An outpatient procedure to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, LASIK reshapes the cornea using a beam of light from an excimer laser. By the end of 2001, about 400,000 procedures had been performed under the guidance of LaserVision, a St Louis MO-based company that serves more than 700 eye surgeons at more than 300 locations nationwide.
To meet demand for this procedure, LaserVision began in 1995 to develop a fleet of trucks that could transport the excimer laser and related equipment to doctors' offices. The precisely calibrated equipment needed protection from outside elements and a constant temperature of 60° to 80° F — regardless of weather conditions or traveling location.
In 1995, LaserVision approached its local vehicle body maker, McHenry Truck Equipment, which recommended Central States Thermo King of St Louis. Mike Ham, Thermo King sales manager, soon began outfitting a small fleet of three Ford F-450 trucks with Thermo King's V-250 units. Today, LaserVision maintains a fleet of 42 mobile units outfitted with V-250 and V-280 units. Trucks are driven to doctors' offices by engineers trained to operate and repair the laser equipment.
Central States Thermo King has provided LaserVision engineers with training and instruction on the units. Each year, an engineer brings the truck to one of LaserVision's maintenance facilities in St Louis, Greensboro NC, or Rialto CA for annual preventive maintenance.
