NSK'S ASSET IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME REDUCES DOWNTIME & MAINTENANCE COSTS BY -‚¬192,600 FOR MAJOR FOOD PRODUCER
22/09/2011 NSK Europe Ltd
An internationally-renowned Italian snack food company is benefiting from annual savings of -‚¬192,600 on production and maintenance costs, since using NSK's Asset Improvement Programme to overcome a persistent problem of failure of fixed tail drum conveyor bearings operating in a damp environment.The company operates 6 production lines, and across all of these was experiencing the same problem: bearing life of just six months due to the adverse environment. With production costs running at -‚¬3,500/hr, this situation was clearly unsustainable and NSK was called in to analyse the application and suggest an alternative.
NSK investigated the application and proposed replacing the existing double-row ball bearings with its Molded-Oil™ Series of spherical roller bearings. Molded-Oil™ bearings reduce the total cost of ownership of food processing machinery by removing the downtime associated with regular bearing replacements, and through maintenance cost savings as a result of longer re-lubrication intervals. They provide these benefits with a special solid lubricant that greatly improves the performance of machinery and equipment in environments exposed to high humidity and contamination.
A highly effective lubricant, Molded-Oil™ offers more than twice the operating life of grease lubrication in water contaminated environments. Moreover, the technology means that operating environments are kept free of grease - very important in food applications - and there is no need for refilling of lubricant, as Molded-Oil™ provides a continuous supply of lubricating oil.
Since fitting of the new Molded-Oil™ spherical roller bearings, bearing life has increased to 15 months (the original Molded-Oil™ bearings are still operating - with more life to come). As a consequence, maintenance intervals have been reduced, leading to major savings in production downtime costs, calculated at a considerable -‚¬192,600 annually.
In addition to this annual cost reduction, the snack food manufacturer is also benefiting because a costly regreasing operation has now been eliminated. This represents an additional major cost saving in respects of labour and downtime, and a solution to environmental protection.
New Free Publication for Food and Beverage Industry.
Comprehensive details of Molded-Oil™ and all other NSK bearings for food and beverage applications are contained in a new 24-page publication. The free brochure provides a wealth of information regarding the choice of bearings for use in food and beverage applications. Free copies of the publication are available from NSK: Tel: Freephone 0500 2327464. Callers should quote the publication reference: FB/B/E/11.09
For further information, please contact Mary Fletcher:
NSK UK Ltd, Northern Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2JF Tel: 0500 2327464 Fax: 01636 643075 Web: www.nskeurope.com Email: info-uk@nsk.com
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