The Problem:
When we met with a coating manufacturer in the Midwest, they asked if Marcus Paint would be willing to mill an intermediate grind paste for them because they could not keep up with their demand. It took days to produce the required paste for a batch with their equipment. They needed a company to produce the paste for them so they could keep up with demand.
The Solution:
At Marcus Paint, we realize there are many viable ways to produce coatings. Since we are a custom coatings manufacturer, flexibility and adaptability must be built into our equipment and processes. Further, we have a long history of proven methods and development initiatives to draw from. This allowed us to not only produce the paste but also helped them improve their formulation and internal processes.
We started by looking at their formula and the equipment they were using to produce the paste so our engineering and technical laboratory teams could begin the process of optimizing for production on our equipment. This process included a rigorous testing and development process including:
- Paste viscosity
- Mill Media Load
- Mill Media Type
- Viscosity of Pre-Mix
- Pre-Mix dispersion quality
- Mixer size
- Mixer RPM
- Blade size and type
- Tank size and shape
- Formulation enhancements & additives
We had our customer ship us their raw paste just as they would process it through their equipment. This allowed us to adjust in real-time to get quicker results. After some adjustments, we began milling on our equipment and immediately doubled their output rate. The quality of the grind also improved which was not a requirement but certainly beneficial to the final product.
Results:
After further development work by our Engineering, Technical and Production teams we were able to further optimize this process and gain throughput rates that were four times what they were obtaining internally.
Our Production Manager and Technical Director visited their facility and outlined the improvements we made and helped them implement the optimized formulation and process we developed.
At every milestone, we involved the customer to confirm that the end product would be exactly what the customer needed – always considering the production equipment’s limitations and maximizing the manufacturing process’s efficiencies.
Our new customer was delighted with our product solution and consultative approach to their problem. This solution led to the customer being able to keep up with the demand for this product on their own.
We continually evaluate our customer’s needs, searching for productivity and performance enhancements through regular Technical Account Manager visits.
We’re proud to work harder, think smarter, and put more effort into satisfying our customers than anyone else. Our proactive approach helps us serve as an indispensable business partner, not just a supplier. Read more of our case studies and blogs to see just how committed we are to getting it right.