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Millions of homes around the world are fitted with water heating devices such as boilers or water supply heaters. Should they overheat, pressures can rise internally until the tank ruptures. Though extremely rare, this does happen and can even propel a water heater like a rocket through the floor and roof of a dwelling. So how can we sleep peacefully each night with the…

It’s typically impossible to see inside pipes and tanks.

Industrial pipes are usually steel or stainless. Even the occasionally used PVC is typically opaque.

But on the day of this customer visit, they had a sight glass placed in a horizontal run of pipe which permitted a peek inside…

Unlike most of my colleagues I didn’t start out with a mechanical background.  While they were studying kinetics and machine design, I was studying digital electronics and industrial power.  When I started my career in the world of pumps, I had to learn a whole new set of concepts.  What was surprising was that while the terminology may be a bit different, the concepts are…

Long before Covid-19 many of us, myself included, have been sidelined by illness.  During this period of downtime, we rest and minimize physical activity.  Post-illness we’re eager to resume our normal lifestyle, but doing so without preparation can lead to difficulties, even injury.  For idled pumping equipment the same principle applies.…

With today’s fast-paced supply chain demands, it is essential that tanker truck systems can unload contents quickly to ensure timely delivery for optimum manufacturing efficiency. Stony Run Enterprises Inc., a family-owned trucking enterprise located in Hamilton, Ohio, understands this sense of urgency with its commitment to transport multiple types of products with “speed,…

In the world of positive displacement pumping, reduced speed operation is a common requirement.  High viscosity liquids, shear sensitive liquids, abrasive liquids, or any combination thereof require the pump speed to be reduced from synchronous motor speeds.

Copper is fast becoming a critical resource as the world shifts to an increasingly lower carbon footprint, and with the growing demand comes a need for more efficient processing (i.e., refining) of the mineral ore.

The owner of a copper mine in Antofagasta City, Chile wanted to replace its legacy centrifugal pumps used…

One of the biggest limitations of a traditional centrifugal pump is its inability to reverse the direction of flow. By design it can only be run in one rotation and one direction of flow. Liquid enters the eye of the impeller at the suction port (typically on the front of the pump), is pushed out radially, and exits the pump at the discharge port (typically on top of the pump…

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…

Centennial Equipment was founded in 1958, by Jack Putt, in Golden, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. This was a one-man show at first, with Jack being the owner, sales person, and maintenance crew all rolled into one. The company began as a manufacturing rep and distributor for industrial equipment, including rotating equipment and other things with shafts that turn. By 1960, the…

DXP Enterprises was founded in 1908, under the name of Southern Engine and Pump Company (SEPCO). Initially, SEPCO operated as a product distribution company, providing pumps and gas compressors in its normal market area. The company continued to grow over the years, gradually acquiring additional products, services and locations. They kept the SEPCO name until 1996, when…

Crane Engineering is a third generation, family-owned business that began 80 years ago with founder Herbert Crane, who started the company in 1939, on Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton, WI. At that time, it was a one-man operation, representing two manufactured lines provided by Viking Pump and ITT Goulds Pumps. The initial target market was pulp and paper, with Kimberly-Clark Corp…

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…

In 2011 Viking Pump celebrated our company’s 100th anniversary.  As part of the activities we relocated and updated our Viking Pump museum.  Here we include past products and other historical artifacts gathered over the past century to help tell the story of our company and the development of our products to customers and distributors that visit the Cedar Falls facility.

“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…

Pye-Barker was founded in the 1930s, when John Pye and Ben Barker decided to start their own company in Atlanta, Georgia. Both Georgia Tech graduates, the pair had been working together at Goodyear when they created a new way to cut conveyor belts into custom links. This was an exclusive, innovative concept in those days for which Pye-Barker became well known.

As the end of 2019 is near, it is not just an opportunity to reflect on this calendar year, but the end of a decade. Viking Pump® is proud to be a company with 108 years of history; built by employees, distributors, and customers with a deep care and understanding of the industry who feel motivated to solve the toughest pumping challenges. Let’s take a walk through some of the highlights of…

Rogers Machinery Company, Inc. was co-founded in 1949 by two war buddies, Ned Rogers and Walter M. Novak, who served together aboard the USS Reno in the South Pacific during WWII. These like-minded veterans followed their dream to build a business providing compressed air equipment and pumps to the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Oregon), home to the pulp and paper, aluminum, agriculture, and…

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.

Kerr Pump & Supply, a notable first distributor of Viking pumps, has an illustrious 100+ years business history in the Detroit area. The company began manufacturing electric and steam driven centrifugal pumps under the name of Kerr Machinery & Supply, founded in 1905 by Alexander M. Kerr, along with his two sons, David and Robert, and incorporated in 1907. A profile written about…

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…

Industrial gear pumps have many uses in a wide array of market applications—ranging from food processing to pouring asphalt. A growing area in need of specialized gear pumps is in the oil and gas industry, particularly with regards to the removal of water from natural gas via dehydration. Viking Pump entered this market to support customers striving to deliver high-quality…

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…