IKD’s Service Trucks: A New Way to Get to Customers Fast
The very first Industrial Kiln & Dryer Group (IKD) Service Truck hit the pavement in early 2022 to address a need to have experienced and skilled rotary equipment specialists on site for adjustments and small repairs, but not necessarily an entire crew with project management. One truck has grown to a fleet of 10 in the field with two others being commissioned this quarter. It’s not just the quantity of trucks that has expanded over the year-and-a-half of the initial launch, but also the number of services that are offered through this endeavor.
The IKD Service Truck has met particular success in places like West Texas, where the vast landscape can make it a challenge for customers to get the assistance they need with their rotary units in a timely manner. The Service Technicians are equipped to handle changing out support rollers and pinions, repairing cracks, stop blocks, filler bars, and wedges as well as inspecting and adjusting the rotary units. Many of IKD’s customers have preferred to stay on a regular schedule with their Service Technician and because of this have maintained a level of preventative maintenance that may not otherwise be achieved running their units 24/7.
These same customers who not only do not have time to shut down regularly, but also run their equipment in an extremely dusty and arid climate, influenced the latest addition to the Service Truck’s growing repertoire: gear cleaning. This year, IKD will roll out a gear cleaning program that will become a featured service on the trucks. The gear cleaning service will be ideal for use before an outage, especially where gear replacement or flips are on the agenda, switching over to a higher quality lubricant, or using as a preventative maintenance tool. According to Darryl Gonzales of Petron, IKD’s lubricant partner, “It will clean up the gear, the lubricant system, spray nozzle and injectors. It’s a great opportunity for a ‘health check,’ on your system. After an hour, your entire lubrication system should be clear.” For customers that have a sticky mess on their open gear, polluted with product, dust, and debris, the gear cleaning service removes this buildup quickly.
Although IKD can get the customer set up with an automatic gear cleaning system, a manual application is much more thorough and commended especially where there is a significant amount of buildup, or the system has not been cleaned for a long time. The product used to remove the buildup, PK-140, is a viscous, petroleum-based product and can be used to clean open gearing through sump or automatic lubrication system. Buck McVaney of IKD’s Southern Plains District said he’s very eager to make this service available to his customers. “This service is great prior to going into an outage to prepare the gear for inspection before being changed out especially. We come 2-3 days prior to the inspection and clean the gear. We have all the tools on our truck, everything necessary to remove all buildup from the gear and pinion and get lubrication system running at 100%.”
In addition to getting the gear system in clean and working order, the IKD Service Truck Technician can recommend and assist in the initial application of the best lubrication product for the equipment going forward. Proper lubrication with a high-quality product is essential to the successful operation of a kiln, dryer, or ball mill. Lubricant protects the machine parts that are in relative motion to one another and gives the parts and components the best chance at longevity. IKD Service Truck Technicians are knowledgeable and can take the guesswork out of keeping a gear and pinion running as clean as possible and maintaining the lubrication system that works best. For an IKD Service Truck visit or the new gear cleaning service, call 877-379-7263.