Blog

A-L Equipment Company, Inc. has been in business since 1955, at which time it was incorporated by founder Art Nelson and his wife Gerry. Art was no stranger to liquid handling systems, as he had worked at a pump distributor before going out on his own. His legendary reputation for successfully installing pumps where people said “it couldn’t be done” was a perceived threat to…

A major producer of chocolate confections in the eastern United States had been operating many Viking pumps on a variety of confectionary liquids for decades. Many of these gear pumps have shaft packing, an extremely reliable means of preventing leaks, but which require some level of “controlled leakage” to cool and lubricate…

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” ― Oscar Wilde   Having a great product, with a great reputation, and being a technology inventor like Viking Pump®, positions you as a market leader with high visibility. As such, other gear pump manufacturers naturally want to follow in…

A gentleman once contacted me to let me know that he’d cracked a head, an impressive, but not entirely unheard-of feat.  When I asked how this had happened he admitted “well, I was wailing on it pretty hard”; I appreciated his honesty.  What followed was a 30-minute conversation full of mis-assumptions and confusion.  At the conclusion I discovered that he was not talking about a head (as in…

In the world of gear pumps, it is common to have liquid handling applications where pressure and vacuum are of concern. So, we wanted to share our perspective and recommendations, to help with making pump choices and decisions for the various pressure and/or vacuum scenarios you may encounter.

An Engineering firm recently purchased three large internal gear pumps through a local distributor in northern Illinois. In this case, the pumps were intended to be a prime mover for loading their customer’s product—vacuum gas oil (VGO)—onto a transport barge. Traditional pumping technology, i.e., centrifugal pumps, was not a viable…

Asphalt, also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black, and highly viscous liquid, or semi-solid form of petroleum. Asphalt is man's earliest organic engineering material. Its application as an adhesive and waterproof material dates to the dawn of civilization. The asphalt market thrives today largely for road building, roofing, and various types of repair work where its…

On December 17, 1941- just 10 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor- the United States Congress approved the construction of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw WAGB-83. The purpose of the ship was to forge a path for transport ships by breaking up thick ice that formed on the Great Lakes during frigid winter months. This allowed iron ore, limestone, and coal to be transported keeping…