While driving down the road it's easy to identify different types of vehicles. Cars, SUVs, and trucks are all easily distinguishable. You can even take it a step further and classify each vehicle based on make and model. But when it comes to rail cars for freight shipping, identifying the different types may not be as simple.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Whether it’s chocolate on a cone, vanilla in a cup, or a large banana split, no summer or celebration is complete without this sweet treat.

Think about a time you interviewed for a job. You most likely researched the company before the interview, dressed to impress, and came armed with your résumé and questions to ask at the end. After all, proper preparation prevents poor performance. The same principle can be applied to air tools.

While most consumers are familiar with the gasoline and diesel that power their vehicles, do they know where the fuel originates? Oddly enough the same gasoline and diesel that is in your vehicle comes from the same barrel of crude oil that produces other products like asphalt, jet fuel, motor oil, and tires. It is truly amazing how many different products are produced from the world’s most valuable fossil fuel!

Dixon entered the industrial swivel market in 1985 when it acquired Le-Hi Andrews. Over the years, working with our engineers, foundry, and extensive CNC machine shop, we have refined and expanded our swivel product line to better meet the needs of our customers.

Acrylic sight glasses are commonly used in petroleum cargo tanks to make liquid level and flow visible to the tank operator. With the increased use of ethanol in fuel, the service life of these sight glasses has shortened. Many customers believe the root cause is compatibility with ethanol. The problem isn't ethanol, though. It's the solvents in ethanol.

Dry disconnect couplings are designed for the quick and spill-free connection and disconnection of hoses and pipelines when transferring expensive hazardous product that is costly to clean up, reprocess, or dispose of. Dry disconnects are used by producers of ink, adhesives, fatty acids, pharmaceuticals, liquid soaps, petroleum, chemicals, agriculture, and a wide variety of caustic substances and specialty acids.

In the last two years, we have seen crude oil prices fluctuate from trading at historic lows of $13.78 price per barrel in April 2020 to a new eight-year high of $111.53 in March 2022. Quite the increase wouldn’t you say? A +709% increase to be exact. Oil prices have been notoriously volatile throughout our country’s rich history. Why? Because of the long list of everchanging factors that contribute to the fluctuations of this raw material’s price.

Have you ever gotten out of the car and reached for the door only to be met with a shock? The small zap, caused by static electricity, is alarming, but in this scenario it’s harmless. However, when it comes to tank trucks hauling petroleum and other highly flammable products, a static shock can spark a dangerous situation.

No, this is not a blog about expanding a company by creating internal growth. Internal expansion as it pertains to the manufacturing industry is the process of internally expanding a hose coupling to allow for “full flow” in a hose assembly. A full flow hose assembly reduces the amount of buildup in the hose at the hose/stem interface and is best suited for thicker media that includes plaster, concrete, and slurries.