NPK Hosts International Service Conference / Conferencia de Servicio

Last week NPK welcomed guests from dealers in Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica to take part in our first Latin American / International Service Conference at our facility in Walton Hills, Ohio.  Representatives from OMG International, Excel Machinery, MPC, La India Mine, Mascota Mine, Pinos Altos Mine, and Camosa came to learn about operating and maintaining hydraulic hammers and pedestal boom systems.  Our own Service Representative, Carlos Salcedo Vazquez led the class and provided excellent instruction and translations between our Spanish speaking visitors and English speaking employees.

For the first day and a half, the class focused on hydraulic hammers.  They first dismantled and inspected, then reassembled a GH18 hammer.  When the unit was back together, they learned the importance of and put into practice testing for leaks and verifying nitrogen gas pressure.

The second half of the course was dedicated to the operation and maintenance of pedestal boom systems.  In the classroom, attendees learned about hydraulic systems and wiring systems and how to maintain them and troubleshoot should something go wrong.  After instruction, everyone moved to the assembly building where all were able to spend some time operating an NPK B6500 pedestal boom system.  During operation Jason Bauer, pedestal boom assembly specialist, with help from Carlos answered questions ranging anywhere from theory to field applications and operations.

After classes ended each day, employees from all departments were welcome to come meet the attendees and share beverages and snacks.  Wednesday night NPK employees introduced the game of Cornhole to our Latin American visitors.  Several were familiar with the rules as they had played Horseshoes in the past, but it was funny to see their reactions to playing with beanbags instead of heavy horseshoes!

The first two evenings, the meet and greet was followed by dinner at very welcoming and helpful Twinsburg restaurants, Panini’s & Mavis Winkle’s where attendees were able to sample some classic American and Irish cuisine.  Besides globally popular traditional & extra spicy chicken wings, classic paninis and ruebens were the favorite "new" foods for our guests.  The final night of the conference, attendees accompanied members of NPK’s service staff to Progressive Field downtown to watch the Cleveland Indians defeat the Houston Astros with a close score of 7-6.  Although the weathermen were calling for rain, the weather held out and the guys had a great time!  By all accounts, NPK’s first International Service Conference was a success; it was a pleasure hosting our guests!

NPK will be hosting two additional service conferences this year, in June and September and seats are filling up fast!  If you would like more information, contact NPK’s service department:  service@npkce.com or by phone at 440-232-7900.

International service conference attendees in front of B7500 pedestal boom system

Service class surrounding GH18 bare hammer assembly

GH18 hydraulic hammer sleeve maintenance & service instruction

Pedestal boom operation and maintenance instruction

Operating B7500 pedestal boom system

Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland

Cleveland Indians vs Houston Rockets at Progressive Field

Group shot at the Indians game in Cleveland, Ohio