Automotive OEM Draw Lube Case Study
Description of Issue: Automotive OEM customer was using water-based drawing compounds in their stamping operations. These materials were being purchased in a ready-to-use capacity, at a concentration of 6-parts water to 1-part concentrate in 275-gallon IBC containers. The operations required the use of 24,566 gallons per year. This involved multiple monthly shipments and consumed considerable floor space. Transportation, storage, and labor costs associated with the use of the RTU product were very high.
Projected Solution: Since the product is water-based, Chemico suggested bringing in concentrated product and diluting line side, thereby reducing storage, transportation, and handling.
Considerations
Maintaining accurate at use concentration
Capital cost of dilution equipment
Maintenance of equipment
Equipment monitoring and communication
Method: Chemico worked with the vendor to design a robust system capable of accurate and precise dilution. The equipment took up a small (6×6 ft) footprint lineside and was integrated with the plant’s facility monitoring system. This allowed for the notification of equipment faults by remote monitoring and automatic notifications. The equipment was initially purchased by Chemico and amortized in the material cost for the period of 1 year. This relieved the plant of a direct capital expense. After the amortization period, the equipment was owned by the OEM. All maintenance was performed by the vendor in the first year and OEM trades were trained on operation and maintenance during this period.
Results:
Shipments were reduced from 85 totes to 12 in the first year.
The cost of material to support operations was reduced by $24,566.
On-site material storage was reduced from 8 to totes to 2.
The number of material deliveries was reduced from 14 down to 3 per year with a freight savings of over $5,000
Environmental was able to claim a carbon savings of 152 tons of CO2 per year resulting from reduced freight.