Leading Wire Manufacturer in a Pickle – Finish Thompson Provides Solution
An industry-leading wire manufacturer relied on about 80 mechanically sealed pumps to manage harsh chemicals throughout their operations.
That’s about 80 seals that would inevitably fail.
Exposure to the harsh acids and the suspended solid fines involved in wire manufacturing was causing continuous leaks in these seals and led to frequent pump repairs and replacements. The high-level maintenance this required was eating into profits and making operations less reliable. It took a dedicated crew to simply keep up with the maintenance of these frequently failing pumps.
It was time for a change.
The manufacturer decided to explore new options and was pointed to Finish Thompson as a potential solution. What they discovered was transformational.
“Switching to Finish Thompson reduced our pump maintenance cost drastically and increased our production reliability,” reports the company’s Maintenance Manager.
Troy Hurley, Finish Thompson Northeast Regional Manager, explains, “I hosted a lunch-and-learn for the maintenance crew and supervisor. They had never used mag-drive centrifugal pumps, so we reviewed the advantages of this design, and I highlighted our unique features versus other types and brands. Mag-drive pumps do not have the flaws of the mechanically sealed pumps, and the cost was comparable to their existing pump supplier.”
The company quickly recognized the benefits of Finish Thompson’s pumps and placed an order for two UltraChem® pumps. These pumps offered an additional advantage of ANSI-dimensional design, which made swapping out the pumps a cinch (“plug and play” type installation).
Impressed with the performance and reliability of the pumps, over the next year and a half, the company switched out about 40 of their old pumps for Finish Thompson pumps. Since the first UltraChem® pumps order, they have also installed Air Operated Double Diaphragm Pumps (AODD), drum pumps, and larger self-priming SP series mag-drive pumps.
“When the Finish Thompson pumps were first installed,” notes Hurley, “the pumps were so quiet, with so little vibration, the wire manufacturer didn’t think they were working! Now, when they need a pump, Finish Thompson is their first choice.”
Hurley adds, “They’ve been very happy with the performance of all our pumps, as well as the service provided. They hadn’t seen the competitor’s pump representative in years, but Finish Thompson has been there numerous times in the last 18 months, working closely with them to make sure all their needs are met. Finish Thompson plans to continue to support the manufacturer by eventually replacing the remaining mechanically sealed pumps to ensure long-term, reliable, low-maintenance pump operations.”
