Universal Lubricants recently completed its 2 millionth Engine Guard oil analysis, a service milestone the company celebrated with long-time customer Hamm Inc., which submitted the 2 millionth engine oil sample for analysis. Universal Lubricants has provided this maintenance service to its commercial customers for more than 50 years.
"Today's high-performance engines need to be monitored and supported to perform reliably and keep maintenance costs down," said Mike Wyant, Universal Lubricants' manager of technical services. "Our quality-assurance lab is a key differentiator for our company and an integral part of our closed-loop strategy. The Engine Guard program allows our customers to keep their fingers on the pulse of their heavy-duty equipment. It’s an early indicator of problems that can be corrected before they cause sudden equipment failures or prolonged downtime. With heavy-duty equipment valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, failure can result in huge production losses and enormous repair costs."
Hamm Inc., which has submitted more than 30,000 Engine Guard samples over the last 25 years, is a Midwest leader in highway construction, aggregates and waste services. It operates a wide variety of equipment — from over-the-road trucks to stone crushers and enormous earthmovers — that require a broad range of high-performance products and a variety of viscosities to withstand extreme temperatures, stresses and friction.
"The Engine Guard oil analysis program is a valuable tool that helps us achieve the highest levels of performance and reliability in all of our equipment," said Dale Johnson, equipment manager for Hamm Inc. "Universal Lubricants is a great partner with exceptional response time in reporting our oil analysis results. The lab team provides an extra set of eyes on our equipment and other assets, which has helped us in our overall maintenance practices. As a result, we have lengthened oil change intervals in each asset category, which keeps our equipment running longer and more efficiently."
Universal Lubricants quality-assurance laboratory is located near the company’s high-tech re-refinery in Wichita, Kan. The lab monitors the quality of Universal Lubricants products to ensure they meet or exceed all performance specifications, and conducts the Engine Guard oil analysis to help customers extend oil drain intervals and keep their equipment operational to maximize profits.
"All a customer has to do is draw a sample, submit it in our specially designed, postage-paid Engine Guard test kit and let us do the rest," said Wyant. "Our lab generates reports within 24 hours of receiving samples and makes them available via a password-protected website. More importantly, we immediately notify customers if there are any abnormal or critical results."
Universal Lubricants collects more than 40 million gallons of used engine and motor oil annually, which is transported back to its re-refinery where impurities are removed to produce crystal-clear Group II base oil. This base oil is then spiked with high-performance additives and returned to the marketplace in the form of high-performance motor oils and engine oils, as well as other lubricants.
"Our lab is involved in every step of this closed-loop process, from testing waste oil that arrives by truck and rail to sampling the finished products to ensure that our oils and other lubricants are the highest quality available on the market today," Wyant said.
For more information, visit www.universallubes.com.
