The playoffs have arrived, and your team made it. However, you’re worried about their chances to make it any further because the team’s starting quarterback hasn’t been giving his best effort in quite a while. Meanwhile the backup quarterback – seasoned, but not used to his full potential – is asking for the chance to prove himself. He knows that if he’s allowed to start just once, he’ll win the game and demonstrate he’s capable of taking the team all the way. Enter the team’s coach whose concern is to win, and he’ll do it with the player that demonstrates the most drive, determination and talent.
While most wouldn’t stop to think of the relationship between Furmanite and its valued client Flying J quite in those terms, it’s actually is a fairly accurate description of this client/vendor affiliation over the years.
Throughout this year, Flying J’s North Salt Lake City refinery has awarded Furmanite extensive leak sealing business throughout the plant. This is after more than 15 years of serving as Flying J’s ‘backup quarterback’ – two or three repairs a year, provided their existing vendor was unavailable. Furmanite got its shot at the beginning of the year when the Company was called first for a particular job. Furmanite’s quality-of-work far surpassed the competition, and sufficiently impressed Flying J.
"Winning this business with Flying J was especially important to us because it further proved our expertise in this repair arena, and we were able to move to ‘the top of the list’,” said Jeff Wolf, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Furmanite. “In addition, Flying J is a well-respected company both within this industry, and in the Western United States.”
Since that decisive moment last winter, Furmanite has continued to provide superior leak sealing services. As a result of Furmanite’s patented sealing compounds and highly trained technicians, Flying J has significantly reduced the number of unplanned unit shutdowns it experiences. It’s now able to make the majority of its repairs during scheduled maintenance shutdowns.
“The Furmanite Seal has been invaluable in keeping our unit up and operational,” said John Findlay, Maintenance Planner at Flying J. “We were sufficiently impressed with Furmanite’s leak sealing capabilities that we wanted them to demonstrate how they could aid us in other areas of the refinery.”
In April, Furmanite received just such an opportunity when Flying J asked the Company to perform some valve repair on boilers within the plant. The quality of the work again impressed Flying J and, as a result, the Company now performs a significant portion of the refinery’s valve repair work. As often as needed, but at least once a month, Furmanite uses its Trevitest™ technology to inspect and test all of the refinery’s valves – including relief, process and boiler valves. The Trevitest is a patented process for testing safety and relief valves in place and on line under normal operating pressure and temperature.
The Trevitest is a valuable part of a comprehensive Safety Valve solution that’s offered by Furmanite. Specifically, Furmanite has the capability to provide continuing management of a plant’s valve integrity – day-to-day testing, and on-line machining and repair. By taking advantage of this ongoing solution, emergency situations are reduced, thereby improving productivity and performance.
The Trevitest is a valuable part of a comprehensive Safety Valve solution that’s offered by Furmanite. Specifically, Furmanite has the capability to provide continuing management of a plant’s valve integrity – day-to-day testing, and on-line machining and repair. By taking advantage of this ongoing solution, emergency situations are reduced, thereby improving productivity and performance. “We’re very pleased with the valve repair work Furmanite has performed-to-date,” says Alex Bennett, Equipment Reliability Engineer at Flying J. “Their technicians have proven themselves so capable in this area that we’re also enlisting their help with our annual boiler inspections.”
After years of waiting on the sideline, Furmanite has become a ‘starter’ at Flying J. Once Furmanite was given that golden opportunity to go head-to-head with the competition, it has in just months what can typically take years to develop. Specifically, the establishment of a valuable customer relationship that is built – not on saving a few dollars – but rather, quality. Quality materials and tools, technicians, and responsiveness are what enable Furmanite to exceed all of Flying J’s performance expectations.