Toronto, Ontario – September 30, 2011
Wakefield opens Canada’s first DEF solutionizing facility for H2Blu.
Wakefield Canada today opened its H2Blu diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) solutionizing facility in Toronto. Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony took place well ahead of the original business timetable. The plan called for building a facility eventually when H2Blu volume warranted the step; the strength of sales in the first six months have already justified the investment.
Wakefield Canada has been marketing its own brand of DEF, H2Blu, for less than half a year and its market success has already accelerated the company’s plans for Canadian production. Bob MacDonald, President of Wakefield Canada, today cut the ribbon officially opening the high tech facility that will take prilled urea, the raw ingredient in DEF, and process it into ready-to-use H2Blu DEF. The solutionizing facility is housed within Wakefield’s existing lubricant blending plant in Toronto’s Long Branch area. The facility is understood to be the first of its kind in this country. Wakefield sources prill through CDI (Cervantes-Delgado Inc), a strategic partner of PotashCorp.
By manufacturing and packaging H2Blu in its own facility, Wakefield is able to absolutely control the product’s purity. Purity is critical to the operation of today’s SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) clean diesel vehicles; impurities can cause engines to operate improperly, slow down (derate) or even stop.
In addition to the manufacturing equipment, Wakefield has also increased its distribution fleet adding the specialized trucks required for distribution of sensitive DEF. MacDonald noted that the investment in the new facility and trucks is significant for the company but helps strengthen Wakefield’s commitment to manufacturing and distributing vital products to the automotive and heavy-duty sectors. The company’s strong relationships within the HD and automotive industry, built on the strength of its Castrol lubricants representation, will create synergies that MacDonald anticipates will propel the company into a leadership position in the DEF segment.
Macdonald was pleased to announce that production of H2Blu also brings jobs and economic benefit to the community and the country, fulfilling another of Wakefield Canada’s business objectives.
Background on Diesel Exhaust Fluid
Effective January 2010, the Canadian and U.S. EPA legislated new diesel emission standards for all on-road trucks and buses in North America. These standards have greatly limited the allowable NOx (Oxides of Nitrogen or Nitrogen Oxides) levels, to be emitted from diesel vehicles – trucks of all classes, passenger cars, and buses. These requirements demand that all new road vehicles with diesel engines, from 2010 on, have engines with technology that will ensure the emission standards are met.
Most diesel engine manufacturers have focused on Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology to reduce the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from diesel exhaust. SCR uses Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) and a catalytic converter to achieve the allowable standards.
DEF is defined as AUS 32 (Aqueous Urea Solution 32%) made from 32.5% high purity urea and 67.5% de-ionized water. DEF is easily compromised in terms of quality therefore extreme care must be taken in handling and storing to ensure it does not get contaminated. Impurities will cause the fluid not to work properly; even one teaspoon of salt can contaminate a 20,000 L tanker full of DEF – or can cause damage to the SCR catalyst, causing engine problems to the point of reduced engine performance or possibly nullifying engine warranties.
About Wakefield Canada Inc.
Wakefield Canada Inc., a wholly Canadian owned company, markets, distributes and manufactures category-leading products for the automotive and heavy-duty vehicle marketplace. In July, the company celebrated its sixth anniversary as exclusive Canadian marketer of Castrol lubricants. With coast-to-coast distribution and warehousing Wakefield is uniquely able to supply this essential product in an effective and timely manner.
Over its comparatively brief history, the company has received many honours and designations: ISO 9001 for overall Wakefield operations, and ISO 14001 for manufacturing operations; 2009 and 2010 Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies (Best Managed) Award; and three times (2009, 2010 and 2011) named among the Top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada. Wakefield has received official validation of carbon neutrality for 2008 and 2009 and is committed to maintaining this approach in all business operations in future.