Powder Coating Case Study - Hunter Engineering
Hunter Engineering decided it was time to make a considerable change to their powder coating equipment and called Nordson in to help. The upgrade brought overtime hours down to nearly zero percent and reduced powder usage by almost 40 percent – improvements the Hunter team says have been well worth the investment.
Hunter Engineering is a world leader when it comes to automotive service equipment. The team at Hunter's Durant, Mississippi, location - which specializes in automotive lift racks, drive over tread depths and more - realized in 2017 that they needed to reassess some of their in-house operations and set out to find the best powder system for their custom operation. Their goals were common: Reduce their powder usage, increase ease of maintenance and speed up color changes. The system also had to be easy to use. Hunter Engineering did their due diligence to shop around with all the big players in the powder coating market. When it came down to their final decision, they had two companies in mind, Nordson being one of them.
“We went to the drawing board and ultimately made the decision to go with what we believed to be the best equipment on the market. It may not have been the cheaper option, but we were willing to pay a little more to get the quality we were looking for” states Steve Johnson, Manager of Manufacturing Engineering. We ended up going with two inline Excel 3000 booths with a Lean Cell Fast Color Change System at the very end of their powder line. Hunter paints roughly 85 percent of their products using two primary colors, black and red. Therefore, we have two inline Excel 3000 series reclaim booths, each one dedicated to its respective color. The Lean Cell on the end gives them the flexibility for touch-ups with either black or red, or a quick color change “Plug N Spray System” to cater to their customers’ multiple color requests,” states Folcik. The Excel 3000 Powder Coating Spray Booth enables uniform, constant airflow for more efficient powder recovery, enhanced collector efficiency and superior part coverage.
“Service and support after the sale was crucial to our decision in going with Nordson. Our previous experience working with Nordson was wonderful. It’s also comforting to know their main operations are here in the USA, where we can send employees for training and we know we have quick access to any parts we need,” adds Johnson. About Hunter Engineering.
About Nordson ICS - Industrial Coating Systems Division
Founded in 1954 to produce and market airless spray equipment, today manufacturers rely on our equipment for the precise application and curing of powder coatings, liquid paint, ambient temperature adhesives and sealants, and food and beverage container production. Our solutions help our customers improve their manufacturing process, produce better products and become even more competitive. We do this by combining in-depth knowledge, world-leading technical expertise and precise, performance enhancing production solutions for some of the world’s most demanding and diverse manufacturing environments.
We offer world leading application and curing equipment for powder coating, liquid spray painting, container coating, automotive applications, battery applications and precision dispensing for various application needs. Visit Nordson ICS on the web at Nordson Website, Twitter Profile, Facebook Profile and LinkedIn Profile.
About Nordson Corporation
Nordson engineers, manufactures, and markets differentiated products and systems used for dispensing and processing adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants and biomaterials; and for managing fluids, testing and inspecting for quality, treating surfaces and curing. These products are supported with extensive application expertise and direct global sales and service.
We serve a wide variety of consumer non-durable, consumer durable and technology end markets including packaging, nonwovens, electronics, medical, appliances, energy, transportation, building and construction, and general product assembly and finishing. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, the company has operations and support offices in more than 30 countries. Visit Nordson on the web at Nordson Website, twitter.com/Nordson_Corp or facebook.com/nordson.