Leading North American fluid analysis provider POLARIS Laboratories is again extending its global reach with a new laboratory in Guatemala City. The expansion supports the company’s global strategy for continued growth and is indicative of the strength and potential of the Central American market.
POLARIS Tribology Laboratory Central America, S.A., the sixth facility POLARIS Laboratories has opened since it began operations in the U.S. in 1999, will provide oil analysis products and servicesthroughout Central America, parts of Mexico and northern South America. Its customer base is diverse serving road transport, power generation, industry, mining and construction as well as the agricultural applications that support the region’s thriving sugar cane industry.
According to Bryan Debshaw, POLARIS Laboratories CEO, oil analysis can provide multiple benefits to Central American companies looking for ways to maximize equipment reliability and increase production. “Sending regular oil samples to the laboratory for analysis monitors equipment and lubricant condition and will allow customers to identify and correct small problems before they cause major catastrophic failures,” Debshaw says. “They will also have access to extensive field support and training to help them develop and implement a successful oil analysis program.”
Once testing is complete, the company’s highly skilled team of lubricant specialists analyze and interpret the data and add actionable maintenance recommendations to each test report. Customers will then have 24-hour access to the reports and extensive data management tools – in Spanish – through HORIZON, the company’s web-based reporting application.
Debshaw adds that the Guatemala opening is an extension of the company’s “one lab, multiple locations” business model. "Using multiple testing facilities that share one database gives global companies the ability to manage large equipment maintenance programs around the world from virtually anywhere,” Debshaw says. “This new facility will also expand the services and support we currently provide to our existing customers and Private Label Programs with a presence in Central America.”