KNOWLEDGE COMES WITH AGE: WATLOW® ELECTRIC CONTINUES A 35 YEAR COLLABORATION WITH IIA LAB SERVICES

Intro

IIA Lab Services is one of the largest, most reputable, and respected quality service providers in the country. IIA's experts serve an array of industries and solve quality challenges every day, helping companies grow with capacity and capability. Whether the need is to supplement for occasional overflow, contract a CMM Programmer, perform a third-party evaluation, or outsource the entire quality department, IIA Lab Services can help. The experts at IIA know safety and compliance are essential for all markets, especially for sectors such as the oil and gas industry, the medical device industry, and the energy sector. Along with safety, compliance, and speed of testing, reliable results are imperative. IIA's turnaround times are unmatched, and IIA Lab Services has provided more than two decades of fast and accurate testing services to varying industries across the country. Watlow, a long-time customer of IIA Lab Services, is a nearly 100-year-old company that designs and manufactures industrial heaters, temperature sensors, controllers, and supporting software. Watlow serves numerous industries, including semiconductor processing, energy and environmental technologies, and medical and foodservice equipment.

The Challenge

With nearly 1000 patents, 3,000 employees, and sales offices in 57 countries, there is always a challenge for which Watlow needs a fast and reliable solution. In this business, the challenge is securing both fast and accurate testing services from a trusted partner to ensure projects stay on track and within budget. Many labs can provide testing services, but cannot offer quick action, accurate reporting, and unmatched turnaround times, like IIA does. Watlow has turned to IIA Lab Services for more than three decades for day-to-day projects, as well as to receive solutions for their most challenging and emergent situations. IIA provides material testing for Watlow, as well as X-ray on ASME Section 8 Pressure vessels and weld integrity tests for electric heater bundles across the U.S. Watlow knows they can turn to IIA for non-destructive testing whether it is for a project that is running smoothly or one that is in crisis-mode.

The Process

After receiving material from an intercontinental supplier, Watlow began processing the material as normal, but the material began delaminating under testing. The engineers were unsure why this was occurring, but needed answers fast. "This project was in crisis-mode," said Melissa Lanham, Watlow staff engineer. "I called IIA Lab Services, explained what I needed, they took care of the testing, and we had the results in one day." Another Watlow representative, a senior process engineer, explains that he is not surprised by this extremely fast turn around time from the team at IIA. He says, "IIA always gets the job done and they are extremely dependable."