Broken Arrow, OK, USA, April 14, 2022 | The International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) is pleased to announce the selection of Kenneth Bannister of ENGTECH Industries Inc. to serve as the newest member of its Board of Directors. He began his term in March and was officially recognized at ICML’s first board meeting of 2022 in early April, where several other board members accepted new leadership responsibilities, effective immediately:

  • Rendela Wenzel of Eli Lilly and Company will serve as Chairman
  • Roger Story of Covestro will serve as Vice Chair
  • Yuegang Zhao of KMP Analytics will serve as Treasurer

Alec Meinke of Armtech LLC will continue his duties as Secretary, while Jim Fitch of Noria Corporation continues in his capacity as Past Chairman.

As the head of ENGTECH Industries, and as a prolific author/editor/columnist and longtime ICML technical volunteer, Bannister has worked globally for decades to assist all major industries in their maintenance, production, and lubrication programs..

“We are absolutely thrilled to add Ken Bannister as a member of our board,” said Wenzel. “He brings a wealth of experience in various areas of lubrication, and he will be vital for us as we bring even more value to our membership in the years ahead..”

“It is exciting to have Ken join us in this official capacity,” stated ICML Executive Director Leslie Fish. “Based on his longstanding relationship with ICML and his tireless activities across industry, I am confident that the ICML board–and, by extension, all our partners and clients–will benefit from his knowledgeable perspective and unique organizational skills.”

Bannister said, “Making a difference is about giving back at any level possible. I will endeavor to make my term at the ICML board level as meaningful as possible to both its current and future membership.”

Bannister is no stranger to ICML. Since the early 2000’s he has worked diligently as an ICML volunteer and technical advisor on MLT/MLA exam question development; MLE designation and exam question development; and, more recently, on the development of ICML 55.1 and ICML 55.2 standards for management of lubricated assets. Bannister continues actively to provide clients with specialized lubrication preparation training required for ICML certification.

Bannister began his long career as a technical apprenticed and accredited mechanical design engineer in the UK, with numerous engineering design patents to his credit. Since 1988 he has applied his expertise through ENGTECH, which he co-founded as an international asset management consulting and training practice based near Toronto, Canada. He currently serves as the company’s senior principal consultant and managing partner.

As a certified ISO management consultant, he was the first management consultant on record to sponsor and successfully guide a North American corporation to navigate the ISO 55001 Asset Management certification process.

Bannister is also a founding member and past board member of the Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of Canada (PEMAC), now known as the Asset Management Association of Canada.

A well-respected technical writer, Bannister has published six maintenance books on energy management, predictive maintenance and practical lubrication, some of which are to be found in the ICML Domain of Knowledge. In 2008 he authored the revised lubrication section in the iconic “Machinery’s Handbook”—acknowledged as the oldest continuous technical book still in print (since 1914) and now in its 31st edition. His latest book, to be published in late 2022 by River Publishers, is the “Practical Lubrication for Industrial Facilities – 4th Edition,” an all-encompassing and practical guide to lubrication revised to reflect the ICML body of knowledge requirements, with a chapter dedicated to implementation of the ICML 55 standard. In addition, he has published over 600 papers, articles and podcasts in the fields of asset management and maintenance, with over half dedicated to the field of lubrication science and practice. This also includes the 2014 “State of North American Lubrication Practices” paper.

Bannister is a founding partner, editor, and writer for The RAM Review, a maintenance and lubrication e-newsletter and article library. In past magazines, Bannister also authored the highly popular international “Dr. Lube” and “Ask Ken” question-and-answer columns, and he was the architect of the North American “Maintenance Innovator of the Year” award program introduced in 2011.

In his personal life, Bannister is an avid motorcyclist and accomplished musician, and he actively restores, drives, rides and shows vintage British cars and motorcycles.

ABOUT ICML

The International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) is a vendor-neutral, member-based, technical not-for-profit organization serving global industry since 2001 as the world-class authority on machinery lubrication that advances the optimization of asset reliability, utilization and costs. ICML consists of both paid professional staff members and volunteer committees. It is a certification body serving industrial lubrication and oil analysis practitioners worldwide; a technical awards body recognizing companies that excel in oil analysis and machinery lubrication programs; and a standards body developing ICML 55 standards for lubricated asset management.

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Please direct media inquiries to Paul Hiller, ICML Marketing Manager, paulh@lubecouncil.org, 918-615-6575.