NSK’s asset improvement programme reduces downtime & maintenance costs by €192,600 for major food producer

The company operates 6 production lines, and across all of these was experiencing the same problem: bearing life of just six months due to the adverse environment. With production costs running at €3,500/hr, this situation was clearly unsustainable and NSK was called in to analyse the application and suggest an alternative. NSK investigated the application and proposed replacing the existing double-row ball bearings with its Molded-Oil™ Series of spherical roller bearings. Molded-Oil™ bearings reduce the total cost of ownership of food processing machinery by removing the downtime associated with regular bearing replacements, and through maintenance cost savings as a result of longer re-lubrication intervals. They provide these benefits with a special solid lubricant that greatly improves the performance of machinery and equipment in environments exposed to high humidity and contamination. A highly effective lubricant, Molded-Oil™ offers more than twice the operating life of grease lubrication in water contaminated environments. Moreover, the technology means that operating environments are kept free of grease – very important in food applications - and there is no need for refilling of lubricant, as Molded-Oil™ provides a continuous supply of lubricating oil. Since fitting of the new Molded-Oil™ spherical roller bearings, bearing life has increased to 15 months (the original Molded-Oil™ bearings are still operating – with more life to come). As a consequence, maintenance intervals have been reduced, leading to major savings in production downtime costs, calculated at a considerable €192,600 annually. In addition to this annual cost reduction, the snack food manufacturer is also benefiting because a costly regreasing operation has now been eliminated. This represents an additional major cost saving in respects of labour and downtime, and a solution to environmental protection. New Free Publication for Food and Beverage Industry Comprehensive details of Molded-Oil™ and all other NSK bearings for food and beverage applications are contained in a new 24-page publication. The free brochure provides a wealth of information regarding the choice of bearings for use in food and beverage applications. Free copies of the publication are available from NSK: Tel: Freephone 0500 2327464. Callers should quote the publication reference: FB/B/E/11.09 www.nskeurope.com