oil and passed out flyers with descriptions of the products.

“I had visible samples of the Golden Film Steam Car Compound 1000 and Sovereign cylinder oils for viewing. Morris products were well received there with excellent sales results. Several expressed thanks to me for beginning to handle the Morris products. They also talked about their issues with currently available products as I stated above.

“I attend a meet in Oklahoma each year in March that reaches many steam car owners from the Western U.S. This will help me to spread the word about the Morris products to the western states.”

Mr Andrew Goddard says Morris Lubricants is delighted to supply its dedicated steam lubricants to the US and sees great potential for the company’s other specialists products across the Atlantic.

“In the United States, the ability of the major oil companies to supply dedicated steam lubricants into the market is limited and dying out fast,” he explained. “This has created an opportunity to introduce our package of specialist products to a new market.

“Americans love their steam history and we at Morris Lubricants share their passion, having developed a deep knowledge base over the years.”

Mr May may be contacted at: Mike May's Auto Shed, 8369 N. Gills Pier Road, Northport, MI 49670. E-mail: mkmay@alldial.net, Phone: 231-386-7213

Picture caption:

Michael May, US distributor of Morris Lubricants’ specialist steam engine oils, with one of his Stanley steam cars.

Ends

For more information contact Andrew Goddard, Morris Lubricants’ managing director, on 01743 232200 or Duncan Foulkes, public relations adviser, on 01686 650818.