Solids like chocolate, wax, and asphalt need to be melted prior to being pumped. Jacketing is a common way of heating the pump to successfully transfer these room temperature solids. Pump jacketing consists of chambers that surround the pumping cavity. Heating mediums such as hot oil, water, or steam are pumped into these chambers which then heat the pumping cavity as well as the liquid inside. Once the liquid is melted, the pump can be started. Common pump components that can be jacketed include brackets, heads, rotor bearing sleeves, casings, and relief valves.

[LISA] My name is Lisa Schoborg. I'm a senior data analyst at Viking Pump and I've been here for 18 years. [CHRIS] My name is Chris Mihm. I'm the program manager with the global distribution group and I've been with Viking for just over 20 years. [Andi] My name is Andi Bicket. That's an I, not a Y. I am a senior graphic designer at Viking Pump and I have worked here for 20 years. [BRUCE] Bruce Helgeson. I'm a senior operations engineer here at Viking Pump. Been with Viking for roughly 36 years. [INTERVIEWER] Look back.

This is a gear pump, a type of rotary positive displacement pump. Its tight-fitting clearances allow it to evacuate air in the suction line to prime the pump. And once primed, it's capable of pulling even higher vacuums. This ability to self-prime is key in applications like unloading drums, totes, rail cars, and barges. But as good as this pump is at pulling the liquid in, it's always going to be limited and not based on the pump. It's based on an invisible force pushing the liquid in from the outside, and that's atmospheric pressure.

Viking Pump is the global leader in positive displacement pumping solutions and we proudly manufacture and assemble our products in Cedar Falls, Iowa. With our own dedicated foundry and machine shop, we build our products from start to finish to our own high standards. This vertical integration gives us better control of our supply lines, enhances our ability to respond to change, and creates stability for our partners and customers. We’ve been centrally located in Iowa since 1911. We're proud of that history. We're proud of the work we've done, still do, and will do together.

So I started at Viking 6 and a half years ago as an account manager with the OEM team, moved up as a senior account manager and then a supervisor. Currently I'm the customer support manager for the OEM and energy teams. I really started with OEM but I got to work with energy here or there. Really cool to see just starting out having no knowledge of pumps and not knowing what any of the components are to having a lot more knowledge but even looking more at the process and how we can continue to grow better each day.