Increased revenue results from expanded motor testing capabilities

Koontz-Wagner Services is a Midwest U.S. provider of motor repair and maintenance services for rotating equipment, electric motors, generators and mechanical power transmission components along with electrical contracting services which range from short order services to design and complex large project services.

Growing companies typically make investments in state-of-the-art tools and equipment so that they may expand their capability to serve their customers. One such company, Koontz-Wagner Services, has been able to capitalize upon several opportunities since acquiring new energized and de-energized motor testing equipment last year.

Leading the effort to obtain sophisticated motor testing equipment was Kenneth L. Patterson, Koontz-Wagner’s highly skilled and extremely proactive Predictive Maintenance Manager. After conducting extensive research on different types of motor testing equipment that was available on the market, Patterson decided to purchase All-Test Pro motor testing products in January 2015.

As a full-service company, Koontz-Wagner has a motor repair division, a predictive maintenance division, and a construction division. Koontz-Wagner’s motor repair division made immediate use of the de-energized motor testing equipment by streamlining their inspection processes.

“Using the AT5 and the AT31 has helped us reduce the time it
takes to understand the general condition of a motor,” explains Patterson.

“The AT5 motor circuit analyzer shows us if there are bad connections, ground faults, it checks the winding, and lets us know if there are air gaps, contamination, or broken bars – it gives us a pretty good picture of the motor’s health within just a few minutes; which is important because reducing the time it took us to inspect a motor has enabled us to lower the cost of that initial inspection,” continues Patterson.

“The incoming inspection fees we had been charging customers was a little high compared to our competitors, so changing our inspection process has allowed us to lower those initial inspection fees and become more competitive.”

In September of 2015, Koontz-Wagner Maintenance Services began using their portable de-energized motor testing equipment outside of the repair shop. One customer at this time maintained an inventory of approximately 700 spare motors. Over the course of three months, Koontz-Wagner’s predictive maintenance technicians went through this inventory to check the health and condition of all the spare motors.

“Out of that inventory of about 700 motors, we found that about 100 of these motors required maintenance,” explains Patterson.

“We used the AT5 on-site, which was great because it generates reports quickly, so it was ideal for that particular project. And now we are scheduling these motors to come into our motor repair division for service.”

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