Cornerstone Building Brands
June 20, 2025
Heritage Hosiery
June 23, 2025The Situation
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.”
The Challenge
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.
The Solution
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.
The Results
- PROBLEM “MADE RIGHT”: Kaishan and Air & Hydraulic Equipment stood behind the product and fixed the problem in short order, Joey said. “It was made right. Rick took care of me,” he said.
- SUPERIOR PRODUCT THAT SAVES MONEY: The new machine “really runs smooth and is a “superior product,” Joey said. “You just don’t see that much anymore.” It runs the entire plant, saving $5,000 per year in electricity costs, too, Joey said. “If I don’t need it, it shuts down. Y’all are saving me money.”
- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Joey is so pleased with the new Kaishan unit he recommended Kaishan to his counterpart in a sister facility in Warren, MI, telling him, “I thought they were a top-notch company that’s responsive and wants to put out a great machine, and they do,” Joey said. “He loves it.”
- FANTASTIC SERVICE: Joey said he values the recommendations he gets from Air & Hydraulic Equipment. “They never steered me wrong.” In addition, “The service is fantastic,” Joey said. “They go that extra step and do a great job.
"It really runs smooth and is a superior product. You just don’t see that much anymore.”
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