DeZurik
McMinnville
| COMPANY/LOCATION: |
DeZurik McMinnville, a unit of General Signal, McMinnville, Tennessee |
| PRODUCT: |
Industrial valves and process equipment |
| YEARS IN BUSINESS: |
30 At its current location |
| EMPLOYEES: |
327 |
| SITUATION: |
DeZurik was using conventional equipment with three waterfall paint
booths to paint valves. A waterfall paint booth is a system that recycles
water through the booth creating a paint sludge that must then be disposed
of. The company wanted to improve the paint system and process. Looking
for technical assistance on the project, they called the University of
Tennessee Center for Industrial Services and were referred to the Oak Ridge
Centers for Manufacturing Technology. |
| PROJECT: |
The goal was to replace the waterfall paint booths and paint equipment
with more efficient units. Staff from ORCMT performed an inspection and
evaluation of the DeZurik plant and recommended a dry filter system for
the painting process and other changes. |
| RESULTS: |
The recommendations from ORCMT were implemented. The technical assistance
rendered to DeZurik allowed the company to complete its project ahead of
schedule, retain the existing six jobs, and realize a 3- to 5-percent savings
on paint costs and a cost reduction of about $20,000 per year in the disposal
of dry filters versus disposal of paint sludge from the waterfall booths.
Bill Luehm, plant manager, said the paint finish and overall quality
were "very much improved" as a result of implementing the ORCMT recommendations. |
Technical assistances provided to the private sector by the Oak Ridge
Centers for Manufacturing Technology (ORCMT) and its manufacturing extension
partners throughout the United States.
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