Cooper Natural Resources produces sodium sulfate. This chemical can be found in cleaners, paper, glass, starch, and textiles. Cooper mines brine water and pump it into their plant to produce sodium sulfate. The nature of this chemical is acidic and takes a heavy toll on the equipment used to manufacture it.
Acid Pump Challenge
IBT first became involved with Cooper with our Lubbock, Texas branch. Cooper was using an acid pump that cost over $20,000 to push chemicals from transport trucks to a rail car and from the railcar to the transport truck. These expensive pumps should have been able to complete these tasks, but the chemicals were eating the standard acid pumps and causing unnecessary downtime. Cooper had already replaced the expensive pumps multiple times.
Solution
IBT Lubbock was able to source a new type of chemical pump that was a variation on the acid pump that Cooper had been utilizing. An additional benefit was that the new pump’s cost was a quarter of the original cost and produced similar results.
There were some initial hiccups as can be expected with new equipment that maintenance personnel was not yet familiar with. The new pump’s cost was so much lower than those hiccups were overcome relatively quickly and painlessly when it came to Cooper’s operations budget.
Result
Since the installation of the new acid pumps, Cooper has been functioning longer with better results due to IBT Lubbock’s sourcing team. The new pump has been installed for years with Cooper reaping the benefits of longer uptime with similar results. This experience has aided IBT in helping additional customers throughout Texas and New Mexico with similar situations.
This is not the first time that IBT and Cooper Natural Resources have teamed up to source a solution for an issue that Cooper was experiencing in their operations. IBT sourced new air diaphragm pumps back in 2015. IBT is always here for our clients and ready to do what it takes to keep your business up and running.
About IBT’s Fluid Power Group
IBT offers a comprehensive array of fluid power products and services. Since 2001, our Fluid Power team has helped customers with everything from ordering individual replacement parts—to designing and commissioning complete systems. Want to know more? Our highly-experienced Fluid Power Specialists are standing by to help increase the productivity of your operations through fluid power applications. Contact IBT Industrial Solutions’ Fluid Power Director of Business Development, Brent Hanson, or give us a call at 913-261-2125, today!
