Tailored process refractometer solutions with the Vaisala Engineer to Order service

Vaisala’s Polaris™ process refractometer range for liquid concentration measurement covers a wide variety of industries and applications. But what if your process needs something a bit special? Perhaps a custom connection size or coupling, or a flow cell size that our standard offering doesn’t have. Vaisala’s Engineer to Order service is here to help.

Vaisala’s pioneering Polaris optical inline process refractometers optimize manufacturing processes, enhance productivity, and save resources, energy, and time in various industries and hundreds of applications. The Polaris family includes products for, among other applications, liquid concentration measurement in food and beverage production, chemical manufacturing, and pulp and paper production – all highly specialized processes with their own unique requirements.

Tailor products for your specific needs with Engineer to Order

"Although the standard Polaris offering covers a wide variety of liquid measurement needs, customers might have special requirements that mean they need something that our off-the-shelf products don’t offer," says Niko Jaakkola, Project Engineer, Engineer to Order, Vaisala. "For example, they might need connections or couplings with different sizes to fit their process pipelines or require a specific type of material because of hygiene reasons or the process media that’s involved."

Other potential modifications that can be done through the Engineer to Order service include adding an EX certified housing for use in explosive environments – a common requirement in the petrochemical and chemical industries – or customer flow cell sizing to allow refractometers to be installed on the free ends of piping.

Engineer to Order is a one stop shop for customers who need to tailor Vaisala process refractometer products for their specific needs. "Some industrial processes, like pulp and paper production or petrochemical manufacturing, involve very harsh environments with extreme temperatures and corrosive chemicals," says Kati Ikonen, Manager, Engineer to Order, Vaisala. "In pulp and paper, for example, there could be a need to mount the refractometer using a spool size that we don’t have in our offering, or perhaps the customer has extremely specific requirements for the surface roughness of the housing. With Engineer to Order we can address their needs and provide a tailored solution."

Expert consultancy to identify the optimal solution 

For customers who want to take advantage of the Engineer to Order service, it is critical to gather as much information as possible about their process requirements, including pressures, connections, materials used, and the process media. The next step is to contact their local Vaisala sales representative.

"We liaise with the sales teams to review the customer’s requirements and develop a solution to meet them. The more information they can provide up front, the faster and easier it is for us to tailor their process refractometer solution. We can provide everything they need – cost information, what’s involved in the customization, and an idea of the lead time," says Jaakkola. "We’re always ready to act as an expert consultant to help the customer fine-tune their specifications and determine the most effective and economical outcome."

Process refractometer products that are tailored through the Engineer to Order service are covered by the same warranty as all other Vaisala products. All the customization work is performed at our production facility in Vantaa, Finland.