New partnership to provide an innovative mobile testing solution for the petroleum industry

AMETEK Grabner Instrumentsand Agilent Technologies Inc. announce an OEM agreement for an innovative mobile testing solution for in-the-field analysis of lubricating oils and greases.

Grabner Instruments, based in Austria, is well known for developing and manufacturing automatic petroleum testing equipment. In this partnership, Grabner will focus on lube and grease analysis, an area that requires specific and specialized expertise in method development.

Based on Agilent’s robust handheld FTIR systems, Grabner has developed the MINISCAN IR LOG, a highly versatile FTIR analyzer for monitoring the condition of lubricating oils and greases wherever they are used from wind turbines to cruise ships. The analyzer is capable of quickly and accurately measuring the levels of water in oil—without using hazardous reagents--alongside other key parameters. Agilent’s Dialpath sampling technology — a key factor to the agreement — makes it easy to analyze viscous liquids, such as thick greases and lubes which would normally block flow cells.

Oil analysis protects equipment and profits for the process industry, for fleet and transportation management, and power generation. An essential part of predictive maintenance, oil analysis helps heavy-duty construction companies and manufacturing plants to guarantee performance and extend the life of machinery. Industry estimates show that 75% of equipment downtime and repair costs are traceable to the use of polluted fuels and lubricants. By using the MINISCAN IR LOG, businesses can protect their machines from failing.

“This new global agreement makes perfect sense for both organizations and our customers,” comments Werner Müller-Veith, managing director of Grabner. “By combining Agilent’s proven mobile FTIR technology with Grabner’s test methods and global channel reach, we will be able to offer rugged go-anywhere solutions that deliver the highest analytical accuracy, while being simple to use.”