Slater Controls understands which valve or control instrument is needed for a project or application and can provide it.
Kevin Slater, president of Slater Controls, believes that they are one of the best suppliers for the oil and gas industry. He bases that assessment on his nearly 30 years in the instrument and control business. “There is more than one segment to [the business],” he says. “We represent and distribute for many manufacturers of control valves, flow measurement, level control, process and automation controls.”
With his experience, Slater believes a customer would be comfortable working with Slater Controls to accomplish a successful automation and controls project with confidence. “I’ve been doing it for so long, I know and understand how the industry works,” he says. “How we’ve grown in certain segments is not brand-specific but we’ll still have what a customer needs, both in product and knowledge. We keep a healthy stock of products that are not kept in stock by other manufacturer representatives or distributors.”
Product expertise is what Slater credits for the growth of the company. Founded in Midland, Texas, it now includes locations in Amarillo, Texas, Farmington and Albuquerque, N.M., and Phoenix. He says that each location is staffed with people that have been in the industry numerous years and capable of offering the same technical assists for the customers’ needs.
Service and Training
Besides being a supplier, Slater Controls also offers the assembly, calibration and repair of valves, actuators and pressure switches. The company points out that it can mount any of its actuators to a customer’s valve, including choke valves and damper drives. It also offers actuator accessories such as limit switches, positioners, position feedback transmitters, speed controls and solenoid valves. All of its actuator assemblies are calibrated and fully tested. The service is provided in-house, in the field or at a company’s plant.
The company also offers training and support on all products. Slater says training is a must and important enough that three years ago the company added a training room to its facility in Midland. He acknowledges that while the training center was built primarily for the customers, employees too use it to get better acquainted with the products.
For electrical industrial services, Slater Controls says it specializes in ARC flash studies, power systems engineering, as well as motor control and transformer maintenance and repair. It offers 24-hour emergency service.
The training facility is available for factory reps, demo equipment and Slater Controls’ staff to assist with customer needs. The company also offers courses on technology updates. “We typically try to have school or training once a month,” Slater says. “Product software updates are frequent, and we attempt to keep up and keep customers abreast.”
Slater Controls offers training for programmable logic controllers (PLC), electrical components, instrumentation, valve automation and meter calibration. Application engineers and specialists are readily available for support, Slater says, adding that factory personnel is prepared to assist customers for their convenience.
Slater has built relationships with many of the colleges and universities near his locations and has provided equipment for classroom settings for many of these institutions. Slater also provides shorter lunch-and-learn type sessions for those who do not need formal training, but just a refresher course or product update. Slater Controls says it will arrange training at a company’s own facility, as well.
Source of Trust
Slater says he intends to continue the company’s growth strategy of entering new geographic areas. He says he would like to see Slater Controls in West Texas and the Panhandle, as well as Mexico and the Four Corners area of Northeast Arizona. “Incorporating other regions is one of our main focuses,” he says. “We strive to do the same thing we have been doing, continuing our success.”
Because of his experience and relationships with his customers, Slater says many trust him to choose the appropriate products. “Many say, ‘We trust you, just supply us with the correct products for the given application,’” he says. “Those customer’s aren’t as concerned about the brand, as they are with the expertise and the service during and after the project.”
Slater Controls says its primary goal is to provide technical assistance and service for the products that it represents. “We will continue to represent the highest-quality products that add value to the customer’s process,” it says. “These products shall not only be among the most respected in the industry, but also should complement each other for most all industrial processes. [We] will strive to become a single-source supplier by having the offering of different complementary products and brands, thus reducing time and money for the customer.”
Stacked Supplier
Slater Controls strives to offer all industry needs and has a deep supply chain. Slater says he has a great long-standing relationship with many manufacturers, allowing the company to receive the newest products once they enter the market.
For Siemens Energy & Automation, Slater Controls carries valve positioners and pneumatic products, pressure transmitters and single loop controllers, and says Siemens Milltronics manufacturers a wide arrange of level products – such as radar, ultra sonic and point levels – which Slater Controls provides.
Siemens valve controls and flow measurement devices including MasFlo, MagFlo, flow meters and sensors are carried, as well as Siemens S7-200, S7-300, S7-400 PLCs, analog and digital I/O, wiring and accessories. Also, Slater Controls carries Siemens LOGO!, software, industrial Ethernet, and accessories. Slater Controls says it can be your one stop source for Siemens motor control, pump panels, relays, contactors, disconnects and most other electrical needs.
With LOGO!, Siemens says it is possible to implement your own simple automation projects or simplify your existing control cabinet that already contain time switches, timing relays, counters and contactor relays. The company says the product is the complete all-in-one solution, containing eight basic logic and 31 special functions. It says LOGO! replaces a wide range of conventional switchgear and control devices and is versatile for analog value applications and simple control tasks. Siemens adds that LOGO! is easy to mount, has minimum wiring and provides easy programming.
Recently, Slater Controls has added its own product to the market. The company created a control valve of its own, which is a custom built three-way valve. It can be manufactured in sizes from one to four inches in class 150 to 600. It has connections that range from grooved to national pipe thread to flange. The valve can be built with a L-port or T-port design to accommodate the customer.
Slater Controls operates in all of west Texas, southwestern Oklahoma, New Mexico, lower Colorado, southern Kansas and southern Utah.
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