Heritage Hosiery makes compression socks in a 42,000-square-foot plant in a suburb of Chattanooga. Compressed air is the heartbeat of the operation, according to owner Jeff Hixon, with its rotary screw air compressors running nonstop, 24/7. Downtime costs him about $5,500 per shift.
Heritage had two aging screw compressors—a 75-HP and a 100-HP machine—that weren’t keeping up after a small plant expansion. The main unit broke down frequently, and it often took a week or more to get replacement parts. Dust from a nearby dirt racetrack didn’t help, and they needed a lot of filtration to keep the air clean and prevent oil pass-through, which could ruin products and damage his desiccant dryers. In winter, they had to cover the radiator to keep the machine, which is located outdoors, from freezing.
“It was time to upgrade,” Jeff said. He also wanted a variable-speed drive unit to save money and energy.
In the past, Jeff dealt with Rick LaFollette, general manager at Air & Hydraulic Equipment, an independent Kaishan distributor in Chattanooga. Rick recommended that Jeff consider replacing the aging compressors with two 100-HP KRSD rotary screw air compressors equipped with VSDs and backed by a 10-year warranty. After Jeff did some research, he agreed. He also purchased two twin-tower Mikropor desiccant dryers to get the high-quality air Heritage needed.
The company now has duplicate systems, ensuring reliability.
“I’d put y’all up there with top marks, as far as runnability and dependability. They are really solid machines.”
— Jeff Hixon, Owner, Heritage Hosiery
SIZE AND SCALE
compressors are
manufactured every year