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#641340 Mon Dec 21 2015 08:14 AM
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I Can anyone tell me what Marfak stands for? I have a Texaco Marfak Lubrication sign and was wondering what it meant in the day?

Thanks,
Rob

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RANDY
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Yes just a name for the Texaco line of greases. While all greases were under the Marfak label they were differentiated by terms for applications such as Heavy Duty 2, Marfak 0, Marfak 1, Marfak 2, Marfak 3. Based on what cans I could find with google search it looks like most were just general purpose greases in different consistencies(thickness of the grease). All lubricant manufacturers have something similar. At Castrol we have similar naming including the branding Spheerol.

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Interesting read Randy. I'm going to go with what the Texas Co. chemical engineers of the 20's came up with ? Is it an abbreviation for a process in the oil refineries ? I still have all the Texaco star books that were put out in hard cover for the executives. 1913-30s Maybe I can find out what it stands for when it came out in the 20s I believe.

blacktee #641415 Mon Dec 21 2015 09:25 PM
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Doug,
did marfak come along with havoline when texaco bought indian?.. ... cool


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Thanks to all for this info!

Rob

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Randy Texaco was selling Havoline way back in the twenties, maybe teens. They actually bought Havoline and took control of it in 1931.

I don't really understand your question though, Marfak from what I know was always a Texaco product, no one elses.

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Rob here's interesting story on Texaco www.texacohistory.com/History/ touches on Marfak which article states Port Arthur had history of naming products after stars when looking up (What does the name Marfak stand for)you get www.meaninglike.com/a/what-does-name-stand-for/marfak? it says ruling planet is Mercury so apparently they looked at Planets also. Hope this sheds little light for ya looked somemore and found out Marfak is indeed a star also www.astrostudio.org/xhip.php?hip=5542 laroy

Last edited by pasngas; Fri Dec 25 2015 07:19 AM. Reason: add to topic
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Laroy:

Very good reading here, and a big Thanks. I believe Elton Gish got his information mostly from the Texaco Star ?, a monthly publication for it's employees. I have most all these in hard cover, 1913-1939(?) several of my books have the name R.C. Holmes written inside the covers.

More inside Elton's book: At Port Arthur Works, experiments were conducted by R. C. Holmes (Vice President in 1913, then head of the Refining Dept., and later elected President of the Company in 1926) and F. T. Manley (a laborer in 1902, engineer of the yacht "Texas Girl", then yard foreman, later head of the Refining Dept., and elected Vice President of the Company) to develop the continuous thermal cracking process using the Adams patents. Neither man had attended college. In 1918, The Texas Company put into operation at Port Arthur Works the first experimental continuous thermal cracking unit in the U.S. This process increased the quantity of gasoline that could be produced from a barrel of crude.

Elton Gish who penned "Texaco Port Arthur Works" I highly recommend his hard cover book!

http://www.texacohistory.com/

with hundreds of photos of the green can series. In the book you'll notice that "The Texas Company" had it's "own canning department. Something Old Dick Bennett found hard to believe when I told him. "Merry Christmas Dick" Texaco also had it's own lumber yards and mills for producing the boxes all their products were shipped it.

From the Book: Also in 1932, Texaco began promoting its automobile chassis grease, Marfak. The name Marfak continued a tradition of naming Texaco products after stars in honor of its red star and green "T" trademark. Other products named for stars are Ursa, Crater, Algol, Vega, Meropa, and Spica. All of these products were manufactured, packaged, and shipped at Port Arthur Works. 18 years now I finally know where Spica Oil came from.

When I talked with Elton several years ago through emails because of my hearing impairment. Elton told me he was a Chemical Engineer with Texaco. I found tonight he retired in 2013 with 45 years of service. His father was a welder for them before him. Very nice man and I remember he could answer most my questions when I first got into the hobby. If he didn't know, he went out and usually found the answer. The book is hard cover, large, and a ton of B & W photos of the whole refinery and it's production.

Thanks again Laroy for jogging my memory about Elton

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Doug, I think they first used MarFax in April 1924.

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Hey Larry I'm just copying what's out there, I sure thought way before 1932 also, because of all the green cans out there. That's what I posted before. Where did you get that date. When I get home, I'll go through my books. I am glad to learn about Spica and some other names Texaco used.

How's your Texaco collection doing ?

blacktee #641872 Sat Dec 26 2015 09:23 AM
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I believe that the marfak name was first registered
with the USPTO in April 1924
not to say that product was not used earlier
Dann

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Thank you very much for this information guys! I have wondered for years what Marfak stood for. Now it makes sense to me. Always trying to learn new things about oil and gas.

Rob


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