Finishing & Screen Printing

QUALITY AND RELIABILITY, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE

Tuesday 04. May 2010 - As production lines get faster and more efficient, there is a parallel need to invest in reliable strapping equipment. Peter Foster, Managing Director of Mosca Direct, outlines why it pays to take a long-term view

In the current economic climate, many voices are questioning whether companies should invest in new equipment. It’s a sensible enough question – albeit with only a short-term answer. Certainly, deferring or delaying purchasing decisions means a healthier balance sheet now, but in the long-term it can be a disastrous choice.

Generally speaking, companies know when old equipment needs to be replaced. Maybe a piece of kit is not as reliable as it once was. Perhaps its speed is no longer enough to keep pace with the ever-faster demands of production. Possibly it’s just too bulky, an inefficient use of space when newer models are more compact and more ergonomic. In all of these situations, there’s a legitimate argument for change – and there can be tangible problems if nothing is done about it. It’s easy to say, “We’ll get one more year out of it,” only to find the machine breaks down after 11 months and brings production crashing to a halt. Any cost-savings made during that period are undone by that unwanted moment of downtime.

This is a familiar story in the world of end-of-line strapping. Since the strapper is not used in the actual manufacture of a company’s products, it tends to be exactly the piece of kit that left until the last possible minute. Yet strapping is a key link in the production chain, ensuring efficient distribution between producers and end users. It is common sense that, when production line managers invest considerably to secure the fastest throughput speeds and the highest levels of reliability, this speed and reliability must be matched all the way along the supply chain. Even the most state-of-the-art production equipment is effectively useless if its end-of-line machinery cannot keep up. Once a bottleneck is created, the only way the problem can be resolved is to stop production – and that is bad for business.

How can this be prevented? The most obvious answer is to pre-empt that breakdown by buying a new strapper. That goes against the prevailing recessionary logic, but in the long-term, it’s the right solution. A high-quality strapping machine is designed to minimise maintenance for long-term performance and reliability. In fact, today’s top-end strapping machines, if looked after properly, will perform to the highest standard for 10-15 years.

Once the decision to buy has been made, another – even harder – decision arises: what to buy. Having committed to making the investment, some will decide to minimise the damage to their balance sheet by opting for the cheapest option available. That, of course, is counter-productive and the worst of both worlds – money spent, but no guarantee of the long-term performance and reliability needed to bring back an economic return on investment.

It pays – literally – to research the market to see what is being sold. Many manufacturers now offer a basic, generic strapping machine that seems at first glance that it can do the job. But for how long? A high-quality strapping machine is designed to minimise maintenance for long-term performance and reliability. Yet those who favour the short-term gain offered by cheaper deals are soon likely to find that there’s a reason for the drop in price. Anecdotal evidence suggests that companies who opt for the bottom end of the market tend to ditch their machines within 2-3 years, out of sheer frustration at the amount of downtime they’ve suffered.

The key issue is cost of ownership. It isn’t enough that the machine is reliable now; it must remain reliable for the longest period possible. It’s here that reputable firms can offer an unmatchable advantage, as their products are the result of years of experience and research.

The history of strapping – as with any other modern manufacturing industry – is one of continuous improvement. The latest models are genuinely the best that have ever been available: faster, more reliable, easier to use and more economic. All because of a pedigree of research, refinement and revolution, as innovative new technologies have improved every aspect of the strapping industry.

For example, Mosca’s pioneering direct drive, brushless motor technology – used across a range of applications – was developed to ensure long-term reliability by minimising the number of moving parts. Direct drive eliminates the use of gearboxes, clutches, pulleys and chains for energy-saving, maintenance-free strapping.

This “less is more” principle can be extended to other aspects of machine engineering. Developed originally for the newspaper industry, Mosca’s airless system replaces components previously powered by pneumatic air cylinders. Since air can become contaminated by moisture, airless technology provides significant cost savings and improved efficiency.

The latest development is sonic sealing, which eliminates movement in the sealing process itself. There is no heat tongue, no friction: just a sonic wave, which offers the fastest and strongest seal yet achieved. The theory has been understood for many years, but it has taken considerable investment to ensure that this speed and strength can be achieved consistently.

True, some pirate manufacturers can copy a high-quality machine to a reasonable standard, but when the only agenda is “How cheap?” it’s the future that misses out. These operators will never make the jump from copyist to innovator because their tight margins leave no scope to fund development. At Mosca, as it has been for over 40 years, the emphasis is on longevity. Quality not just now, but in the future.

Such long-term vision offers one final benefit to the manufacturer who needs a good strapper. The basic, generic models offered by cut-price imitators are based on the fallacy that one size fits all. Firms who have dealt with their customers for many years know the reality, that strapping requirements vary massively. The key to providing effective strapping solutions is to tailor them to those demands. The purchaser making an investment in new equipment needs to be confident that they are buying only what is relevant and desirable to their business.

Mosca technological breakthroughs provide a standardised, secure base underpinning all of our strapping equipment. From that foundation, attention is then paid to building a ‘family’ of machines – each specifically designed to meet a particular need, be it speed, high tension, flexibility or something more unusual. By combining depth of expertise with breadth in application, Mosca can offer the most diverse product range in the strapping industry.

Our ethos has always been that success cannot come overnight. The same is true of investment in new equipment. Anybody who believes in the ‘quick fix’ tends to find that the anticipated benefits disappear as quickly as they are promised. Those prepared to pay the premium for pedigree may find, in the long run, that they have saved money thanks to faster output, minimised downtime and economic running.