SKF Signs Maintenance Contract With Valero Energy

SKF signed an Integrated Maintenance Solutions (IMS) contract with Valero Energy Corporation to reduce operating expenses and maximize the use of valuable resources. SKF signed a performance-based IMS contract with Valero Energy, the largest refiner in North America, for the Valero Paulsboro Refinery located in Greenwich Township, N.J. With this agreement, Valero extends the application of performance-based contracts from mechanical seals to pumps in an effort to significantly reduce their annual expenses to maintain these assets. With this contract, Valero aims to reduce the cost of spare parts consumed for pump repairs, as well as spare parts inventory and the associated carrying costs. Other objectives include increasing pump availability and Valero engineering resource availability. Valero¡¯s Paulsboro Refinery is contracting resources from SKF for one full-time, on-site reliability engineer, two full-time, on-site reliability technicians and demand resources equal to half a man-year of labor that will be used as needed for reliability related projects such as training, engineering, root cause failure analysis, and reliability centered maintenance. The scope of the contract also covers a one-time investment in condition monitoring hardware and software technology.