The History of Industrial Lubricant Company

The Early Years...

Since the early1940's Industrial Lubricant Company has been providing lubricants, pumps, equipment and services to mines, contractors and heavy equipment users.  Our early years actually involved selling and servicing International Harvester trucks, tractors and refrigerators. Jerry Hoolihan started the company in 1943, and his wife, Alice, was the first employee.  Jerry sold and serviced and Alice did the office work.

As the country geared up for World War II and the Iron Range of Minnesota provided the ore to make the steel the country needed, Industrial Lubricant Company started to grow.  The company developed an expertise in providing world class shovel and drill lubrication service with Whitmore Lubricants and Lincoln Lubrication Equipment.

Industrial Lubricant Company was a pioneer in developing automatic lubrication methods for heavy mining equipment. The cold weather environment of northern Minnesota challenged the company to successfully develop innovative cold weather methods of servicing various kinds of pit equipment.

The company soon "spread its wings" as Jerry's brother, Dan Hoolihan, joined the business and flew his 1947 Stinson airplane throughout Western Canada and into Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. Routine trips included landings on mine haul roads, a taxing to the mine office, a service call and flight out after the trucks were stopped - but just long enough to let the Stinson take off.  In the summer, Canadian mines near lakes were called on when the Stinson switched to floats.

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Specialized lubrication equipment was designed and manufactured like the ILCO Electric Sprayer and the ILCO Electric Knife. These products were used to apply lubricants that needed to be heated to be applied.

The Expansion Years...

Today, Industrial Lubricant Company has warehouses and offices in Casper, Wyoming - Washburn, North Dakota - Tyler, Texas and Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Can-Jer Industrial Lubricant Company is located in Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Territory expansion and the addition of facilities outside of Minnesota were the focus of the company's growth during the eighties and the nineties. It was during this period that careful expansion was accomplished in Wyoming, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Texas. The service centers were added to better provide service to the coal mines located near each new ILCO location.

It was during this period that ILCO again brought innovations to the mining industry. The company's service focus was on the delivery of lubricants directly to the mining equipment. Expenses related to warehousing and delivery were drastically reduced. Additionally, ILCO developed consumption histories and data for different kinds of mining equipment and pioneered flat per hour consumption and cost arrangements.

More than Lubricant - Steel Castings...

ILCO is a proud distributor of Columbia Steel Castings. Since the  mid 1980's ILCO has represented Columbia Steel Castings in Wyoming for mining products. Since then our representation of Columbia has expanded into North Dakota and Saskatchewan, along with shovel teeth and adapters, to the iron ranges of Minnesota and Michigan.

Columbia has manufactured quality mining products since 1901.

More than Mining - Railroads...

ILCO's business was built on providing service and products to the demanding mining industry. Today, the company provides the same high level of service and added value to the railroad industry and is proud to include the nation's largest railroads among its customers.  ILCO provides products and services to railroads in over twenty states and one Canadian province.

Chevron - Oils and Lubricants...

In 2000 Industrial Lubricant became a Chevron marketer for northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. The addition of Chevron to the Minnesota business expanded ILCO's ability to deliver a broader product and value base to all kinds of industries - including manufacturing, forestry, logging, and milling.