Heritage Hosiery
June 23, 2025
Swaggerty’s Farm
June 23, 2025The Situation
The finishing department at Mannington Mills’ carpet backing facility in Calhoun, GA, has three coaters in a plant the size of four football fields. It relies heavily on compressed air to power its operations, including 20 diaphragm pumps, air cylinders, and jet nozzles that blow lint off the carpet as it’s being sheared. The company had a 300-HP main rotary screw air compressor and a 150-HP backup.
The Challenge
His main compressor was “constantly being worked on,” said Bubba Dover, maintenance manager at the plant. It was frequently out of service for a month at a time. When repairs were made, the problem returned within a few days. “And they charged me once again,” Bubba said. “The upkeep on the [primary] compressor was outrageous,” Bubba said. “In 10 years’ time, the maintenance and the repairs were more than when we bought it.”
Moisture and oil carryover ruined some products until his vendor recommended a system that required filter changes every few months. “Instead of acknowledging the compressor problem, they sold me filters,” he said. It was noisy and produced a lot of heat, a problem in an already hot facility with three large ovens running constantly. When the backup was running, things were even worse. Though the plant needed pressures of 125 PSIG, it could only reach 100 PSIG, so some key end uses had to run more slowly. Because the backup was water-cooled, a chiller and two fans ran constantly, consuming extra energy.
The Solution
Bubba wanted a U.S.-made compressor with a smaller footprint and less noise. But, most of all, he needed reliability in his plant. “I don’t want to have a service man on call.”
Burned by his previous experience, Bubba “didn’t want to buy a pig in a poke,” so Air & Hydraulic Equipment connected him to other Kaishan customers.
“The product itself won us over.” He bought a 150-HP KRSP rotary screw air compressor.
The Results
- PREVENTS $10,000 AN HOUR DOWNTIME: The Kaishan 150-HP KRSP rotary screw air compressor has all but eliminated the $10,000-per-hour downtime at the plant.
- SAVES $1,500 PER MONTH IN ENERGY COSTS: The new unit saves $1,500 monthly, cutting electricity costs by a third.
- KILLER PERFORMANCE: The plant now operates at its 125-PSIG target with no problem. “The Kaishan 150 is doing what the 300-HP was doing.”
- “RELIABLE” OPERATION: There’s no more oil pass-through, so he only changes filters every two years. The unit is quieter, and it puts out less heat. With the water-cooled backup gone, there’s no nasty condensate to dispose of. The fans are gone, too, as well as the chiller. When he has a question or issue, he gets same-day service from Air & Hydraulic Equipment. “It’s a reliable piece of equipment,” Bubba said.
“The Kaishan 150 is doing what the 300-HP was doing. It’s a reliable piece of equipment."
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