H.E.L.P. Program Winners

THANK YOU to everyone that allowed us to HELP them save money!

Here are some recent examples of how we were able to HELP.

A 30 HP DC motor failed at a packaging company. The motor rewind shop required two days to repair it. The customer could not wait. Erie Bearings proposed a solution that HELPED the customer immediately. We were able to provide a 30 HP Toshiba AC motor and a 40 HP Eaton Cutler Hammer AC drive and a new coupling. The customer calculated our efforts saved them $5,000 in down time.

Estimated cost savings: $5,000

A coal mining company needed to replace a failed 20:1 planetary gearbox. They had a 16:1 gearbox in stock. Erie Bearings HELPED by calculating and providing a new chain drive and coupling so they could use the existing 16:1 gearbox, saving money and time.

Estimated cost savings: $3,200

An electric utility power generation facility was replacing a head pulley on a coal conveyor. They had the pulley in stock but they did not have the appropriate bushing in stock. Erie Bearings HELPED by identifying the appropriate bushing for the job. Problem solved...

Estimated cost savings: $1,500

A wood products manufacturer had seven motors that needed replaced. Erie Bearings proposed a turnkey SOLUTION -to pick up the motors, repair them and delivered them all for $7,900 less than buying new motors.

Estimated cost savings: $7,904

A light bulb manufacturer needed to quickly rebuild two packaging conveyors. Erie Bearings HELPED by evaluating the conveyor components that needed replaced on a Saturday. This ensured the customer could have a quote in hand 1st thing Monday morning and make purchase decisions, so parts could arrive the next morning.

Estimated cost savings: $1,500

A variable frequency drive failed in an aluminum wheel manufacturer’s polishing department. The customer needed the variable frequency drive ASAP. Erie Bearings HELPED by coordinated a same day delivery of a new drive from one of our regional warehouses, resulting in zero down time for the customer.

Estimated cost savings: $25,531

A structural concrete steel manufacturer was seeing frequent failures of a flange block bearing on a drag chain conveyor. Erie Bearings evaluated the application and SOLVED the problem by recommending that the existing bearings be replaced with Dodge solid lube bearings.

Estimated cost savings: $6,800

A tubing manufacturer was experiencing premature conveyor belt failures on four conveyors that they had purchased from the OEM. Erie Bearings HELPED specify in a new nitrile conveyor belt that was well suited for the application, lasted longer and cost less.

Estimated annual savings: $8,000

A rod manufacturer’s gear reducer had failed for the 3rd time in a few years. The gear reducer was sized properly, but failures still occurred. Erie Bearings determines the root cause of the failure was an excessive overhung load. The problem was solved by suggesting the customer slightly change the mounting location.

Estimated cost savings: $257,000

Grape juice manufacturer had an OEM motor fail in a refrigeration area. The lead time to replace the motor through the OEM was 6 weeks. Erie Bearings Co. solved the problem by crossing the motor to a direct interchange through US Motor. Problem solved...

Estimated cost savings: $710

A bottling plant was in need of a metric cam follower for a blow molding machine. The OEM quoted a 12 week lead time. Erie Bearings Company provided a solution by offering an equivalent cam follower that was in stock and ready to ship.

Estimated cost savings: $7,387

A medium density fiber board manufacturer needed a coupling half rated at over 900 HP. Erie Bearings Co. provided a KopFlex Coupling at a significant savings.

Estimated cost savings: $2,500

A spaghetti sauce manufacturers’ clear glass detecting sensor caused operational downtime when they switched the line over to another product. The existing sensor required continuous adjustments to work properly. The customer noticed a considerable savings in set-up time after Erie Bearings Company recommended they try Eaton Cutler Hammer’s Perfect Prox sensor.

Estimated annual savings: $3,000

A food processing company had very regular failures on a cheese shredder gearmotor. Erie Bearings asked if we could review the application for the customer. After reviewing the application it was discovered that the gearmotor in place fell was undersized. Erie Bearings solved this on-going problem by specifying a SEW Eurodrive gearmotor that was properly sized.

Estimated annual savings: $124,000

A paper mill was faced with a long lead time for a replacement gearbox that was on order with a competing distributor. Erie Bearings suggested that repairing the existing gearbox would provide cost-savings and a quick turn-around. Erie Bearings had the repaired gearbox back in the customer’s hands in one day, providing saving and reduced downtime.

Estimated cost savings: $9,100

A wood products manufacturer was getting false readings from a color sensor on an automatic cut-off operation. Erie bearings determined that the existing sensor was not designed for dusty applications. Erie Bearings solved the problem by providing a totally sealed IP67 rated sensor that was designed for the environment.

Estimated annual savings: $1,988

A winery needed to have the rollers recovered in a drum filter. The customer found out that Erie Bearings could provide significant savings over their existing supplier.

Estimated cost savings: $1,700

An aluminum wheel manufacturer had regular failures of a mechanical counter on its production line. The failures were due to physical wear and tear. Erie Bearings Co. offered a solution using a non-contact photoelectric Cutler Hammer sensor and a Redlion digital counter. Problem solved...

Estimated annual savings: $4,100

A packaging company wanted to solve a problem they were having with sensors. Plastic residue repeatedly blocked the lens of their existing sensor, shutting down the line. Erie Bearings’ solution was to install a Cutler Hammer harsh duty sensor with an intense beam that could see through the residue. Oh…and by the way we saved the customer $’s.

Estimated cost savings: $4,000

A large cabinet maker saves on the replacement of chain. The chain thought to be only available through the OEM was available through Erie Bearings Company vendor Reynold Jeffery.

Estimated cost savings: $500

An OEM needed a gearbox, a HP and ratio was provided. The engineering staff at Erie Bearings Co. reviewed the application and determined that the customer could reduce the size of the motor and save $’s.

Estimated cost savings: $1,000

A pet food manufacturer needed to reduce material waste. Erie Bearings HELPED by providing three possible solutions. The customer settled on new sprockets from UST Inc. to control the speed of material to be reclaimed.

Estimated annual cost savings: $150,150

An asphalt production facility needed to change the speed of their drag-line conveyor to prevent the jamming of material. With critical orders that needed filled that day the customer was under pressure to have a solution in place quickly. Erie Bearings HELPED by evaluating the drive system and providing Emerson Power Transmission chain drive components that would work with the 31.4:1 gearbox that day.

Estimated cost savings: $35,000

A powdered metal company needed to speed up a downstream conveyor to keep up with the upstream production. Erie Bearings provides a solution by calculating a new drive ratio and supplying Emerson Power Transmission parts that increases production.

Estimated cost savings: $57,000

A wood products manufacturer had an encoder coupling failure up to 4 times per month. Erie Bearings solves the problem with a Zero Max encoder coupling that could handle additional misalignment.

Estimated annual cost savings: $10,851

A snack food manufacturer had repeated belt failures. Erie Bearings reviewed the application and provided a properly applied belt, doubling belt life. Problem solved...

Estimated annual cost savings: $26,875

A powder metal forge had a conveyor with a laced belt that gave a false reject reading due to the lacing lifting the product. We solved the problem by replacing the laced belt with an Ex-Cel endless belt.

Estimated monthly cost savings: $57,600

A lighting products manufacturer had a machine mothballed due to not being able to find obsolete parts the machine needed. We were able to retrofit a Nexen air clutch, Browning pulley, and a Dodge gearbox to get the machine running again and avoid the cost of buying a new machine.

Estimated cost savings: $8,805

A building products manufacturer wanted to increase their production. We designed and built a custom Control Panel that allowed them to double their throughput.

Estimated annual cost savings: $25,200

A plastics manufacturer was replacing limit switches frequently due to the wet environment. We replaced with epoxy filled Pepperl+Fuchs inductive limit switches that provided a much longer life.

Estimated cost savings: $2,000

An OEM wanted to cut costs on the large HP motors they put into their equipment. We were able to provide Toshiba motors that met their specs and decreased their costs considerably.

Estimated annual cost savings: $21,000

A lighting products manufacturer had a special sprocket that they were told could only be purchased from the OEM. We were able to provide a UST sprocket that they were able to machine to meet their requirements.

Estimated cost savings: $1,794

A graphite electrodes manufacturer had a long range sensor that was not working properly in an application that gave off steam on cold days. We replaced the sensor with a Cutler-Hammer Harsh Duty Through Beam sensor which had no problem sensing through the steam. The result allowed the automated process to continue without interruption.

Estimated annual cost savings: $2,100

A Power Plant needed a new 15” HMI and was considering purchasing an Allen-Bradley, as they already had A-B HMIs in their plant. We were able to provide them a Red Lion HMI that had the features that wanted (data logging, trending) built into it and the tech support and software were included as well. Additionally, the customer found the Red Lion HMI easier to program than the A-B.

Estimated cost savings: $3,500

A food processor was losing production due to the cover of the belting provided by the OEM. We changed the cover of the belt to a cover that did not cause bottles to tip and increased production by 15%.

Estimated annual cost savings: $10,000

A foundry needed a replacement speed reducer for a sand conveyor. The original reducer was obsolete and the same brand replacement was extremely expensive. We were able to provide an SEW-Eurodrive reducer that matched the specs of the original one at a much lower price.

Estimated cost savings: $14,300

A food processor needed replacement motor starters and circuit breakers. We provided them with Cutler-Hammer XT starters and WMS circuit breakers that were priced lower than former supplier.

Estimated cost savings: $2,880

A power plant has an air cannon on a crusher that had to be repaired yearly due to vibration, design and mounting configuration. We replaced it with an all steel construction and in-line mounting configuration air cannon.

Estimated annual cost savings: $1,486