When you’re going over the expenses of your manufacturing budget, it’s easy to view belt replacements and relate installation costs as just part of doing business. But you may not realize that there’s a better, more cost-effective way to keep your business up and running. Today, we’re going to take you through four instances of one tried and true savings method in particular: Optimizing conveyor belting products with a budget in mind.
Success Story: Case Sealer Belts
If your products are going into a box at some point, you have at least one case sealer belt at your plant. Shipp Belting helped one client in particular who required 100 belts for his eight case sealers per year. The case sealer machine manufacturer charged him $150 per belt, bringing his grand total to $15,000 annually for his case sealer lines alone.
When he finally had enough, the client reached out to Shipp Belting and explained that he could no longer sustain the $15,000 hemorrhage and keep his production rate where it needed to be. What he didn’t know was, the machine manufacturer received the belts needed from a supplier and significantly inflated the margins. By eliminating that step and choosing to work directly with Shipp, Solutions Engineers were able to supply and custom fabricate the client’s belts at a price of $52.74 per belt—the same product, the same quality. One-third of the price.
Success Story: Building Materials
Another Shipp Belting customer was carrying abrasive building material product to the transition section of their wrapping conveyor. The original equipment belt specifications were abrasive-resistant carboxylated ruff top, requiring a change-out every 10 days. The client’s belt replacement costs were $859 per belt, plus the cost of three man-hours at $75 per hour. That meant they were spending $1,084 per belt change-out. With 36 necessary events per year, the client’s total cost to replace that belt totaled out at $39,024/year.
Our team at Shipp stepped in to offer a resolution. A Solutions Engineer recommended a belt change to our client, suggesting a Homogeneous Urethane, costing $2,170 with a $750 installation fee (totaling at $2,920 per belt).Homogeneous Urethane belts only require one change-out per year, taking that client’s savings to $36,104 annually. After four years of implementation, that savings grew to $144,416.
Success Story: Metal Extrusion
Metal extrusion plants run resistant Kevlar belts during the first two stages of their production and Nomex-coated product during the final three to four remaining stages, due to extremely high product temperatures toward the end of the extrusion process. After consulting the client and evaluating their areas for budget reduction and process improvement, Shipp Belting’s Solutions Engineers converted the product used for stages two to four to a NOVA-style needled product.
The result was flawless. By switching to Shipp’s product recommendation, the client saved as much as 50% in upkeep and replacement costs without sacrificing product longevity. With Shipp’s suggested product in place, the client’s lead times were reduced from four weeks to a mere 1-2 days—inventory dollars, time savings and sales focus instead of upkeep are now back in the client’s hands.
Success Story: Food Processing
Finally, we take a look at the food industry. Many modern food processing plants have replaced traditional modular belts with food-grade positive drive belts that require hygiene-sensitive applications in the food processing industry. One of Shipp Belting’s recent partners paid $6,800 for his positive drive blue belt and corresponding DuraDrive motorized pulley. Shipp Belting, however, only charges $5,000 for the same products. By cutting out unnecessary hurdles and relying on Shipp Belting to custom fabricate his products, the client was able to reduce his time schedule and streamline the time required for a maintenance technician.
Not to mention, the client’s quality assurance department has already seen better results after switching to Shipp Belting’s products—better belt quality means fewer belt change-outs due to potential contamination. The client’s overall cleaning time was reduced by 50%, plus cost savings in both labor and water consumption.
What does this mean for you?
After reading these success stories, take a look at your budget. There might be areas you can’t see from the outside that can be trimmed down. It may be the case that your current belting products are inflating your spend each day you don’t make a change. Whether you’re certain that your belting products are weighing your spend down or not, there’s only one way to know for sure: consult the experts.
Shipp Belting’s Solutions Engineers have the expertise and multi-industry knowledge to cue up your processes towards a streamlined budget. With over 85 years of experience behind us, we won’t rest until prospective customers and long-time partners alike are sure that they’re receiving the best price. Every time.
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