Tag Archives: customer education

L-K Log August

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 L-K Log: August 2017 

Depth of Knowledge Increases with Customer Education and Orientation

What your teachers said, all those years ago? Turns out it’s true. Education IS essential. Becoming a life-long learner IS an enviable goal. At L-K Industries, we embody these ideologies with our clients, because we want them to do more than understand the WHAT; we want them to embrace the WHY.

It’s easy for customers to understand WHAT products they need. When testing crude oil samples in the field, it’s the Transport Centrifuge. Under hazardous conditions that could produce an explosion or fire, it’s the Benchmark C Centrifuge with Class I Division 2 certification. When precision is critical, hand-blown, etched thermometers and hydrometers calibrated on-site in Miller-Weber’s accredited ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory is the ideal option.

But the WHY – now that’s more difficult. Why select products from L-K Industries? If customers can confidently answer the “Why L-K?” question, their depth of knowledge increases and they’re able to best meet their testing needs. That’s why L-K invests in a multi-tiered Customer Education and Orientation program.

L-K’s program begins with familiarization of our facility and products. For those in the Houston area, facility tours are conducted, from manufacturing to product demonstrations. We have distinct product lines and services – centrifuges, sample heaters, glassware, gaging accessories, ISO 17025 calibrations… Seeing all these products being built and understanding how they work together in real time solidifies L-K’s comprehensive offerings for customers. It’s the WHY at work.

For those customers and distributors not in the direct Houston area, webinars are offered to overview products and services. Detailed product literature and tutorial videos are also available through the L-K website.

Ultimately, focusing on WHY in addition to WHAT helps establish an educational partnership between L-K and our customers that surpasses industry expectations and enriches relationships. Customer education creates a climate for meaningful feedback and collaboration, which can lead to new product ideas or improvements to existing offerings, creating solutions that are relevant to customer applications.

Contact L-K Industries to schedule a tour and learn more about our complete array of products.

Past – Present – FUTURE: Gulf Coast Conference

L-K Industries is excited to announce our participation in this year’s Gulf Coast Conference, scheduled for October 3rd and 4th at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. L-K welcomes visitors to Booth #517 with displays of lab equipment, glassware, accessories, and the exciting new SMART Transport! Visitors can look forward to interactive displays, product literature, on-site technical experts, snacks, and door prizes!

Past – PRESENT – FUTURE: Distributor Update

We’re excited to share two Distributor Updates this month –one tried and true and one new! First, a Texas-sized shout-out to Amarillo Thermo King. Located in West Texas, Amarillo Thermo King proudly serves its customers throughout the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, and Permian Basin. Look to them for L-K’s Transport Centrifuges and gaging accessories.

L-K is thrilled to announce a new alliance with General Laboratory Supply, aka Gen Lab. Their “name says it all,” as Gen Lab offers a complete array of products for the petrochemical industry, including L-K’s finest laboratory equipment: Benchmark Centrifuges, a variety of heaters, and all associated glassware.

LK Industries ISO/IEC 17025 Lab: Accreditation Process Creates Higher Standards

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Houston, Texas; December, 2016

Earlier this year, L-K Industries proudly opened its newly accredited ISO/IEC 17025 Lab as a result of acquiring Miller-Weber, Inc. Known fondly as the New York thermometer company, Miller-Weber joined L-K Industries, renowned oil testing equipment manufacturer, and relocated to Houston, Texas to become an official part of the L-K Industries’ family. The alliance results in L-K’s ability to offer both manufacturing and accredited calibration under one roof: a unique and highly desirable combination.

Established jointly in 1999 by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ISO/IEC 17025 is one of the most well respected accreditations for testing and calibration laboratories. Accreditation is limited to labs that are willing to undergo a rigorous third-party assessment. This process creates an uncompromising standard of quality.

The company’s focus on accreditation and standards ensures that customers have a high level of confidence in the calibrations performed by Miller-Weber Texas (MWTX).  Key attributes include:

  • established traceability of its own measurement standards and measuring instruments to the International System of Units (SI) by means of an unbroken chain of calibrations;
  • application of procedures to estimate the uncertainty of measurement for all calibrations performed, and the assurance that the calibration uncertainties are sufficiently small so that the adequacy of the measurement is not affected;
  • an ASTM Fellow on staff as the Laboratory Technical Manager;
  • an unblemished inspection record with zero findings in the laboratory’s history.

In addition, each calibration certificate issued by MWTX contains the measurement results, the measurement uncertainty, and/or a statement of compliance with an identified metrological specification. For clients, the most important outcomes of L-K’s efforts are the exponential benefits they receive. “Beyond the international distinction, recognition, and inherent credibility gained from the accreditation process,” says Owner/Engineer Eric Calderon, “are the benefits for those we serve. We can confidently offer those who purchase our merchandise a testing and calibration service that’s truly unique. For customers who demand a higher standard, we can deliver.” The lab certifies temperature from – 80 to 405 degrees, density from 0.6250 to 1.910 relative density (SG), gravimetric calibration up to 100 ml, and rotational speed up to 6,000 rpm.

L-K Industries manufactures and calibrates a full range of liquid and glass thermometers, hydrometers, and centrifuge tubes. They’re already providing thermometers to the petrochemical industry and local hospitals, and look forward to expanding into the healthcare and agricultural markets within the next few months.

L-K Industries has enjoyed 86 years manufacturing centrifuges and related oilfield testing equipment, and continues to develop ground-breaking technology under the helm of Owner/ Engineer Eric Calderon. Recent acquisition of Miller-Weber of Texas allows them to furnish clients with a complete array of thermometers, hydrometers, and related glassware, and an accredited on-site laboratory secures their position in the oil industry and the Houston community. Visit their website at www.lk-ind.com; contact them at (713) 926-2623 or sales@lk-ind.com.

For more information about this article, contact media@lk-ind.com.

L-K Industries Acquires Miller-Weber, Inc.

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Houston, Texas; November, 2016

Combining the delicate art of glassblowing with the reliable engineering of centrifugation, the oil testing industry applauds the acquisition of Miller-Weber, Inc. by L-K Industries.

Founded in 1930 as L-K Pump Valve Company, L-K Industries swiftly became a premier name in oil testing equipment. Their first centrifuge, the Melton, developed in 1957, still sets the industry standard for measuring basic sediment and water “BS&W” content in crude oil. The company expanded over the course of 85 years by continuing to manufacture state-of-the-art centrifuges and related oilfield testing equipment.

On April 16, 2015, L-K Industries was purchased by Houston native Eric Calderon. “At the age of 89, owner Joseph Hugghins decided to retire. He wanted to sell to a local, someone committed to preserving the company’s rich history and maintaining its Houston home.”

Calderon, an experienced petroleum engineer and Harvard Business School graduate, took two courses that changed the direction of his career – and his life. “HBS’s small business acquisition courses provided me with a dramatic, tangible opportunity to become a small business owner immediately after earning an MBA.” Professors Royce Yudkoff and Richard Ruback co-teach a second year case course called The Financial Management of Smaller Firms and a field course dubbed Entrepreneurship through Acquisition. Fondly known by MBA students as Rick and Royce, the partners do more than just teach theories behind buying small businesses; they have provided a handful of their former students with the financial backing to do so – Calderon included. The New York Times chronicled the success of their program, and their students, in their March 2016 article You’ve Bought a Small Business. Now What?

 For Calderon, the Now What? meant building on the legacy of L-K Industries by adding another layer of industry-leading merchandise through the purchase of Miller-Weber, Inc. The iconic New York thermometer manufacturing company opened its doors in 1941 as the Charles Miller Precision Thermometer Company under the leadership of its namesake, a talented glassblower, and his wife Elizabeth. Three generations and a name change later, the company thrived by providing thermometer manufacturing and calibrating services across varied industries.

When Miller & Weber’s owner contemplated retirement, Calderon purchased the company, allowing L-K to offer a full range of liquid and glass thermometers and an accredited calibration service – all housed in Houston, Texas. In fact, the company, operating as Miller-Weber of Texas, offers the only manufactured products of their kind made in the southern U.S. The ISO/IEC 17025, accredited on-site laboratory, which opened its doors July 7th of 2016, offers exponential benefits to clients. “The acquisition of Miller-Weber allows us to expand our footprint,” says Calderon, “not only to clients in the oil business, but to those in diverse fields such as dairy, agriculture, and medicine.” The company has already begun providing thermometers to local hospitals and clients in the food service industry.

Miller-Weber of Texas Thermometers Manufactured in the Houston Facility

L-K Industries has enjoyed 86 years manufacturing centrifuges and related oilfield testing equipment, and continues to develop ground-breaking technology under the helm of Owner/ Engineer Eric Calderon. The recent acquisition of Miller-Weber, Inc. allows them to furnish clients with a complete array of thermometers, hydrometers, and related glassware, and an accredited on-site laboratory secures their position in the oil industry and the Houston community. Visit their website at www.lk-ind.com; contact them at (713) 926-2623 or sales@lk-ind.com.

For more information about this article, contact media@lk-ind.com