Polaris Tribology Laboratory Central America will be located in Guatemala City and will be a regional operations hub for its Central American fluid analysis customers, as well as those in parts of Mexico and northern South America.

Company chief executive officer Bryan Debshaw said its new expansion into the country supports its international growth strategy and reflects the potential of the Central American market.

“The Guatemala laboratory is a significant step in our plan for global growth,” he said.

“It's a great fit with our 'one laboratory, multiple locations’ business model. The true advantage to using multiple testing facilities that share one database is that it gives global companies the ability to manage large equipment maintenance programs around the world from virtually anywhere.”

Debshaw said Polaris will continue a focus of expanding its customer base throughout the Central America region by providing testing products as well as specialised field services to the mining industry, along with road transport, power generation, industrial and construction companies and agricultural applications.

In addition to the new Guatemala location, Polaris’ labs are located in Indianapolis, Indiana; Houston, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Atlanta, Georgia; and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.