The US-based company said a second shift was recently added to its 4000-square-foot laboratory in the Alberta province to accommodate the production increase.
Polaris chief executive Bryan Debshaw cited interest from the mining, oil and gas, construction and transportation industries throughout Canada as the initial reason behind its decision to expand internationally.
He said Polaris and its founding partners were not surprised by the positive upswing Edmonton’s facility had experienced since commencing operations in August 2008.
“Companies in [these] industries have been using our tools to manage maintenance costs for more than 10 years, and our US operations have experienced double-digit growth in nine of those 10,” Debshaw said.
“Now, more than ever, companies are looking to reduce maintenance costs and extend equipment life, and that’s what we do.”
The spike in interest for the analysis facility has equated to an increased training demand. For that reason, the company will offer public oil and coolant analysis classes at its Edmonton facility in the early spring and fall of next year.
In September, Polaris announced a cooperation agreement with Sinclair Oil Lubricants to offer the new Sinclair Fluid Analysis Program.
Polaris will perform complete testing and review of oils, diesel fuel, coolants and water-based fluids for Sinclair’s program to help identify dirt, wear particles and other impurities that often shorten the lifespan of equipment or cause failures. The program is aimed at decreasing downtime and increasing reliability.
Polaris’s testing laboratory is accredited under ISO 17025 A2LA, the highest level of approval, which the company said helped provide the most accurate, traceable and repeatable testing results and ensured useful, actionable maintenance recommendations.
All Sinclair customers can now access test results and laboratory maintenance information through Polaris’s free online reporting program, Horizon. Among the application’s features is the ability for customers to look at data reports almost immediately after lab results have been processed and interpreted.
The Sinclair Fluid Analysis Program would be made available throughout Polaris’s distributor network and 22-state marketing area.
In addition to Alberta, Polaris has laboratories in Houston, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
