I recently had to take a census of our international distribution network for a presentation. For a small company like Martel, I thought the numbers were pretty astonishing.

Martel is represented in 55 countries by 65 different companies, not counting various sub-distribution arrangements that some distributor have. Since that census we’ve added a new market and a new company to our list.

Another piece of good news is that virtually all of these companies have been active for us during the past year. That’s probably one reason our international sales increased in 2009 by an astonishing 42% over 2008.

We do a lot to support our distributors both internationally and domestically with our marketing and technical support programs. A lot of our marketing is an effort to drive customers to the distributors. We know that they will sell what they get asked for.

Technical support is also critical to international sales since customers don’t usually like to send products back to the US for repair or routine recalibration. Our service mantra is to have local support in all the markets where we do business. It’s sometimes a challenge, but nearly always rewarding.

The annual Control Magazine Readers’ Choice Awards are out. For us, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that Martel/BETA is listed as #6 in the Portable Calibrator category. I think it’s the first time we’ve been so honored.

The bad news is that #2 on the list doesn’t make or sell calibrators and #5 on the list isn’t even a company any more.

It does make me wonder seriously if people really know what calibrators and calibration are all about. At any rate, thank you to everyone who chose Martel for your calibrators. You are in good company.

Quik-Test Compartmented Case

At Martel Electronics Corporation, we make a lot of pressure calibrators (oddly enough).

Since we also sell a lot of them internationally, a major headache is what kind of connector will the end user need. Part of the solution are our new Quik-Test connectors (see the previous post), but, more often, the problem is understanding just what the style of connector some one is asking about really is.

Engineering Toolbox is a great web site for answering all kinds of niggling questions like that. And, they have a great page that lists just about any kind of piping connection standard you can imagine.

Enjoy.

Pressure calibrations are all about making (and breaking) connections. At best, you can isolate the instrument from the process and connect a calibration setup to an alternate port on the instrument. Most of the time, it won’t be that easy.

At Martel Electronics, we have a better idea. Use our patented Quik-Test connectors to make quick, secure, leak-tight and contaminent free connections between the instrment and the calibrator.

Push on compression fitting (Swagelok) connector

It’s hard to understand the real value of these things without seeing them in action. Then, you’ll truly be amazed at how easy to use and quick they are.

Precision machined from stainless steel for wide media compatibility, they either push on as the picture above shows or spin on with a perfect finger tight seal. NO TOOLS REQUIRED.

We sell these in kits of commonly sized parts for both NPT and BSP style threads. Individual parts are also available. There’s more information on our web site or you can contact your local Martel distributor.

We have updated the very popular and powerful BetaGauge 311 and BetaGauge 321 Advanced Pressure Calibrators. The new models are the single range BetaGauge 311A and dual range BetaGauge 321A. What we didn’t change are the great performance and ease of use we already had.

Here are the new features:

• Super rugged “Power-Tool-Tough” housing. We’re using the same plastic used in high end cordless drills and the like to make the BetaGauge 311A/321A virtually indestructible.
• Custom engineering units. If you don’t like any of the 19 built-in engineering units, you can configure up to 2 additional units. If you give us the factor information and unit name at the time of order, we’ll even put it in for you at no extra cost.
• Enhanced measurement stability. We updated the circuit design on the pressure sensors with our latest technology to provide better all around performance over a wide range of temperatures and with less long term drift.
• User selectable resolution. Sometimes, there’s too much resolution for the intended application. Those extra digits can make the job harder not better. So, you can reduce the displayed resolution by a single digit in any application.
• More compatible ranges. With 29 possible ranges, we let the user choose what’s right for them. Now, we’ve made the ranges more compatible with long time industry practice by providing compound measurement on most ranges below 500 PSI (35 Bar).

See our web site for more details. The new calibrators are available NOW!

The current issue of Control Magazine (digital edition here) has a whole page of links to worthwhile calibration resources from some of the big players in the industry.

Most of them are white papers, but one is another web site with a “ton” of great links to other resources.

If you need to learn or know more about important calibration issues, you should have a look.

The last five “mantras” from the Sunday Wall Street Journal article are…

6. It’s a team effort. Unless you are a one person show, you’re part of a team…or are you? I know I could think of myself as a star and act accordingly, but I also know how much more we can all accomplish together. Even stars need to be bailed out from time to time. That’s when being a team player means a lot. Writing this just made me think of the Brian Piccolo story, teammate of Gale Sayers for those of us old enough to remember.

7. Stay on the reader’s side. Just replace reader with customer and this makes ultimate sense.

8. Don’t get carried away. This is similar to the first point, “stick to the mission.” Maybe better said, KISS-Keep It Simple Stupid (I left out the comma to give it a new slant).

9. Buy low. Sell high. It’s important to make a profit. Like most travelers, I like to see good deals on airfare, hotels, etc. But, if the airlines don’t make money, how long can they afford to keep the planes in good shape and provide the service we all really want? If you sacrifice profits for say growth, you better think carefully. It’s even worse if you’re sacrificing profits just to maintain market share. GM and Chrysler are to some extent examples of what happens (you get a government bailout. Don’t count on it).

10. Remember how you got here. Remember who brought you to the dance. Also as philosopher George Santayana so famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

In our local newspaper, the Sunday business section carries a supplement from the Wall Street Journal. It’s not in many big city or international newspapers, so I thought I could share something from it with our world-wide audience.

The Sunday supplement just celebrated 10 years and offered 10 tips for why they have been successful. They aren’t earthshaking ideas, but they are relevant for almost anybody who wants to succeed in business. I’ve included a link to the original article as the comments below are mine, not theirs.

1. Stick to the mission. Many really good companies have failed or at least diminished because they spread themselves too thin. Of course, this implies that you have a mission to begin with. This is an easy trap to fall into. I think it’s especially easy for people in sales as they always want to please customers even if it means doing something outside the normal realm of expertise.

2. Do what you do well. Most people would interpret this as sticking to doing what you know how to do, but the corollary is just as important. What ever you do, you must do it well. If you can’t, you’re doing the wrong thing.

3. One size does fit all. I agree with this to the point of saying every customer deserves the same quality of service and satisfaction.

4. The numbers count. Well, it helps to be big and growing. But, I also think you can be too big. There are plenty of statistics showing the smaller companies are generally more profitable than bigger companies. But, see point 1 above for why.

5. Pick good partners. Man, this is true in every aspect of life, not just business. I’m the first to say, if it weren’t for my great partner, my life would be highly diminished. The point here is to specifically think about this and look hard before you leap.

The remaining five points will be in the next post.

At the upcoming ISA EXPO 2009 in Houston, Texas, we’re introducing a new software package for data logging on the BetaGauge PI or BetaGauge PIR digital test gauges. The dates for the EXPO are October 6 through 8. Our booth number is 2316. Come see us.

BetaGauge PI Reference Class with MECP500 Pump

Our customers already know how rugged, reliable and useful these gauges are. Now, they’re even more useful. Detailed information about the software and its capabilities can be found here.

Here are some highlights:

 • Ability to log both pressure and ambient temperature (UNIQUE).
 • Up to 8500 data points logged.
 • Data stored in industry standard spread sheet formats (CSV or Excel).
 • Multiple log runs stored in gauge
 • Demand (ad hoc) or Download (computer) configured log runs

Applications supported include:

 • Hydrostatic pressure testing
 • Leak detection
 • Transient pressure spike detection
 • Well head monitoring

You can ask your local Martel Distributor for a quote.

There is an interesting discussion thread going on at Linked In about whether plant operators should be allowed to adjust or change instrument settings (including calibration).

If you are on Linked In, you can find the discussion here http://bit.ly/1ez5lo. If not, you’ll need to sign up for a free account.

My personal and professional opinion for calibration is a decided NO. Actually, it’s NO, NO, NO, NO!

Inadequate calibration maintenance is already a plague at most process plants and allowing anyone other than a qualified calibration professional with the right tools to make a change that affects calibration is sheer madness and dangerous to boot.

While a little tweak may appear to fix things momentarily, pretty soon it will add up to a huge problem.

I feel qualified to make this statement having worked on both sides of the equation. Operators do need to feel and be empowered, but that should be limited to making setpoint adjustments, which even then may need to be limited. It’s easy to lose the big picture when you’re having a problem in the control room. Setpoints, calibration, etc. all have to come together to make the big picture pretty.