OLATHE, Kan. - Grundfos Pumps Corp.’s new “Pumps on Tour” Mobile Education Center (MEC) is a dedicated Peterbilt truck and trailer that is now on a nationwide tour. The trade-show-on-wheels occupies the entire 18-wheel truck and includes a classroom for hands-on training and a complete theater room for 40 or more visitors.

“The wheels won’t stop spinning for several months, and even then only for a short while,” said Steve Goble, Grundfos marketing director. “The truck and trailer were built to be seen and experienced. The MEC is more than a mobile display; it’s a hands-on laboratory and demo tool like nothing else in the industry today.”

“We outfitted the MEC chiefly to demonstrate the capabilities of new products serving the commercial and industrial markets,” said Ed Smiley, Grundfos market development manager. Included are the company’s new expanded-range variable frequency drive systems and the variable-speed Magna pump for commercial hydronics.

“Few people realize that 20 percent of the world’s energy use goes to pumps,” noted Sherry Primm, Grundfos key account manager, Western region. “By making these systems so much more energy efficient, we’re giving building owners and engineers many more options to conserve energy. A medium-sized Magna pump will modulate its performance down to 10 to 25 watts as opposed to a single-speed pump of its size using 450 watts.”

“Carry that sort of performance across an entire facility with many more pumps and you can see how dramatically the new pump systems can help to conserve energy,” said Dennis Wierzbicki, Grundfos president. “Of course, that also means reduced energy expense, a smaller carbon footprint, longer pump life - jarring hard starts are not only bad for the pump but the entire piped system they’re connected to - and dramatically reduced maintenance costs.”

For more information about the Mobile Education Center, visit www.pumpsontour.com.

Publication date: 12/15/2008