Smoother Roads Ahead - John Deere Industrial Engines

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SERVICE AND SUPPORTPrime RelationshipsThompson Pump celebrates 35 years of service to the industry and a long-termpartnership with an engine supplier that continues to aid their successPowerSource is pleased to once again feature an interview with Thompson Pump, aprogressive, family-owned business based in Port Orange, Fla. Thompson Pump has beena loyal John Deere engine customer since 1993 – a long-term relationship cemented overthe years by strong product support and customer service from John Deere. In this issue,Bill Thompson and nephew Dale Conway talk about their company’s dynamic growthand the role that John Deere and its distributor and dealer organizations play in thecompany’s successes.Bill Thompson, president,Thompson PumpPowerSource: Your company, underthe leadership of your father, George A.Thompson, introduced the first self-priming,positive-displacement rotary-lobepump in 1972. Here we are, 35 years later,and your product offerings and marketdiversity continues to grow by leaps andbounds. Tell us about some of your recentachievements.Bill: Last year, we reached a remarkableproduction milestone when we manufacturedour 1,000 th 12-inch rotary pump.Although construction applications are stillour primary focus, we have also diversifiedinto municipal and agricultural applications.PowerSource: Tell us about your initialdecision to partner with John Deere.Bill: Thirteen years ago was about thetime when we made a decision to partnerwith a company that could support ourproduct not only on a nationwide basis, butalso internationally.PowerSource: What impact has youraffiliation with John Deere had on thegrowth of your company?Bill: It’s all been positive. Specifically,the biggest impact that our alliance withJohn Deere has brought to the table isimmediate credibility in areas where theThompson pump name is not widely recognized.Even in Nigeria, there was immediatename recognition and John Deere dealersupport was there.Bill Thompson, president,Thompson PumpPowerSource: Give us a snapshot of thegrowth your company has experienced inrecent years.Bill: We experienced revenue growth of29 percent in 2005, 35 percent in 2004, and20 percent in 2003. That much growth in ashort period of time is significant, and it alsopresents some challenges. That’s why ourrelationship with our vendors is so critical.They have to be working with us. The rulestoday are not the same rules that we startedwith 35 years ago. Demand has increasedso dramatically as we produce new unitsfor sales to customers and to enhance andreplenish our rental fleet with greater efficiency.That requires a rapid turnover ofmaterials. That requires very close coordination between our John Deere engine distributorand us.PowerSource: How so?Bill: They have to anticipate our needsin conjunction with the needs of all theirother customers. They have to get the baseengines, customize them, and get them tous on time. Flint Power has been very helpfulin customizing the engines that comeoff the John Deere factory assembly lineand modifying them with cowling, adaptors,and pusher fans – all the paraphernaliayou need to make an engine adaptable toworking inside an enclosure or for a specialapplication.PowerSource: Earlier, you mentionedthat you value the support of the John Deeredealership organization.Bill: Yes, dealer support is becomingmore and more critical. A lot of our customersdon’t have a lot of trained mechanicson staff, and it’s hard to keep updatedwith the rapid pace of technologicalchanges that are happening.PowerSource: In what ways haveJohn Deere dealers helped you?Bill: One of the biggest benefits of theJohn Deere dealer organization is the availabilityof trained technicians. If we send apump to South Dakota and there’s a questionabout electronics, a local dealer willhook up the engine to a laptop and diagnosethe problem, adjust speeds, fuel pressures.You don’t get that type of servicewith every engine company.12 PowerSource
SERVICE AND SUPPORTThompson Pump readies a shipment of 30 JohnDeere-powered 4JCA high-pressure jet pumps toNigeria.Dale Conway, vice president ofengineering, Thompson PumpPowerSource: From your perspective,what do you value most from an enginemanufacturer?Dale: Quality, and with John Deere, it’salways consistent. Plus, our John Deereengine distributors have always been ableto meet our demands. We’ve increased ournumbers in engine sales every year for thepast 13 years, and they’ve responded wellto our supply needs, and our need for customization.engine, where half was a radiator and theother half was an oil cooler, and the fanon the engine blew equally across both ofthem. That solved a world of problems, andit’s now a product that nobody else offers.PowerSource: Since the inception ofthe rotary pump, your product line hasgrown rapidly and includes hydraulic submersibles,diaphragm pumps, vacuumassistedpumps, as well as high-pressurejetting pumps, one of which is your JSCline. Tell us about that one.Dale: This is our jetting (high-pressure),solids-handling, compressor-primed pump.When we first came out with our compressorline eight years ago, we enteredinto arena that really worked well withJohn Deere. John Deere provides a compressordriven directly off the engineauxiliary port that runs the entire primingsystem.PowerSource: Is the pumping industrygoing through any changes that would affectyour company or the John Deere-poweredequipment you are building?Dale: Most of the changes are related toenvironmental concerns. There is a strongpush for sound-attenuated pumps. Also customersare looking for more fuel efficiencyand lower emissions.PowerSource: How has John Deerehelped you achieve your environmentalgoals?Dale: The technologies available to usare water cooled and air-cooled engines.We tried to sound attenuate both. We foundthe water-cooled engine, which John Deereoffers, lends itself well to building enclosuresto bring temperatures and noise levelsdown.Also, as John Deere develops engines tomeet lower emission levels, we are incorporatingthem into our product line.PowerSource: Currently you are usingTier 2/Stage II engines with plans to beginincorporating Tier 3/Stage IIIA models thisyear. Aside from emissions compliance,what advantages do these new enginesoffer?Dale: We are able to take advantage ofthe higher horsepower ratings of theseengines. For years, we manufactured the12-inch pump with the 6068D. We’ve actuallybuilt one using the 99-hp PowerTech4045T. As a result, we were able to takeabout 20 inches off the length of the unitand reduce its weight by at least a couple ofhundred pounds. If you asked me five yearsago if we could put a 4-cylinder engine ona 12-inch pump (30 cm), I would say never.But now, we can do it.Engines: Thompson Pump uses a widerange of John Deere diesel engines from2.4 L to 8.1 L diesels.Distributor: Flint Power Systems,Albany, Ga., (229) 888-1900;www.flintpower.com.Dale Conway, vice presidentof engineering,Thompson PumpPowerSource: Over the years, I’ve beenimpressed by your company’s ability tocustomize pumping units. Give us an exampleof the distributor’s role in satisfying acustomer need.Dale: Recently, we developed a newwellpoint pump model with a large vacuumpump that required cooling of the oil.The unit was designed to be powered bya John Deere engine. We worked with ourJohn Deere distributor and they came upwith a different radiator on the 4045DA John Deere-powered JSC pump performs a sewer bypass in Arlington, Va.PowerSource 13
Page 1 and 2: A Publication of John Deere Power S
Page 3 and 4: DURABILITY IN HARSH CONDITIONSRock-
Page 5 and 6: DURABILITY IN HARSH CONDITIONSA Joh
Page 7 and 8: DURABILITY IN HARSH CONDITIONShour
Page 9 and 10: DURABILITY IN HARSH CONDITIONSA Cur
Page 11: SERVICE AND SUPPORTSweeping Up A Ch
Page 15 and 16: SERVICE AND SUPPORTWALO crews widen
Page 17 and 18: The Perfect MixBremat finds that Jo
Page 19 and 20: A John Deere-poweredSonic Drill cre
Page 21 and 22: RELIABILITYInmesol sound-proofed ge
Page 23 and 24: DISTRIBUTOR NEWSOur Hats AreOff to

Smoother Roads Ahead - John Deere Industrial Engines

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?