They say a picture is worth a thousands words.  In this case, a picture is worth about 6.3 MW!

One of my favorite things to do as President of Empowering Pumps LLC is take plant tours.  I was recently in Beloit, WI where was given a tour of Fairbanks Morse Engine’s facility by Luke Fredrickson and George Whittier. Fairbanks Morse Engine has aunique history so we began our tour in the museum.  There are displays of the first engines, pumps, and parts that were machined in the facility back in the 1800s.  I was surprised to learn that during the war women worked in the facility’s machine shop.  There is an original uniform on display.  Of course, I was fascinated that it was stylish as far as uniforms go…

As we walked through the training room, classes were in session.  Users are taught about the different engines and how replacement parts should be installed.  The room had several engine cutaways that gave a great hands-on element.

As we continued to walk, in the snow, I noticed that the facility was very well maintained.  I wasn’t nervous of falling on ice and there were no metals flakes sticking to the bottoms of my shoes (something I always notice).   This is a well-managed and maintained plant.  George F. Whittier, President, was also very impressive to watch during the tour. He knew all of the workers by name and spoke to them as we visited each station.   With a facility that size, it is worth a mention!

Once we got to the Engine testing room, I was introduced to Kyle Padfield, Engineer.  Unfortunately the test wasn’t running but that did give me the opportunity to ask Kyle questions.  And of course… I asked… “Where are the pumps!”  Kyle was so nice to explain the Engine design.  There were several fuel injection pumps that are part of the engine design.  This is just more proof to my saying, “you need a pump to run a pump.” In this case, you need a pump to build an engine.

I recommend if you are ever in Beloit, you should ask for a plant tour.  In the meantime, visit www.FairbanksMorse.com and tour around.  You can also visit their Facebook page to see the above engine rolling down the railroad tracks.

Fairbanks Morse Engine, based in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA, is a worldwide leader in engine technology and manufacturing.