There are hundreds of pumps at the DuPont plant in Mt.Clemens,
Michigan - all part of a manufacturing process that produces
automotive paint for Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Honda and
other car assembly sites in North America. Used for batching,
recirculating and transferring paint and paint products, the
pumps help the facility's 700 employees make more than a million
gallons of paint a month - enough to cover more than one-thirds
of all the new cars the company's clients produce.
A large portion of DuPont's Air-Operated Double Diaphragm
(AODD) Pumps are made by Versa-Matic, according to DuPont
Maintenance Supervisor Ken Hohlbein. In 1993, when Versa-Matic
introduced the E2-the two-inch pump with the Elima-Matic®
air valve -American Controls, Inc., Versa-Matic's Detroit
area distributor, offered Ken a trial pump. The Elima-Matic
solved several problems for Ken: Because the valves need little
or no lubrication, depending on the application, maintenance
problems related to over or under filling of the oilers were
eliminated. The valves also help DuPont exhaust its system
so no contaminants are released into the atmosphere.
No
Stalls
Over the next year and a half, Ken along with Peter Mockus,
vice president of sales for American Controls, worked together
to replace the competition with Vers-Matic pumps and replacement
parts. The reliability of the Elima-Matics also reduced downtime
for DuPont by eliminating pump stalls caused by numerous factors.
"When a pump stalls, I could shut down my customer, which
is the whole Production area," says Ken, who is responsible
for supervising pump operations and repairs for the Production
side of the business. At the Mt. Clemens plant, Production
includes the batching group that makes dispersions, a key
ingredient in the final paint product; the charging area,
which transfers product into tanks; and the fill area, which
fills containers with the finished product.
Cost
Savings
Fewer pump stalls point up another advantage of the Versa-Matic
line: "Cost savings," says Ken. Pumps that stall less frequently
and, therefore, requires less maintenance, are more cost effective
to operate.
Since switching to Versa-Matic, Ken has reduced his overall
maintenance costs, including:
·
Lost production costs. DuPont experiences fewer stalls
with Elima-Matics. In addition, American Controls provides
timely delivery of pumps and replacement parts through just-in-time
inventory and emergency service.
· Replacement
pumps costs, since Versa-Matic units have demonstrated greater
reliability.
· Superior replacement
part options. For example, Ken uses a one-piece bonded Teflon®
diaphragm, a product Versa-Matic introduced and help design.
The one-piece bonded Teflon diaphragm is more durable and
wears longer than a conventional, two-piece Teflon diaphragm.
Industry
Innovation
The pursuit of diaphragm and air valve technology are examples
of Versa-Matic's commitment to bringing new solutions to the
pump market. Ken values this commitment. In fact, he is involved
with ongoing new product development at Versa-Matic.
"In coming out with the E2 Versa-Matic demonstrated its ability
to be innovative," Ken says. "The potential for new technology
from Vers-Matic is one of the reasons DuPont has selected
Versa-Matic as our supplier.
