Nashville-Ashland Inc. and Cummins Filtration are the latest team to enter the Diesel Exhaust Fluid competition, announcing that their Air Shield brand is be packaged, marketed, and distributed throughout North America. Beginning this month, Ashland will operate through Ashland Consumer Markets, with its Valvoline brand offering Fleetguard Valvoline Air Shield DEF through the Cummins and Valvoline distribution channels in the U.S. and Canada. Ashland spokesman Jim Vitak said the alliance is not comfortable with disclosing major aspects of the arrangement, but he noted that “a robust distribution system already is set up for motor oil, anti-freeze, and the like to handle the new product, and Cummins likewise has its own distribution system.” He added, “We don’t want to get into too many details, but we already have a relationship with a source to provide a secure supply of urea, and we will be producing DEF at the Valvoline packaging facility in Covington, Ky.” Air Shield DEF will be available in 1-gallon and 2.5-gallon bottles, drums, and totes. The 2.5 gallon packaging – a vented bottle – is expected to be fast and easy to use, achieving complete dispensation in less than 30 seconds. The new alliance is an extension of the Valvoline and Cummins relationship initiated in 1995 to deliver products and services. Fertilizer and fertilizer-related products are nothing new to Ashland. A commercial unit, Ashland Hercules Water Technologies, produces fertilizer for golf course turf management, horticulture, lawn and garden, and specialty agriculture applications (GM March 1, p. 10).
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain