In the early 30s, tools helped shape and cut the metal that built post-war America. Industrialization had a lot to do to play catch up, especially when it came to metalworking and engineering products. At the time, these tools were dependant on very primitive lubricants for carrying out efficient cutting and grinding. As a World War I veteran and expert on metalworking lubricants, Dr. William Hangsterfer had worked for an engineering company where he conducted chemical analyses on bridges. His work led him to realize that there was a clear market for quality additives, that included high melting point wax that could be used to lubricate cutting tools—a unique monopoly at the time.

Soon, the demands of the metalworking industry changed, as did Hangsterfer’s business. He moved his primary capability from selling wax to mixing that wax into various oils and fats, and eventually began experimenting with blending metalworking fluids. The technology surrounding metalworking fluids was quite basic back then, and the doctor recognized that the range of options was limited in the metal lubrication space. After some tinkering, and considerable testing, Hangsterfer had his formula, and he founded Hangsterfer’s Laboratories in 1937. Combined with his experience, the company made substantial improvements to the world of metalworking lubricants to create innovative solutions and reinvigorated the American industry as a whole.

Dr. Hangsterfer purchased a 90-acre farm in New Jersey and set up his company in the center of that farm. Starting from the local markets, the company sold its products across the tri-state, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Soon after, within about ten years, the company was selling to the US national market in the 1940s. After WW2 (in the 1950s), they had started their export business, selling their high-quality lubricants to Japan and Germany, quickly spreading out across the globe to nearly all regions. Today, the businesses’ export market makes up about 40 percent of their total production.

So, with nearly 85 years and four generations in the business, what makes Hangsterfer’s Laboratories good at what they do?

“We have always promoted high performance and high quality products without compromising the health and safety of the environment. Our vision is to try and help customers to be sustainable, for as long as they continue to be with us,” says Edward Jones, COO, and CTO of Hangsterfer’s Laboratories and Dr. Hangsterfer’s grandson.

Edward’s mother, Ann Jones, is the matriarch of the Hangsterfer’s Laboratories family and is the company’s CEO. At 87 today, she is still very active in the business day-to-day operations. Ann was born the same year her father founded Hangsterfer’s Laboratories, and she still has candles made from the paraffin wax the Hangsterfer family began selling in 1896. The family’s deep connection to the business is a legacy today; as Edward remarks, “working in the family firm is a kind of rite of passage for the Jones family. We all live on the farm, and our employees are like our family as well. This is also why we sell safe products, because even in our factory we don’t want to be using hazardous ingredients in making the lubricants.”

We have always promoted high performance and high quality products without compromising the health and safety of the environment. Our vision is to try and help customers to be sustainable, for as long as they continue to be with us

The company has grown and diversified over the years with the range of products they offer but remain the same at heart regarding their values and innovative mindset—a nature reflected in their offerings today.

Cutting Edge Solutions for Modern Industrial Manufacturing

The Hangsterfer’s Laboratories’ range of products includes coolant concentrates, cutting oils, dielectric fluids, metal forming compounds, machine lubricants, and cleaners. Specifically, with the coolants and cutting oils, the company states its niche.

The company believes that high-performance and safe coolants shouldn’t require hazardous chemicals to be added later on. As a result, the company has made it their priority to offer coolants free from any dangerous additives. Hangsterfer’s Laboratories coolants also don’t foam, which is a major issue with coolants these days. There are very few products that will not foam in some of the more modern machines.

Hangsterfer’s Laboratories are evolving with their cutting oils to the point where customers want very low viscosity oils without sacrificing flashpoints. Usually, they contain petroleum oils. And because their next-gen solutions rely on synthetic and vegetable oils, they perform better than petroleum and have all the benefits of being biodegradable and renewable. They are less susceptible to oxidation, leave lesser residue, and offer higher performance.

The market’s needs are constantly changing; however, as Edward notes, “many customers want a lower priced product. We help them understand that it is not just about a lower price, it is about the lower cost that it will yield for you. In terms of health and safety, there could be fewer illnesses in the facility, and that is the cost savings.” With a high-quality, high-performance lube, Hangsterfer’s Laboratories provide higher machine performance and allow that machine to make parts faster, with higher accuracy and quality, and less deviation and rejects. This lowers the cost substantially.

Rising to a Higher Standard of Excellence

The company’s expectations and standards have always answered to the highest level of requirements—ethics. By providing intrinsically non-toxic products, Hangsterfer’s Laboratories was able to export their product to many different countries for so many years. As a result, whenever a product cannot be sold in Japan or Germany because of some chemical restriction, Hangsterfer’s Laboratories have always excelled because they have always kept up with the quality of standards in each of those countries. This enabled them to deliver products that meet these different regulations.

The REACH regulation, for instance, had put a lot of restrictions on different chemicals here in the World since 2018. There continue to be restrictions because they cause harm to health and safety. Hangsterfer’s Laboratories do not use any of these substances of very high concern. The company meets other international regulations as well, like RoHS, without changing its formulations. For instance, Endotoxins have been banned in Scandinavia for the last 20 years, but that was not something that Hangsterfer’s Laboratories had to adapt to since they were already compliant. “We have been very good at predicting what is coming and formulating and marketing only products that meet each country’s local regulations. As a result we have been very proactive to use additives and ingredients that are the safest to use,” adds Edward. As a result, Hangsterfer’s Laboratories can provide customers sustainable products. So if a customer comes on board with Hangsterfer’s Laboratories, they can do so with confidence that they are making a change that will last for the foreseeable future. Hangsterfer’s Laboratories’ partners can rest assured that they won’t be changing to a chemical or new formula that has potentially forbidden additives or additives that will be forbidden in the future.

The Road Ahead—Four Generations and Counting

Ann Jones has led Hangsterfer’s Laboratories with her unique eye and vision for the company. Now Edward Jones is part of the third generation, along with his two sisters and one brother, who are all active in the business. Some of them started in the 1960s, building from strength to strength as they rose to more on the management level. The work has evolved with the times, as have the applications and range of their solutions. Hangsterfer’s Laboratories are currently partnered with Centroid Performance Racing, which uses Hangsterfer’s Laboratories Advanced Cutting Fluid 5080 with low foam and high stability. The combination is applied on a through-spindle and flood coolant application on an aluminum billet being machined for a high-performance motorhead. The sheer capacity of their solution leaves little to concern, says Edward, “There’s no downside to through-the-spindle coolant as far as doing its job. There surely is a premium to pay, but that’s price vs. value. For the most part, if you pay a higher price for lubricant, you’re getting a higher value, or a higher quality, and you’ll get a return on the cost.”

Located about 20 miles from Philadelphia in Mantua, New Jersey, the company now employs around 50 people and sells its products through over one hundred of distributors on nearly every continent. With it, the company is passionate about carrying on the health, safety, environmental legacy. “Our passion is really to do our best and deliver high quality, high performance solutions, while also doing our best for the environment,” concludes Edward.