Manufacturing North America Issue 109

Manufacturing North America

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Look at the options

Alloys and additives

Inspiring technology

Approaches that can help manufacturers exercise influence and maximise sales productivity

A look at the innovation that is underway in the world of materials development

3D printing is set to grow exponentially and this will bring new industrial opportunities

Quality products designed to optimize your application

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For a competitive edge, visit www.danfossdrives.com

Manufacturing North America

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Issue | 109

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Alloys and additives

Inspiring technology

A look at the innovation that is underway in the world of materials development

3D printing is set to grow exponentially and this will bring new industrial opportunities

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Look at the options There are approaches that can help manufacturers to exercise influence and maximise sales productivity

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20 Editor libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Philip Monument pmonument@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Artwork studio@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Research team Ian Shaw ishaw@manufacturingnorthamerica.com Anna Davies adavies@manufacturingnorthamerica.com Joanne Jeffery jjeffery@manufacturingnorthamerica.com www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com Twitter: @MNA_magazine © 2018 Manufacturing North America

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Lead Features Analysis and insights

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3D Printing 3D printing is set to grow exponentially, and as it does, so too will new industrial opportunities abound Equipment New technology means the lifespan of legacy equipment can be elongated even further through preventative maintenance

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Case study Chemical plants and refineries bring their own cooling challenges – and meeting today’s requirements often necessitates equipment upgrades Sales performance There are areas where manufacturers can exercise their influence and maximise their sales productivity and performance

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Materials Three experts from GE talk to Manufacturing North America about additive manufacturing, industrial 3D-printing and other developments

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News

News and views from across North America

Profiles

Interviews and case studies ProSlide Technology The philosophy of continuous innovation and improvement has taken ProSlide Technology to incredible heights of success MJC Engineering & Technology MJC is one of the leading developers of metal forming machines and technologies in the United States

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Platinum Tank Group Acquisition has undoubtedly been the number one reason for growth at Platinum Tank Group, as President and Owner, Tony Roberts asserts Targeted Pet Treats The fact that Targeted Pet Treats’ products are manufactured in the USA is a prime value driver for customers

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved.

The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of MNA, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Inspiring

technology The recent broadening in knowledge and understanding about 3D printing and additive manufacture have generated new business ideas and opportunities ranging from home hobby machines to printing buildings on other planets.

Andrew Watts reveals some exciting options

3 Andrew Watts - CEO - Newtecnic

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D printers are used extensively in automotive, aerospace and consumer goods industry applications to validate form.

Over the last three decades, considerable business and technical experience has been built up in enterprises that use this technology. On this foundation, and now that prices are falling, many more machines are being put into service.

Not only have 3D printers become less expensive, their capabilities have evolved. Machines that can print titanium, aluminium, silver and now carbon fibre, are revolutionising many businesses including, for example, jewellery making, by enabling production of shapes and designs that could not be made by conventional techniques. The opportunity to show people what a design will look like - even make a plastic

3D Printing

Seen in 2038, at the Changsha International Culture and Arts Center, 3D printers are deployed in a Construction Lab to manufacture replacement building components

products and assembly methods that see them accurately and efficiently manufactured and installed on some of the world’s most iconic buildings.

Rather than design components and have them made in remote factories to be delivered, and then assembled on-site, Newtecnic facilitates the use of Construction Labs where local skilled craftspeople using locally sourced materials, deploy very advanced production machinery in temporary factories. These small but efficient manufacturing cells, that incorporate 3D printing, are dedicated to producing mass-customized components.

And as robots become more advanced they will interact with Construction Labs generating, moving and installing both new and replacement building parts.

Work station Aspects of The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Hub in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have been design engineered by Newtecnic in the US. Inspection, monitoring and precise measurement of concealed areas behind panels, and within the completed building’s fabric, can be executed by small flying Lidar and camera-equipped drones and robots. High resolution building and system performance data collected this way can be shared with, and coupled to, on-site

example first, allows people to acquire often-unique pieces with no risk of disappointment or surprise at the outcome. The same idea is current in the life sciences industry where dentists will soon be able to produce perfect crowns on demand from in-houses machine while other types of medical implant could be literally made-to-measure. There are opportunities throughout these developments for new types

of services that will evolve to help companies make the most of the technology. Manufacturing is entering a renaissance where start-ups can produce brilliantly designed high quality products without the need for a factory.

Onsite manufacture Newtecnic’s design engineering partnerships with US university engineering departments are aimed at developing new building

Construction Labs equipped with 3D printers that fabricate components that perfectly fit the as-built structure. Other projects around the world that the company is engineering are planned to deploy Construction Labs from the earliest stages of construction. In this way, mid 20th century methods and devices of mass-production are being replaced by new automated, very flexible, highly controllable and adaptable sets of tools efficiently operated at a local level.

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In 2038 robots and drones inspect and measure the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Hub in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, fitting 3D printed replacement façade panels

Light bulb moment In the past, to have an idea for a product was one thing but to have it made was quite another.

3D printers have changed that, so now a single product can be made, small batches are easy to produce, and individual customization has become practical. If demand increases, more machines can be simply added to meet it.

Existing manufacturing can easily adapt to accommodate 3D printing and many successfully deploy it extensively. New types of companies are also emerging that exploit the reduced cost base of 3D printing set-ups.

These offer innovation through flexibility that is hard to match in a more traditional manufacturing environment.

There are opportunities too in the spares industry. Companies that are obliged to provide spare parts for many years, such as in the automotive, aerospace, and increasingly the construction industry, face storage and logistics costs with ‘dead’ stock.

With 3D printing it is simple to maintain ‘digital spares’ that are

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printed to order. That means that any amount of digital spare parts can be held in stock indefinitely.

This effectively extends product’s lives with all the reputational and environmental benefit that brings.

Fast and faster Aerospace, F1, consumer product, life science and construction companies are increasing their 3D printer deployment to help them innovate faster. And in areas of economic under development where manufacturing industry has not taken a foothold, 3D design and printing offer great business innovation potential. Creating products locally means that new agile businesses can start with low investment, minimal infrastructure and potentially high returns.

The ability to manufacture to demand is very appealing in poor areas of the world that view 3D printing as a way to leapfrog the industrial world’s production and development cycles. Innovative manufacturers are benefiting from this development by siting machines across the world to take advantage of operating conditions and energy costs.

The construction industry sees 3D printing as a way to avoid lengthy spare parts procurement supply chains by making parts and equipment on-site. Newtecnic is currently working in partnerships with American commercial and university engineering departments to develop, test and validate these methods.

Robot builders in space Many people belief that Man’s future includes colonizing other planets. Development of technologies for mining asteroids is already underway and in 20 years mining and living in space may be a reality. Robotized 3D printing in space would be a viable alternative to sending product supplies from Earth. It is predicted that the first permanent off-Earth dwellings will be built by robots using 3D printing techniques developed for the materials and conditions that are found on other planets. This long-term business opportunity has already spawned several development companies with Richard Branson and Google’s Larry Page as investors.

3D Printing It’s the year 2038 and inside the Newtecnic Construction Lab additive manufacture is used to make replacement façade panels for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Hub in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Each component fits perfectly because it is developed from data collected using Lidar scans from the as-built structure

Currently my company’s technology is instrumental in the design, construction and simplification of complex buildings. Engineering for habitation on other planets is a daunting prospect but one that can be resolved by innovatively evolving current design engineering and manufacturing practices.

Fab gear Started as an outreach project from MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA), Fab Labs aim at developing programmable molecular assemblers able to make almost anything. Projects in Fab Labs include solar and windpowered turbines, computers and equipment for agriculture and healthcare, housing, and printing complete working machines - including 3D printers.

Not surprisingly there are many business opportunities and new enterprise scenarios being developed around Fab Labs and their intensive use of 3D design technology.

Another idea is for people to use designers’ basic forms to customize their own products.

This means that people without design skills can partner with designers to create new products.

As 3D printing prices fall this market, driven by ‘collective intelligence’, will inevitably grow,

scanning an item with your phone and making a part is also not far away. This means, for example, people could scan, make, repair and replace parts rather than discard products because one component is faulty.

The financial argument is strong because there is immediate return through money saved.

Roadside breakdown repairers could even manufacture parts on the way to a vehicle that has communicated directly with a 3D printer on-board the recovery vehicle.

Deploying modular and ‘cassette’ building façade design methodology means buildings can easily be modified to take advantage of new technologies as they arise. In coming years, high performance concrete and steel components will have evolved to become stronger, lighter and more durable. New building materials will also be developed and faster 3D printers

working on- or off-site will make optimized components to be fitted by new types of robots.

Many building owners and operators will, by these means, simply adapt, refresh and renew buildings throughout their lives to suit contemporary needs.

In the coming years 3D printing is set to grow exponentially and, as it does so, new industrial opportunities will abound.

Correctly positioning a business to capitalise on that prospect presents many exciting ways for enterprises to flourish in this inspiringly innovative technological era.

Eight tips for effective digitalization and robot deployment: 1. Use 3D printing to close the disconnect between design and manufacturing 2. Embrace mass-customization for innovative and better made structures 3. Deploy on-site Construction Labs for local manufacture 4. Engineer buildings and machines for the future of cobotics 5. Create digital twins of buildings and products as living user manuals 6. Building inspection by drones is safer and more accurate – with no cradles required 7. Use Lidar equipped drones to check as-built condition against the digital twin 8. Reduce waste by manufacturing and delivering components to order M

Andrew Watts is CEO of Newtecnic, an international world leader in the engineering design of complex highly ambitious construction projects and advanced building envelope systems. The company is an engineering design house that undertakes the engineering design of building structures, façades, and MEP (Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing) installations. In partnership with the Engineering Departments of Cambridge University, and UCLA in Los Angeles, Newtecnic’s R&D team analyses, develops, tests, validates and specifies new building technologies and methods. www.newtecnic.com

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Converging the old and new

A Many factory floors include machines that were installed decades ago - but, is this old equipment hindering the ability to compete in Industry 4.0? Jonathan Wilkins explains the role of legacy equipment in the smart factory 6 www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com

s factories become more modernized and interconnected than ever before, long standing legacy equipment can be overshadowed by new, high tech machines. These future-facing industrial assets are usually readily accessible to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) — a new technology paradigm that is helping manufacturers improve competitiveness, increase profitability and reduce downtime through interconnectivity and data collection.

Overhauling old systems for modern alternatives may seem idyllic, but this would be far too costly and unfeasible

for most businesses in the US. Additionally, when you consider the huge number of time required to source new parts, uninstall current equipment and re-train employees, the time investment alone is enough to put businesses off the rip-and-replace approach.

This begs the question — how does legacy equipment fit into Industry 4.0? Put simply, to leverage the benefits of new technology, factories must have an IIoT ecosystem that integrates with legacy assets.

The problem doesn’t lie with the age of existing equipment, but the skills of workers. Many of the experts in running and maintaining legacy equipment are retiring,

Equipment

New technology means the lifespan of this legacy equipment can be elongated even further through preventative maintenance.

The message is clear — don’t exclude your legacy equipment from your IIoT infrastructure

leaving younger workers to face the challenge of working with both old and new technology. But this, in itself, isn’t enough reason to get rid of old parts if they are working optimally. Even broken obsolete parts can be replaced with the help of the right obsolete parts supplier.

Ironically, new technology is helping older equipment by extending its lifespan through retrofit sensors and condition monitoring. This software means the health of assets can be tracked accurately, allowing predictive maintenance schedules to be put in place.

Connecting legacy machines to the IIoT is challenging, but not

impossible. Retrofit, or ‘wrapand-extend’ solutions involve using third party, IoT-ready products such as IoT gateways, OPC servers and sensors. This out-of-the-box connectivity can be installed with no interruption to uptime.

This approach can be entirely tailored to the business’s needs, meaning only useful sensors are put in place. Compare this with buying brand new equipment, which would include hundreds of in-built sensors that aren’t all necessary.

These retrofit sensors can track parameters such as temperature and vibration, to provide valuable insight, with the help of software, into the current condition and the future condition of a part.

For example, a higher temperature could provide engineers with an advanced warning of lubrication breakdown.

Similarly, by monitoring the vibration spectrum for change, it is possible to discover and monitor signs of wear, by comparing to baseline values.

A trained vibration analyst can detect the presence of a bearing defect, a broken impeller blade and much more.

By sending this data to the cloud, it can join the other IIoT data generated by the internal sensors of new machines. Software can then parse this collection of data, with little discrimination regarding whether this data came from a new or old part.

Most factories will take a phased approach to implementing this third-party technology. We’ll see businesses reap the benefits of tackling

problematic legacy equipment first, and with this success, retrofit condition monitoring programs can then be rolled out to other legacy equipment progressively over time.

After tackling the troubled assets, high-value, critical and hard-to-reach legacy assets can then benefit from retrofit condition monitoring too.

Many legacy machines have been built to last, and this is definitely a positive. It’s great that businesses have the option to keep this equipment around, rather than be forced to pay for costly rip and replace schemes to overhaul run down systems.

New technology means the lifespan of this legacy equipment can be elongated even further through preventative maintenance. The message is clear — don’t exclude your legacy equipment from your IIoT infrastructure. M

Jonathan Wilkins is marketing director at EU Automation. EU Automation stocks and sells new, used, refurbished and obsolete industrial automation spares. Its global network of preferred partner warehouses, and wholly owned distribution centers, enables it to offer a unique service within the automation industry, spanning the entire globe. It provides worldwide express delivery on all products meaning it can supply any part, to any destination, at very short notice. www.euautomation.com/us

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Keeping the process running

The engineering staff at SPX Cooling Technologies, Inc. take a look at addressing the cooling challenges of refineries and chemical plants 8 www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com

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eavy industrial applications such as manufacturing, chemical processing, and oil and gas refining utilize cooling towers and other equipment to cool the water integral to their operations. As environmental regulations and challenging market conditions place higher demands on these industries, improved cooling technologies are emerging to help

address these challenges.

In the oil and gas industry, many cooling towers currently in service were built as part of the original refinery construction and are fast approaching the end of their service lives. In order to meet today’s production demands and industry requirements, these towers must be upgraded or replaced with more efficient products and better long-term maintenance plans must be instituted.

Case study

Left: Air Cooled Heat Exchanger For situations where water is scarce, unavailable or expensive, air cooled heat exchangers (ACHE) are an alternative cooling technology. ACHEs are built to handle the high heat loads of oil and gas and chemical processes, require infrequent maintenance and use no water.

Below: Cooling tower wooden structure In order to meet today’s production demands and Oil and Gas industry requirements, many older cooling towers constructed of wood must be upgraded or replaced with more efficient products.

exposes as much water surface area as possible for maximum air-water contact. As the water flows through the cooling tower, it is exposed to air, which is being pulled through the tower by an electric motor-driven fan.

When the water and air meet, a small amount of water is evaporated, creating a cooling action. The cooled water is then pumped back to the process equipment where it absorbs heat.

It will then be pumped back to the cooling tower to be cooled once again.

Different types of cooling towers are suited for different industrial cooling needs. Fielderected towers (FEP) are constructed on site, designed for large heat loads, and are engineered to address the specific application. FEP towers are well-suited for power and heavy industrial uses, and are frequently found in refineries and chemical processing plants.

Factory-assembled towers (FAP) are constructed in modules at a manufacturing facility and then shipped to the processing plant in as few pieces as possible for final assembly. FAP towers are available in a range of cooling capacities and box sizes and include standardized mechanical and structural components.

For refineries and chemical processing plants, open circuit wet cooling towers, coupled with shell and tube or plate and frame heat exchangers, provide an economical method for rejecting heat. These towers are designed to wet bulb temperature and can cool water to a lower temperature than some other technologies.

But, refineries and processing plants also employ other methods to achieve cooling.

Air cooled heat exchangers (ACHE) Evaporative cooling towers described above use heat transfer fill to effectively distribute the hot process water and increase its surface area for more efficient cooling. The tradeoff is that many fill types require relatively clean water to run effectively. Lower quality water containing particles and debris will clog the fill and reduce performance.

For situations where water is scarce, unavailable or expensive, ACHEs are an alternative cooling technology. ACHEs are built to handle the high heat loads common in oil and gas and chemical processes, require infrequent maintenance and do not evaporate water for cooling.

Air cooled heat exchangers (ACHE) use only air flow to

Cooling tower operation and types Cooling towers are specialized heat exchangers that reduce the temperature of water by bringing it in contact with air. Water, which has been heated by an industrial process, is pumped to the cooling tower through pipes. The water sprays through nozzles onto banks of heat transfer material called ‘fill’, which slows the flow of water through the cooling tower, and

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cool hydrocarbon products and other fluids in tubes. Hot process fluid from the plant flows through fin tubes while cooling air flows across them. ACHE work well for higher temperature hydrocarbon applications. These heat exchangers are employed by oil and gas industry because no water or water chemistry maintenance is required and they do not create the vapor plume of evaporative towers. However, they cannot cool water or process fluids to temperatures as low as wet cooling towers since they are designed to dry bulb temperature.

Other specialized heat exchangers, including evaporative condensers and closed circuit fluid coolers are also employed to cool processes and fluids throughout chemical plants.

Challenges for oil and gas In oil and gas refineries, industrial equipment is often jacketed or sleeved with flowing water to cool fluids and absorb process heat. This equipment generates a very large heat load that can disrupt operations if not properly handled. Cooling towers are used to cool this process water for reuse. The towers must not only be able to handle the heat load, but also handle problems unique to the industry. Leaks in the process can cause hydrocarbons to contaminate the cooling water and vice versa. Lower quality, non-potable water is often used to cool plant processes. Meeting environmental regulations limiting hydrocarbons, water usage and drift rates present challenges to plant operators. New industry regulations often require cooling towers to lower the drift rate to 0.0005 per cent of circulating water flow, which can be difficult to achieve in older evaporative cooling towers. Many cooling towers currently in use are not equipped to handle these demands.

A few decades ago, field-erected

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towers commonly used wood structural members. These cooling towers are coming to the end of their service lives, experiencing mechanical failures, requiring frequent unplanned maintenance that interferes with production and impacting facility productivity.

The heat transfer fill in the towers also degrades over time, getting plugged with waste from dirty cooling water and breaking down from the weight of debris.

A good portion of the industry is in need of new towers and better long-term maintenance plans. “A lot of the existing cooling towers are either aging out or suffering from lack of proper maintenance,” says Alan Christian, president of Christian Power Equipment, Inc., a company that specializes in equipment for power, process and pollution control. “It’s significant enough that I would call it a trend [in the industry].”

“A lot of these refineries were established between 1950 and 1970 when the original towers went in. They built up the refineries around [the towers],” says Pam McLaughlin, sales engineer at Hastik-Baymont, Inc., a company that specializes in engineered equipment solutions for the oil and gas and process industries.

“Most places, unless they’re new grassroots refineries, don’t have a whole lot of lay down area to do tower repairs or replacements on a basin that’s already erected.

There’s just not a lot of available space.”

Field-erected solutions

Replacing old towers Replacing aging wooden cooling towers is a challenging undertaking. Because they are integral to the production process, maintenance, repair and replacement must be accomplished within short scheduled outage periods. Some replacements are done one cooling cell at a time, allowing the plant to continue to operate – a practice known as ‘on-line construction’.

Rental of temporary cooling equipment is often necessary. In order to combat replacement logistical challenges and high costs, cooling tower manufacturers offer a range of technology solutions in both FEP and FAP towers. Refineries and chemical plants can replace old, deteriorating towers with modular field-erected towers or pre-assembled package towers that are project and site specific.

Below: Modular F400 under construction New cooling towers like the Marley® F400 counterflow tower include modular pre-assembled components that ship “just in time” to the job site to reduce construction time and manpower requirements.

To work with these constraints, SPX Cooling Technologies has modularized the production and field assembly processes for counterflow FEP towers. The modular Marley® F400 Cooling Tower, for example, erects faster and requires less site lay-down area compared to traditional tower construction methods while offering the same powerful capabilities to keep up with large heat loads. Modular components are shipped ‘just in time’ to the job site, reducing construction duration and manpower requirements. Assembly processes are safer and uniform factoryassembled modules ensure consistent product quality.

Case study

Factory-assembled tower considerations Factory-assembled cooling towers are a viable alternative for oil and gas applications with low to medium heat loads. They offer faster delivery and installation and more site placement flexibility, allow for shorter outages and loss of production time. In case of expansion, additional cells may be added to provide more cooling capacity. FAP towers designed for process applications include industrial-grade materials and construction, heavy gauge steel structure, integral cold water basin and robust mechanical components built for reliability and longevity.

An example of a factoryassembled tower designed for industrial applications is the Marley® NC Everest™ Cooling Tower. Its exceptional cooling capacity can replace three, four and five-celled FEP cooling towers. The NC Everest addresses many of the process industry’s requirements, including the lowest available drift rate of 0.0005 per cent and Factory Mutual (FM) approval.

“This advanced design factoryassembled cooling tower can be delivered with 60 per cent shorter lead time and installed in about 20 per cent of the time it would take to build a traditional fielderected cooling tower,” says Scott Maurer, global product manager for factory-assembled products at SPX Cooling Technologies.

“With no costly concrete basin construction required, simplified piping and electrical wiring, and more flexible site placement, the cost benefits of factoryassembled towers become clearer.”

New designs for a new era As environmental and market demands put pressure on oil and gas refineries and chemical processing plants, they must take measures to ensure their facilities

Above: NC Everest A factory-assembled cooling tower engineered for industrial applications, the Marley® NC Everest™ has 50 per cent more cooling capacity compared to other pre-assembled towers and is able to process the same heat load as FEP towers with as many as five cells.

and equipment are modern and efficient. Old deteriorating cooling systems must be replaced by new technologies and designs, made with durable materials and components and backed by reputable manufacturers and supported by knowledgeable engineers and service technicians. Cooling systems must also be part of comprehensive monitoring and maintenance programs that extend the equipment’s profitable service life and alert plants to potential problems before a crisis arises.

Both evaporative cooling and dry cooling solutions play important roles in refineries and chemical plants. The selection of the correct technology for specific industrial cooling

applications is dependent on many factors, including plant conditions, environmental considerations, water quality and availability, profitability and other operational issues.

The help and advice of reliable, knowledgeable and experienced process engineers, equipment manufacturers and preventive maintenance experts are essential to plant efficiency and longevity.

SPX Cooling Technologies, Inc., Overland Park, Kan. manufactures Marley® Cooling Towers, Air Cooled Heat Exchangers and other specialized process cooling equipment. www.spxcooling.com

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M

Look at the

options In these uncertain times, there are approaches that can help manufacturers improve their sales performance.

By Kevin McGirl Kevin McGirl, President sales-i

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anufacturing in the US is entering a period of uncertainty.

We’re now far past the halfway mark for 2018 and we’re seeing an upturn in overall output, but the economy, the status of various international trade agreements, and political considerations have added a layer of dangerous ambiguity to the industry on global scale.

Momentum also fluctuates in accordance with product sales, which can be temperamental for a number of reasons – some controllable, some not.

The unfortunate reality is that manufacturers have little influence over these issues, particularly when it comes to those firms

and factories which operate on a smaller scale.

But there are areas where manufacturers can exercise their influence and maximize their sales productivity and performance.

Here’s what they should do.

Use new sales channels Direct-to-consumer sales models are growing in popularity amongst manufacturers – along with e-commerce solutions (the most famous being Amazon). Skipping the middleman in this way (or adding a technological one) may disrupt the traditional supply chain, but in many respects, it may be unavoidable.

So, in future, alongside existing sales channels, manufacturers

Sales performance

Servitization – adding value-added services such as equipment training and maintenance programs – can do a lot more to impress customers than slashing prices But digital technology has changed the entire sales and customer experience processes – and manufacturers must adjust to this new normal. A prospect’s experience in finding product information online; sales reps keeping track of prospect activity; automating the production of sales reports – all these things and more can be boosted with a CRM system and digital technology.

Crucially, operational efficiency will also be improved – and manufacturing is all about operations. In certain heavilycommoditized sectors such as FMCG and electronics, a smoother production and logistical process can be a key differentiator between a business and its customers.

Using historic data

should look to target customers via a direct model – on their website, and on relevant e-commerce sites. It’s essential that they should maintain relationships with traditional suppliers, but with an eye on the future. Customers take many roads to find a product, and manufacturers should have a presence on as many of them as possible.

Digitalization of customer experience and operations There’s an understandable hesitance to embrace digital transformation among manufacturers: it’s an age-old industry, and one where certain processes and tools have been in place for generations.

The information a business has can often dictate its commercial future. When customers interact with a manufacturer, they leave a breadcrumb trail of historical data: one that can provide insights into their behaviors and preferences, and provide a blueprint for future action.

Using this historical data, a manufacturer can understand what customers need, when they need it – improving retention, loyalty, and profits. It’s obviously necessary to ensure that the business is fully compliant with data protection legislation, but otherwise, it’s time to put useful, dormant information to work.

Embracing servitization Finally, manufacturers need to go beyond sales. If a product is heavily commoditized, they can’t

rely on customers to understand the difference between their offering and their competitors’: they must therefore look past the product itself.

Because when product is the exclusive focus, manufacturers inevitably find themselves racing to the bottom: slashing prices in the name of gaining a competitive edge. This is short-sighted, because eventually there comes a point where prices cannot be slashed further without incurring major losses.

Servitization – adding valueadded services such as equipment training and maintenance programs – can do a lot more to impress customers than slashing prices. The aim should be to sell the brand, not the product: to forge a long-term relationship by looking at the customer’s broader needs, rather than just their immediate ones.

The atmosphere for manufacturing in 2018 remains fraught, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t options available to manufacturers. If they embrace digitalization, servitization, data, and new sales channels, they’ll remain prosperous in the immediate – and long-term – future. M

Kevin McGirl is CEO at sales-i.

Founded in 2008, sales-i is a sales performance software designed to make every sales call more personal and profitable. sales-i allows sales professionals to clearly identify and target highquality sales opportunities within their current customer base. Equipped with customer buying behaviour alerts, salespeople can make insightful, personalised, quick business decisions, realising repeat sales, reduced customer attrition and maximized profit margins as a result. www.sales-i.com

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The astonishing world of alloys and additives

T MNA talks to three experts from GE, to get an inside look at what is on the agenda for advanced manufacturing and highly innovative materials development 14 www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com

o gain further understanding of the world of materials development and the vast amounts of innovation and research underway in that area, where better to start than the corporate giant GE? At GE Global Research, the team works on early TRL, disruptive technologies for its core GE businesses (Aviation, Power, Renewable Energy), government agencies and its strategic partners.

As Timothy Hanlon, Principal Engineer of the Metals & Ceramics Department, at the GE Global Research Center (GRC),

highlighted, developing advanced manufacturing techniques/ materials is a core competency at GE Global Research. “The drive at our business units to continuously improve efficiencies in our gas turbines, for instance, requires that GE remain at the forefront of these technologies,” he explained.

“Additive manufacturing has enabled complex part geometries that were previously out of reach using traditional manufacturing practices, with modalities such as Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM), Electron Beam Melting (EBM), and Binder Jet paving the way. Couple that with GE’s rich history in alloy

Materials

While most of our work has historically revolved around applications in the aerospace and power generation sectors, we are now additionally turning our attention to applications in the automotive markets, as an example

development, and the potential for step changes in performance becomes enormous. Additionally, the pace of manufacturing and materials development at GE has been dramatically improved over the past decade through the use of advanced materials modelling tools and the application of artificial intelligence to the design process.”

Indeed, researchers at the GRC have been working for decades on various forms of advanced manufacturing, from laser-based, powder consolidation systems, to methods of manufacture that leverage high-velocity

powder deposition. “In parallel to these research endeavors, GRC scientists have an equally impressive history with materials development that complement these advances in manufacturing,” commented Joseph Vinciquerra, Senior Principal Engineer and Technology Platform Leader for Additive Manufacturing at the GRC. “Over the past five years, there has been an astonishing proliferation of additive manufacturing, or industrial 3Dprinting, on the global scale, and GE have been at the forefront.

At GE Global Research, our teams are working around the clock on new additive machine technology, new software and controls strategies for industrial 3D-printing, and of course, new additive materials. Specifically, we’ve taken our decades of know-how and experience in the design of high-temperature alloys and applied that expertise to the development of new materials systems designed specifically for our additive manufacturing modalities of interest, such as DMLM, EBM, and Binder Jet.”

Beyond the traditional It is clear that GE’s research extends across multiple applications - Kristen Brosnan, Technical Operations Leader, Metals & Ceramics, at the GRC, gave some more specific details about GE’s work for the investment casting industry.

“We are making significant advancements towards digital tool sets. We have developed what is known as the ‘Digital Foundry’ to support our investment

casting initiative for Industrial Gas Turbines (IGT) hot gas path components. The Digital Foundry is a collection of models and know-how used to predict wax pattern shrink, thermal, mechanical, microstructure and dimensional responses to process and materials property input data.

It captures the entire investment casting process for nickel super alloys - the highest temperature and creep resistant alloys used in a hot gas path for turbines. It is able to predict the thermals, stresses, and solidification behavior during the actual casting process, which allows us to anticipate and create designs and geometries that minimize distortion, stray grains, and freckles and other critical indications prior to pouring metal.

Combining the Digital Foundry with additive core and pattern processing is allowing us to forge the path toward achieving CAD to casting outcomes in half the typical development cycle.”

“The cycle time for material and process development can be dramatically reduced,” agreed Timothy, “and improved margins in materials behavior often opens process windows substantially, increasing yield and saving cost.

For example, improving the weldability of a high temperature superalloy for use in a DMLM application often leads to more flexible build parameter sets, enabling higher speed/more costeffective printing.”

Added Joseph: “The materials we’re developing for additive manufacturing are unique in that we’re looking beyond simply converting traditional engineering alloys to additive manufacturing

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(though, we’re doing that too) but, instead, tailoring alloy chemistries to be fully optimized for these new manufacturing methods.”

New applications The technology that Kristen referenced applies to IGTs and aviation turbines, but she can see how it may impact other segments as well, and Joseph explains this is one of its major benefits: “One of the most exciting aspects of our work in additive manufacturing is working with our partners in GE Additive (GE’s additive manufacturing commercial business unit) to explore markets outside of our traditional applications of interest,” he said. “While most of our work has historically revolved around applications in the aerospace and power generation sectors, we are now additionally turning our attention to applications in the automotive markets, as an example.”

Alongside expanding the applications of these new solutions, GE is also working

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on converging materials development with other stateof-the-art technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). “We are looking at this from a couple of perspectives - going faster to expand our materials catalog and to advance autonomous research and manufacturing,” Kristen noted. “One example is our work on Cold Spray. In fact, my colleague Leo Ajdelsztajn will be discussing recent advances at GE in this particular additive modality at the 2018 MRS Fall Meeting, 25-30 November, in Boston. In Cold Spray, robots spray in 3D with 12 degrees of freedom. The applications are wide ranging - for example, the repair or development of manufacturing techniques for large aviation parts. Using in-situ 3D scanning and machine learning to modify the robot tool paths in-situ, the manufacturing of large complex parts can be achieved faster.

“GE is definitely not alone in looking at machine learning and AI to advance materials

development. At the 2018 MRS Fall Meeting (where I am serving as one of the meeting chairs) we have a full five-day symposium (including a tutorial!) on Machine Learning and DataDriven Materials Development and Design, with devoted sessions in areas like machine learning for data-driven design, autonomous research, deep learning and neural networks for materials, to name a few. In addition, Sergei Kalinin of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ONRL) will be giving a Symposium X talk at the 2018 MRS Fall Meeting on ‘The Lab on a Beam: Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy’.

“Some Materials Science degree programs have also embraced this growing area - for example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded traineeships like the Data-Enabled Science and Engineering of Atomic Structure (SEAS) at North Carolina State University to recruit and train researchers in new ways

Materials

of applying these advanced statistical tools to physical data.”

Exponential technologies “Right now, at GRC, AI and various forms of ML are being heavily utilized across a number of different projects related to materials development and optimization, and incorporation of AI and ML in the development of materials, as well as the optimization of these materials for advanced manufacturing modalities, like additive, is the ‘next big thing’,” continued Joseph. “In our work related to additive manufacturing, for example, we are using a specific type of machine learning to dramatically reduce the number of experiments required during the early phases of alloy design for additive. In another example, we’re using a combination of computer vision and machine learning to potentially reduce the costs associated with post-build inspection from additive manufacturing. There are applications where we are also leveraging deep learning algorithms to help quickly return cause-and-effect relationships between physical observations of Kristen Brosnan, Technical Operations Leader, Metals & Ceramics, General Electric Global Research.

I currently lead a team of ceramists and metallurgists in our Structural Materials Division. We deliver key high temperature materials technology for industrial gas turbines, including critical new alloys, Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs), coatings for the LEAP and GE9X Aviation engines, repair technologies for legacy engines, and new investment casting technology for the GE Power HA gas turbine. www.geglobalresearch.com

structures and the behavior of the material that structure is made of.”

“We might need multiple symposia in future MRS Meetings to capture this growing area!” Kristen added.

“Incorporating AI into materials design and manufacturing will definitely expand, and I think we will continue to go more interdisciplinary in a big way. For example, biomaterial interfaces, bioelectronics, energy storage, thermal management...as we trend toward higher temperatures, more extreme environments, and to higher efficiency systems we need more advanced materials solutions. And we need to get there faster. That’s where additive and AI become important.”

Furthermore, as Timothy pointed out, the convergence of Joseph Vinciquerra, Senior Principal Engineer and Technology Platform Leader for Additive Manufacturing at the GE Global Research Center (GRC).

I currently lead GRC’s efforts in materials-related research for Additive Manufacturing. Together with a multidisciplinary team, I am focused on architecting new technologies aimed at accelerating the development and optimization of additive materials through the convergence of digital and physical sciences. www.geglobalresearch.com

AI, ML, advanced manufacturing, advanced characterization/testing, and traditional metallurgy will enable the next breakthrough in materials development. “Not only in terms of material capability, but also as an enabler for locationspecific properties,” he said.

“Imagine being able to tailor the properties of a material from location to location, within a single part. That creates incredible design flexibility, and huge performance potential.”

The intersection between AI/ ML, materials development and optimization, and additive manufacturing is described by Joseph as ‘an incredibly exciting place to be focused right now’.

“With that being said, there continue to be incredible advances made in our understanding of the metallurgy and materials behavior from advanced manufacturing methods like additive,” he concluded. “When we talk about exponential technologies, like additive, it’s fun to try and envision where the state of the science will be ten years from now—and undoubtedly, despite all that we know today, we will almost certainly surprise ourselves once we get there!” M Timothy Hanlon, Principal Engineer, Metals & Ceramics Department, GE Global Research Center (GRC).

I am a metallurgist supporting the GE business units in the area of structural alloy development, with particular emphasis on building and optimizing processing/structure/ property relationships.

As an alloy developer, my experience at GE has ranged from producing traditional powder metallurgy and cast/ wrought alloy systems, to new material discovery in additive manufacturing modalities. www.geglobalresearch.com

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Grave threats The modernization of utility infrastructures is enabling increased efficiencies and reliability through digitization, connectivity, and IT-based approaches. However, smart utilities are also highly vulnerable to cyberthreats, and security is, therefore, a primary concern, asserts ABI Research. However, according to Michela Menting, Research Director of Digital Security at ABI Research, ‘it seems that the United States and the European Union have forgotten that cybersecurity needs to be a continuous effort, not a one-time announcement to tick all the boxes’.

The lack of sustained public support sends a deflated message to operators in the field about the importance of cybersecurity. “Worryingly, both power and water utilities have reported advanced persistent threats which exploit flaws in industrial control systems. More critically, run-of-the-mill cyberthreats such as ransomware and DDoS attacks are increasingly affecting operator’s cyber-assets, both on the back and front-end. Cybersecurity must be a concerted effort by all stakeholders, including the public. With only partial support, the risks intensify,” warned Menting.

While power and water grid stakeholders will spend over $8 billion globally on cyber-securing utility infrastructures in 2018, only a small portion of that will be dedicated to operational technologies and smart systems. “Operators and other stakeholders should remain firm in their commitment to cybersecurity, despite the backseat public support,” Menting concludes.

www.abiresearch.com

Expanding market presence TactoTek®, the leading developer of injection molded structural electronics (IMSE™) solutions, has opened its sales and business development operations in Mexico with representatives in Monterrey and San Luis Potosí, Mexico - hotbeds of electronics design and manufacturing for global market leaders in automotive, home appliances, medical equipment and other markets.

TactoTek is partnering with the Prolamsa Group to develop the Mexico IMSE market. “We are very fortunate to have developed a close relationship with Grupo Prolamsa and to have partners with such deep local knowledge and relationships operating as TactoTek Business Development in the region,” noted Jussi Harvela, TactoTek CEO. For many global OEMs, operations in Mexico are evolving from being, primarily, a manufacturing destination, to including product design and engineering. “Many automotive, home appliance, and medical equipment OEMs and their suppliers have committed to Mexico for mass production,” observed Claudia Garza, TactoTek Business Development, Mexico; “a more recent trend is the growing role of these operations in innovative product design and engineering, skills for which Mexico is being recognized globally, and that matches well with opportunities supported by TactoTek IMSE technology.”

TactoTek’s expansion into Mexico is an important part of the company’s growth strategy: “Increasingly design and engineering projects are truly global in participation,” according to Sami Hyyryläinen, SVP Field Operations for TactoTek, “we need to find and support those projects locally and having an experienced team in Mexico puts us on that path.”

www.tactotek.com

Audio upgrade The University of Florida is a leading research university located in Gainesville, Florida. At the heart of its 2000-acre campus is Emerson Alumni Hall, and a key space within the facility is the Center for Preeminence, a high-end conference room that hosts equally high-end meetings. With only a small display and conference phone system, the room’s AV was not reflective of the importance of the meetings it hosts.

Lon Vance, SR. Engineer and Project Manager for Audio Visual Systems at the university was called in to lead the installation of updates to the AV. Through online research Vance found the Audix® M3 tri-element ceiling microphone with the Servoreeler® precision microphone retraction system option. “The Servoreeler allows the mics to drop low enough to get away from the AC, ceiling, and projector noise, which are usually a pain to deal with,” explained Vance. “The M3s pick up the whole room really well with no dead spots and when not in use, they virtually disappear into the ceiling.”

www.audixusa.com 18 www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com

News Make the connection Fluor Corporation has announced that Bridging North America, a partnership of Fluor and ACS Infrastructure Canada, was selected as the preferred proponent to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Gordie Howe International Bridge project for Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA). Fluor plans to book its share of the design and construction contract value in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge project is a planned bridge and border crossing spanning the Detroit River and connecting Detroit, Michigan, U.S. and Windsor, Ontario, Canada by linking Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 in Michigan with the new extension of Highway 401 (Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway) in Ontario.

This crossing will be the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. The scope also includes building new, state-of-the-art ports of entry on both the U.S. and Canadian side of the Detroit River as well as improvements to existing infrastructure in both Michigan and Ontario.

Fluor and ACS Infrastructure Canada led the development phase of the project and will hold the prime contract. This is the second project in the Windsor-Detroit area where Fluor and ACS have partnered, and they will operate and maintain the facility for 30 years to performance standards that will be established by WDBA following completion.

www.fluor.com

Great place to work JMP Solutions (formerly JMP Engineering) has announced that it is being named as one of this year’s Best Workplaces™ in Canada for medium-sized companies given by the Great Place to Work® Institute. JMP has been a certified Great Place to Work® now for six years in a row. This Great Place to Work® certification and Best Workplaces™ award offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture and business excellence.

The list of Best Workplaces™ Canada is compiled by Great Place to Work® Institute Canada. An array of strict criteria must be passed before a company can be considered, and furthermore, to achieve a Best Workplaces award, an additional Culture Audit© must be completed and submitted for evaluation by Great Place to Work® Institute Canada against all the other companies within the size category. JMP was awarded with Top 50 Best Workplaces™ in Canada for medium-sized companies, ranking #29 overall.

Said Scott Shawyer, President and CEO of JMP Solutions: “JMP’s core values are extremely important to each individual who works here – we strive to align ourselves with every value and allow it to show through the work we perform.”

www.greatplacetowork.ca www.jmpsolutions.com

New acquisition Halton Group, a global indoor air company, has acquired the business activities and product design rights of LCSystems Inc., a family company from Kentucky in the United States that manufactures supply and exhaust air equipment for professional kitchens. The acquisition makes the company a part of Halton’s Foodservice business that specializes in professional kitchen environments.

In recent years, Halton has been systematically working to expand its range of professional kitchen products from hood solutions to comprehensive air handling systems. “The acquisition of LCSystems supports our chosen strategy and accelerates the entry of our comprehensive solutions into the North American market, where we will continue to aim at significant growth as the industry-leading technology supplier,” says Georges Gaspar, Director of Halton Foodservice.

The acquisition is preceded by a long history between the two companies that has its roots in development work done within the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.) network in the 1990s. The companies started co-operation for manufacturing ETL licensed products in 2004.

www.halton.com www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com 19

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Profile

| ProSlide Technology

High-speed

splash ProSlide Technology guarantees unforgettable emotions for adventure seekers with its sensational water slides, which entertain millions of water park visitors on five continents

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ProSlide Technology

T

he number of innovative water rides created by ProSlide® Technology over the years is so overwhelming that it would be perfectly accurate to proclaim the Canadian designer and manufacturer of adventurous water slides as the emblem of the water park industry in the past 30 years.

The company is the brainchild of Rick Hunter – a former national ski team racer, whose vision has always been to reflect alpine ski racing’s smooth turns, steep grades, and big drops in the design of the water rides. Today, he is still intricately involved with the development of new products and his passion is nowhere near fading. Over the course of its history, ProSlide has continuously reinvested a substantial amount of its profit into the R&D division of the business, leading to the creation of some of the most extraordinary water slides the world has seen. Perfectionist to the core, the company even has its own water park built on a ski hill to test its slides, which also explains its expertise in maximizing topography.

We have installed more than 240 TORNADO funnels in the last 15 years, and, at the moment, it is the most notable ride not just for us, but for the entire marketplace While practically impossible to list all the ProSlide inventions, we get to speak with Mike Fergusson, Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, who talks us through some of the most important milestones the company has reached. “We started developing body slides and tube rafting slides, before we got into what we call ‘features’, like the funnels you can see on our rides, in the late 1990s.

In 2006, we invented the first linear induction motor-powered water coaster, a genuine game-changer in our industry.”

A cross between a water slide and a roller coaster, the HydroMAGNETIC® ROCKET® is the most prominent representative of the technology. The linear induction motor propels people uphill and the experience has often been

described as identical to ‘riding a bobsled on water’. “We have then used that same coaster mentality as the basis for our RocketBLAST™, which we incepted in 2015,” Mike points out. “We introduced a new water propulsion technology that drives three and four person boats at higher speed and delivers uncompromising force. Because it uses water as a propulsion, it also constitutes a more affordable water coaster solution for more parks.”

Dynamic energy The RocketBLAST™ positions custom water jets to apply consistent force to the boat and enable it to speed up steep hills.

Water is directed incrementally along the boat’s sides to help it glide smoothly. For further acceleration, nozzles direct highspeed water onto a patented channel on the side of each boat.

The boat’s cup-shaped pockets then capture the water’s dynamic energy to create 50 per cent more efficiency than the original blaster technology for a truly exhilarating ride that promises to skyrocket your adrenaline.

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“Parallel with the RocketBLAST™ slide, we also patented the FlyingSAUCER™ feature to build a hybrid ride between the two,” notes Mike. The saucer shape, combined with the water coaster technology, is steeply angled to create the constant acceleration and ‘drop-and-dive’ sensations, closely resembling a World Cup giant slalom ski race. “We have had these features installed at a number of sites all over the world already, the latest park to feature it is Hersheypark in Pennsylvania.

“Another ride we have just recently introduced to Hersheypark, is our new mat RallyRACER™, which we have turned into a dueling ride that

headfirst into their own tubes, coming out onto either an open or an enclosed flume that allows them to see and/or hear each other as they splash into the pool. Along the sharp descent, the racers rocket through drops with bumps creating speed, compression, and zerogravity moments to maximise the thrill of the experience.

gives you the opportunity to race against your friends,” Mike continues. High above the pool, the competitors launch themselves

notable ride not just for us, but for the entire marketplace. It is super thrilling and can be a bit intimidating, but it is an extremely

Strong growth indicators First launched in 2003, ProSlide’s most iconic product, however, remains the TORNADO® 60 – a funnel that, as its name suggests, is 60 feet in diameter. “We have installed more than 240 TORNADO funnels in the last 15 years, and, at the moment, it is the most

fun ride,” laughs Mike.

Standing six storeys high, the enormous TORNADO® 60 exalts the courageous with bursts of speed, crushing G-forces, and heart-stopping weightless hang time. Riders enter the TORNADO at the steepest angles and the fastest speeds, but as they sweep high up the opposite wall, the feeling of weightlessness possesses them completely, before they are devoured by the curve funnel, which safely slides them down to the pool.

“The TORNADO features at the Aquaventure Waterpark in the Atlantis Sanya resort, in the south of China, which opened only a couple of months ago, in May 2018.

So does the RocketBLAST™, as well as our RideHOUSE® product line, which consists of play structures for kids. In fact, Atlantis Sanya boasts one of the largest RideHOUSE® sets in the world,” Mike explains, going on to discuss the geographical regions that have proven especially receptive to the company’s breath-taking rides.

“China has evidently been one of the fastest growing areas for ProSlide in recent times, but this can be said for many parts of the continent. We have been working on and installing rides in Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia, so the entire region has been a fairly hot bed of activity for us, especially in the last couple of years,” he reveals. “We also see strong indicators of growth in

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ProSlide Technology

Australia, as well, and the EU is beginning to pick up pace, too.

Eastern Europe, in particular, is fairly strong. As to our home market in North America, we have witnessed quite a resurgence in the past three years, which is another positive sign for the future.”

Working in partnership Known for partnering with some of the largest and most popular water parks around the world, ProSlide has just opened several new rides in what has been labelled ‘the best water park in the world’ by Trip Advisor – Siam Park, in Tenerife.

“Furthermore, we work closely with Great Wolf Lodge and we have installed rides in 16 of their parks in North America. Six Flags is another big customer of ours, and the good news is that both of them are starting to branch out globally,” Mike enthuses.

“Because of the nature of our products and the fact that they need to be installed in large spaces, we tend to partner with

some preferred clients, installing the rides right in their park, where we perform all the testing in the presence of the customer. Only when we are certain that we have reached 100 per cent safety and operability, do we hand the product over. We have devised a three-year product roadmap for new slides, so watch this space for some exciting product announcements,” he teases us.

Since Mike joined ProSlide six years ago, the company has more than tripled its workforce, currently employing around 160

staff, and to him, the priority in the coming years will be to control the tremendous growth the business has achieved in the last three years. “We have grown by 30 per cent over this period, so we now want to make our growth more manageable and keep it at reasonable levels. The water parks industry is posed for a strong spell in the next ten years, therefore, we have to make sure that we scale with its requirements, as well.

“To achieve our goals, we will continue to focus on our people, processes, and technologies.

Our constant innovation and improvement philosophy has taken us to incredible heights, and I am certain that our customers can relate to the values we promote, as they recognize us as the leading supplier of some of the best water rides in the industry.” M

ProSlide Technology Products: Water rides www.proslide.com

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Creativity above all B

Placing faith in the capabilities of its engineers, MJC Engineering & Technology is never satisfied with the conventional, constantly attempting to create original solutions for the metal forming industry 26 www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com

ack in the late 1980s, the production of composite cylinders was emerging as a booming industry.

At this time, Carl Lorentzen – President of MJC Engineering & Technology, was working for a metal forming company, having just moved from Denmark to the USA. Carl and the owner of the company in question quickly realized they were seeing eye to eye, and the two of them focused on developing the division of the business that in 1994 would become MJC Engineering, in response to what they perceived

as a lack of quality service and support within the CNC metal spinning machine markets.

Despite its relatively small size of about 50 employees, today MJC is one of the US’ leading developers of metal forming machines and technologies, largely owing to the talent of its staff. “We have gathered a very good team of people who have a passion for what they do. It is one of our strengths that we allow our employees the creative freedom to try new things, something that might not happen

Profile

at bigger companies, where creative initiative can be seen as incompatible with the business’ strategy. For us, it is important to keep our engineers happy and let them have fun,” Carl expounds.

“Nowadays, it is all about finding

| MJC Engineering & Technology

the right people who know how to do programing and work with software, and I am confident that we are way ahead of the competition in this respect. A machine is a machine, but it is not the leading aspect anymore. What

has become more important, is the actual software that goes into it and its ability to increase productivity and quality,” he reasons. “We are creative enough to come up with a solution that might be a little bit different to

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what is conventional today, but this is precisely why the customers are attracted to us. If we were to be compared to other companies, we are different in that we are bold enough to take on various challenging tasks. We dare to say ‘Yes, we can do that’, without knowing for sure that we can actually do it.”

Multiple solutions While taking full ownership of the design and assembly of its products from its 30,000 square feet facility, MJC outsources most of the manufacturing processes, purely due to cost efficiency considerations. “It is much cheaper for us to outsource than to do the manufacturing ourselves. We build few elements in-house and outsource the rest, because it is much more convenient for us this way,” Carl claims.

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In metal forming, you can make the materials stronger by using cold-molding, which means that lighter parts can be designed.

We are well-positioned in this area, because this is exactly the kind of equipment we engineer Almost 25 years after MJC was created, the company has diversified its offering significantly, moving from composite cylinders to create numerous new machines and technologies, which the California-based company exports to countries like India, China, Taiwan, and South Korea, as well as selling into its regional markets in North America. “We have developed solutions for a number of fields, such as lighting and ventilation, but right now, there are a lot of opportunities in the aerospace and defence industries,” Carl reveals. “In these sectors,

a lot of people are still making certain parts in the old-fashioned way, not quite understanding the new technology that is out there.

To give you an example, the lip skin for the jet engine inlet used to be made by hand and it took five or six people to build one lip skin, whereas now the process is fully automated. Similarly, we just received an order to make artillery shells for an ammunition plant in Eastern Europe, and these parts have been made in the same way since 1940. I am really proud that we are able to show a new process for producing them.

“Automation, in general, is what the customers are increasingly looking at. A lot of clients want robots to tend their machines, but also to do secondary operations.

MJC is a certified ABB robot Value Provider and handle standalone robotic applications. We have recently struck a partnership with a Canadian company called Clearpath to be its certified integrator here, in California.

Its OTTO autonomous vehicles use technologies that are really

MJC Engineering & Technology

taking off and are the sort of innovations we believe in. In the old days, such cars used to have sensors on the floor, but it is not like that anymore. They are all run wirelessly and you can program where you want them to go on your iPad or computer,” Carl discusses.

“What is more, weight savings have become a major focus for every company in the aerospace and automotive world,” he continues. “In metal forming, you can make the materials stronger by using cold-molding, which means that lighter parts can be designed. We are well-positioned in this area, because this is exactly the kind of equipment we engineer.”

Sizable projects Benefitting yet again from the brilliance of its engineering team, MJC set up a new company – Green Hydraulic Power, earlier in 2018, after a few years of hard work trying to devise a way to integrate hydraulic power units with variable speed drives. “We bought a variable speed drive from Siemens and a new type of hydraulic pump, and although it was not easy, we figured out how we can combine them. We now have about 20 machines using the technology, which is working fantastically. It is a quiet system that generates less heat and consumes less energy than ordinary hydraulic power systems.

“We are just laying the foundations of the company, but we are already witnessing that big players like Siemens are very keen to work with us, because energy saving is becoming a top priority for everyone. The technology is really solid. It is not necessarily new, it has been around for about 30 years, but nobody took the time to develop the whole hydraulic power pack up to this point. We are planning to push Green Hydraulic Power

forward later this summer, when we get some of the thirdparty test results, which, we hope, will verify the savings on energy consumption and heat generation, the technology can bring about,” Carl outlines.

Simultaneously, MJC is working on a number of other sizable projects, both domestically and internationally, which will keep the company busy throughout the remainder of 2018. “These are mainly in aerospace and defence, because, as I mentioned earlier, there are endless opportunities in these sectors and we want to make the most of them.” M

MJC Engineering & Technology Services: Developing specialized metal forming machines and technologies www.mjcengineering.com

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Defined by its business relationships Having grown via a number of acquisitions, Platinum Tank Group values the enhancement of customer and supplier relationships at times of changing market conditions in the North American tank manufacturing industry

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T

he marketing umbrella subsidiary of The Remcor Group, Platinum Tank Group (PTG) comprises of four separate entities that specialise in the manufacturing of aluminium tank trailers and truck tanks for the transportation of petroleum, crude oil, hot products, and dry bulk. The company also has a small market niche of building aircraft refuelers – a venture that generates annual revenues in the four to eight-million-dollar range.

“Acquisition has undoubtedly been the number one reason for growth,” Platinum Tank Group’s President and Owner, Tony Roberts begins. “We directly manage 125 years of internal manufacturing experience, so to speak. Each of our companies is celebrating an anniversary next year – Remtec is turning 40, Columbia Remtec Manufacturing is having its 35th anniversary, and LBT and Almac Tank International will have both been PTG affiliates

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| Platinum Tank Group

We firmly believe that our suppliers are a critical part of the customer relationships and therefore we are totally committed to strong relationships within our supply chain

for 25 years. In fact, each of our affiliates have resulted through the acquisition of well-established tanker manufacturers suffering from some form of financial distress.”

Industry consolidation Remtec, located in Chambly, Canada - which is also Platinum Tank Group’s headquarters - has honed its skills in producing aluminium petroleum tank trailers for 40 years during which the

company has established a significance presence in the Eastern Canadian market. The Western Canadian market is covered by Columbia Remtec Manufacturing (CRM). Based in Vancouver, CRM has been dedicated to the petroleum industry since 1984, having also added the manufacturing of aluminium crude oil tank trailers to its capabilities. “We acquired Columbia, when the company was having financial issues and had

no succession planning to take on the restructuring challenge ahead of them. It is a good example to illustrate how our industry works; we are a small player in the larger economic landscape of North America, but we all know what is going on. Therefore, when a company wants to sell, it normally happens within the industry. As such, we have noticed a tremendous amount of industry consolidation recently,” Tony points out.

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LBT – Platinum Tank Group’s largest company in both size and revenue - is also the only of the four that hails from the United States. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, LBT – formally Fruehauf - was acquired by the Canadian group following a turbulent economic period in the early 1990s. Recognized as one of North America’s important original equipment manufacturers, LBT has proven its capability of producing durable liquid and dry bulk trailers and portable storage units. LBT boasts a highly experienced and skilled team of engineers, very qualified production supervisors and manufacturing team members that together produce some of the finest tank trailers within the industry.

Strong relationships Taking pride in its ability to provide custom tank designs, the fourth company in Platinum Tank Group – Almac Tank International – has grown into one of the most versatile manufacturers of bulk liquid road transportation and distribution equipment in North America. Aside from its core

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business of building truck tanks for the transportation and distribution of petroleum, Almac Tank International also supplies aircraft refuelling equipment.

“Throughout the transportation industry, PTG partners with national carriers both in the United States and Canada – KAG to name one important example; but we equally set up strong relationships with many regional and/or smaller carriers,” Tony comments. “We are trying to utilise our distribution network to find the soft spot where we can supply both to the big players in the industry, as well as the regional and local carriers.”

The latter claim depicts Platinum Tank Group’s strategic vision to form and nurture fruitful business relationships on all levels. “The interactions we have with our customers and suppliers, as well as with our own employees, are key elements for us and have definitely had a positive impact on our business development and success,” Tony reasons. “In fact, growth, per se, is not that easy to achieve during volatile market conditions like the present. To succeed we must maintain positive interactions with our customers and continue fulfilling their requirements with our products through our manufacturing operations. In order to achieve this, we need to continue following the principles of consistency, integrity, and honesty; both internally with our employees and externally within the marketplace and the industry in general.

“We firmly believe that our suppliers are a critical part of the customer relationships and therefore we are totally committed to strong relationships within our supply chain. It would not be an exaggeration if I said that our

Platinum Tank Group

suppliers help make us who we are, so working closely with them is an absolute necessity if we want to remain a reliable supplier of the products we manufacture,” Tony states.

The right balance Together, the four Platinum Tank Group affiliated companies manufacture in excess of over 1000 tanker units per year.

Generally speaking, PTG will employ anywhere between 300 and 400 employees depending upon economic and market conditions.

But, what is it that allows them to produce these tankers, whilst ensuring their top quality? “Quite simply, a complete balance of product design integrity, product durability and ergonomics, quality workmanship and manufacturing processes, modern and well maintained equipment, a positive and safe work environment, strong management and ongoing interactive communication at every level – much easier said than done!” exclaims Tony.

While the economic conditions are presently positive in both the US and Canada, there are challenges that face the Platinum Tank Group and the industry at large. First, Tony discusses the shortage of manpower that is currently causing distress within the industry: “The ability to engage quality people across North America is proving to be very difficult at present. This is very true not only in the manufacturing environment but equally in the transportation industry in terms of quality drivers.” Second, Tony references the North American political environment: “The current ‘noise’ in national politics, especially surrounding the imposition of import tariffs on aluminium and steel, as well as the NAFTA negotiations, are creating uncomfortable levels of volatility and insecurity. Such volatility and insecurity makes business planning

very difficult to say the least.”

Nevertheless, Tony remains confident that the prospects and opportunities within the industry remain bright. “We have a great industry and we contribute our fair share to the wider economy of North America. It is true that we have encountered

certain challenges, but together with our competitors, we are building quality products that are important for the economy.

What we need to do now is try to stay close to our suppliers and adjust as best as we can to any changes in the market conditions.

Efficient communication between all elements that are in play is going to be the number one component to success in the near future; we must keep the right balance in our relationships with customers, suppliers, employees and the industry at large in order to navigate our business in these dynamic times,” Tony concludes. M

Platinum Tank Group Products: Aluminium petroleum, dry bulk, crude oil, and hot products tanks; aircraft refuelers www.platinumtank.com

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Enhancing the lives of pets every day

34 www.manufacturingnorthamerica.com

Profile

| Targeted Pet Treats (TPT)

A private label manufacturer of injection molded dental hygiene dog treats and toys for pets, Targeted Pet Treats has developed a reputation for innovation and the creation of pioneering products

F Greg Austin, President

ounded in November 2000 as a joint venture between Ainsworth Pet Nutrition (APN) and Moldsmiths, Targeted Pet Treats (TPT) represents a perfect partnership - APN brought 67 years of passion for pet nutrition, and Moldsmiths contributed a venerable track record in excellence in injection molding.

During the first five years of its existence, TPT had no employees, sourcing all labour through Moldsmiths and being guided through the pet category with APN’s expertise. In July 2005, TPT hired its first associate, and since that time, the company has gone from strength-to-strength, evolving into a fully staffed autonomous organisation, with a team of 250 employees. Showing no signs of slowing down, TPT’s most recent investment and development programme began in 2016, when it invested $5.7 million to expand operations at its existing facility in Warren, Pennsylvania. The company created 115 new, full-time jobs while retaining its 146 existing employees state-wide. This is the latest in a long line of investments into the facility, which total over $7m in recent years.

As a result of this successful programme of development and growth, TPT is now NorthWestern Pennsylvania’s premier pet chew toy manufacturer, as well as an expert in the creation of injection molded ‘dental hygiene’ dog treats. Working equally with the private label and branded markets, TPT can provide a turnkey service for new and current pet brand customers, whether they are interested in producing plastic pet products

such as food bowls and scoops, or pet toys to accompany their brand portfolio of treat products.

TPT’s plastic products and toys are created from nylon and thermoplastic elastomers, also known as TPEs. TPE materials are a family of polymers that combine the characteristics of rubber with the processing advantages of plastics. After injection molding, TPEs can be stretched, gnawed and bitten without permanently deforming the shape of the object.

Furthermore, owners must be confident that any products they purchase for their pet to play with are safe, and therefore TPT’s pet toys and plastic products are free of PVC, latex, metals, and phthalates.

Toy + treat The wellbeing of a pet is always the top priority for an owner, and therefore any treats they are to consume must be manufactured in a safe and responsible manner; TPT is known for its best-inclass food safety programme.

Significant growth is predicted in the canine dental hygiene sector, which TPT already has as a priority. In addition, the company can create treats in a range of flavours and aromas, and almost any shape, size and appearance.

Functional ingredients can also be included, such as additives for coat, joint, skin or oral care.

As part of its drive to continuously improve, TPT has expanded its portfolio.

By interweaving its expertise in plastics and treat injection molding into the core business, it can now create toy and treat combinations. By making both the toys and the dental treats that fit inside them, TPT is able to help customers expand their shelf presence and establish their unique, quality-driven product lines.

What makes this particular service so valuable for customers is its total flexibility – TPT can

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Targeted Pet Treats (TPT)

mold to almost any shape or texture the customer can envision, and as TPT can make both the toy and the treat as a full service, turnkey partner, its services are not only convenient, but also costeffective. Moreover, this toy + treat approach offers brands a growth opportunity, as complementary items are a great addition to a portfolio. By working with TPT, customers can offer refills for the toys and show customers more value while encouraging repurchase and brand loyalty.

Major recognition Indeed, as a third-party manufacturer with no own-brand products, TPT is 100 per cent

focused on helping customers build their own pet brands. This includes value-added services that give products a standout shelf presence including custom packaging, product inserts, shipping services, and the design and production of brand recognition items like counter displays and other promotional materials. The company also possesses certifications for all major markets across the planet, meaning that it is the ideal source for global branded projects as well.

As TPT heads closer to its 20th year in business, its success continues at pace. Major recognition for its achievements

came in 2017, when it was ranked number 3420 on Inc. Magazine’s 36th annual Inc. 5000 List, the most prestigious ranking of the USA’s fastest-growing private companies. The fact that its products are manufactured in the USA is a prime value driver for customers, and has contributed to its rapidly growing turnover, which is currently growing at 90 per cent every three years. Being included on the Inc. 5000 is a great honour, and as Targeted Pet Treats’ President, Greg Austin stated at the time: “We are proud to be on the Inc. 5000 list and so pleased that our customers trust us to Build Their Brands with Excellence.

Their success is our success.” M

Targeted Pet Treats Products: Private label manufacturer of pet toys and treats www.targetedpettreats.com

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