Normanton-based drive technology specialist SEW-EURODRIVE UK has secured a landmark contract with London Gatwick Airport, which becomes the first UK airport to fully transition to SEW’s innovative sustainable lubricant, GearFluid. The move forms part of Gatwick’s broader ambition to achieve net zero for its own emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030.

GearFluid is a biomass-derived, high-performance lubricant developed to reduce carbon emissions, increase operational efficiency, and extend the service life of drive systems. Its adoption is set to significantly support London Gatwick’s drive towards sustainability across its baggage handling operation, which processes nearly 12 million bags annually.

The lubricant will now be the standard across all of SEW-EURODRIVE’s MOVIGEAR® range, with wider customer adoption to follow as existing gear units are replaced or serviced. London Gatwick is the first to implement a full roll-out.

SEW-EURODRIVE UK has partnered with London Gatwick for over 15 years and has supplied more than 3,000 drive and motor units across the 674-hectare site. The airport’s baggage handling system spans around 13,000 metres, with approximately one litre of GearFluid required for each MOVIGEAR® unit in operation.

Stevie Summers, Senior Engineering Manager at London Gatwick, said:

“We’ve used MOVIGEAR® drives at London Gatwick for nearly 15 years now and have had positive experiences with SEW products.

We are working to make sustainability part of everything we do at London Gatwick and the benefits of GearFluid are clear. We’re proud to be one of the first to roll-out GearFluid, and we’re looking forward to seeing the benefits over the next few years as we implement our Decade of Change, where we are working to be net-zero for our own emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030.”

Piers Todd, Area Sales Manager at SEW-EURODRIVE UK, commented:

“We are proud to play a part in London Gatwick’s goals and help to make a real difference to both their operations and sustainability goals. GearFluid is such an exciting product for us and hopefully we can support more businesses to reach their carbon reduction targets and improve their operations.

GearFluid has been developed to reduce friction and wear, extending the service life of the gears. Compared to conventional biodegradable oils, GearFluid extends the interval between lubricant changes by up to 300 per cent, massively reducing cost, down time and environmental impact.”

SEW-EURODRIVE is a global leader in drive technology, offering an integrated portfolio of products, software and customer support to deliver tailored solutions across sectors including logistics, manufacturing, and airport systems.