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Czechia - Green tech for smooth machinery

Pacific Bio Lubricants Ltd is an Auckland-based subsidiary of the Czech company BIONA. It develops, manufactures and offers environmentally friendly lubricants labelled LUBECO.

Country or region
New Zealand
Trade topics
Exporters' stories
EU exporter
Czechia

Key info

  • Founded: 1994
  • Employees: 40+
  • Headquarters: Jersin, Czech Republic
  • Annual turnover: €20m

LUBECO lubricants are biodegradable oils and greases for different industrial and domestic uses. New Zealand has one of the highest per capita ownerships of chainsaws in the world, which is why LUBECO’s biodegradable chainsaw oils and lubricants are among Pacific Bio Lubricants’ best-sellers on the market.

It all started when chairman Mr Ladislav Zelenka of the BIONA group visited New Zealand and was amazed by its beautiful nature and the country’s sound economy. But he was puzzled that there were no requirements to use bio-based lubricants, even in high risk areas.

After his holiday, Ladislav began planning how to expand BIONA’s EU Ecolabel-products to New Zealand. In 2014, Pacific Bio Lubricants Ltd started selling its products in New Zealand.

How an EU-New Zealand Trade Agreement could help:

Standards

The negotiations for a trade agreement between EU and New Zealand aim for each side to recognise the other’s standards.

That means that the EU Ecolabel that Pacific Bio Lubricants use could be recognised in New Zealand without additional testing locally.

Environmentally friendly technology

Recognising standards and with the trade deal’s aim of making sure that small, environmentally friendly companies can take advantage of all the deal’s benefits would make it easier for Pacific Bio Lubricants to compete on the New Zealand market with their green and sustainable products.

We proudly use the EU Ecolabel certification as a global benchmark for our products’ low environmental impact. A free trade agreement aligning partners’ standards – such as the EU Ecolabel – would be a big boost for our green products in New Zealand.

Michal Kadlec
Director Business Development, Pacific Bio Lubricants Ltd