Henkel manufactures 2.8 million pounds of metal pretreatment per month in its 50,000-square-foot Calhoun, GA facility. It relies on compressed air to power a wide range of critical applications, including atomic layer deposition equipment. Compressed air downtime could cost the company tens of millions of dollars per year.
“If the air goes down, we are dead in the water,” Joey Baker, Henkel’s maintenance supervisor, said. “Without compressors, we can’t run.”
As part of a corporate sustainability initiative, Henkel was looking to replace two aging 20-horsepower compressors. The goal was to reduce energy consumption, most likely by adding a compressor with a variable-speed drive.
Henkel selected a 50-HP Kaishan KRSD with a VSD because it was more cost-effective and of higher quality than competitive products. Unfortunately, a malfunction in the motor’s terminal block caused the compressor to shut down. A repair resulted in yet another failure.
Rick LaFollette, general manager at Air & Hydraulic Equipment, an independent Kaishan distributor in Chattanooga, acted quickly. He recognized that his customer was losing patience and confidence in his company and Kaishan, so he requested immediate help.
Kaishan delivered, upgrading Henkel to a brand new KRSP premium rotary screw compressor with a re-engineered terminal block. The new machine, Joey said, has been “purrin’ like a kitten” ever since.
“It really runs smooth and is a superior product. You just don’t see that much anymore.”
— Joey Baker, Maintenance Supervisor, Henkel
SIZE AND SCALE
compressors are
manufactured every year