VLS Welcomes New Chairman Darren Frogson

The Verification of Lubricant Specifications (UK) Ltd (VLS) has welcomed new Chairman Darren Frogson, who succeeds Harald Oosting.

Darren has almost thirty years of experience in the lubricants sector and great strength in commercial management. He is currently CEO at Exol Lubricants, one of the largest independent lubricants companies in the UK, with a £100 million turnover.

A VLS Board member since 2015, Darren is passionate about the independent organisation’s work to maintain a fair and open lubricants market that benefits end users by assuring the performance claims made on lubricant products are valid and reliable. He was elected President of the United Kingdom Lubricants Association (UKLA) in 2020.

In his time as Chairman, Darren is keen to support VLS members and the wider lubricants industry through the transition to net zero, with its increasingly complex vehicle parc, as well as maintain VLS’s track record in managing non-compliance.

VLS Company Secretary David Wright commented: “It has been a pleasure to work with Harald Oosting, and we would like to thank him for his support for VLS. His European perspective and background in data have provided valuable insight during his time as Chair.

At Automechanika earlier this year, he played a key role in engaging with the press and the industry on the intricacies of matching products to specifications to ensure products really can deliver what they claim. We wish Harald further success as he succeeds Mike Bewsey and becomes President of UKLA, continuing to support the lubricants industry.

We look forward to working with Darren and maintaining VLS’s work to ensure the continued confidence and trust of end users in the lubricant products they use. With rising case numbers and an increasingly complex market, VLS's work to uphold standards and protect and educate end users is more important than ever.”