W.F. Taylor
Co. Inc. (“Taylor Adhesives”) of Dalton, Georgia manufactures
state-of-the- art, environmentally-friendly adhesives for flooring
installation. Taylor sells its products throughout the United States
and also exports to the Pacific Rim area, Canada, UK and Australia.
When
Taylor launched its patented Meta-Tec Wood Flooring Adhesive product in
2003, they bought a used, 411 cubic foot mixer, which had previously
been used to mix dry food ingredients. The seals that came on the mixer
were MECO''s standardized “MD” seals. The mixer has a 6.5” diameter
shaft, turning at 12 rpm. The liquid product is processed at
atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature to 90°F.
Plant
technician Chuck Dowdy stands beside the blender with The MD seals that
came on the blender the MECO seal mounted and purge lines connected.
had been working well in the food application, but once Taylor began
mixing its adhesive products in the machine, the seals began to leak.
The maintenance team replaced the rotating components of the seal, yet
it still continued to leak. Plant Manager Alan Wagoner estimated the
cost of product loss to be $600.00 per week. An additional cost of
operating the MD seals was that they required a nitrogen purge line.
Wagoner says that the seals consumed about $336 worth of nitrogen per
week.
After about a year, Wagoner’s boss saw a case study in a
trade magazine about how MECO’s custom shaft seals had solved a problem
similar to theirs. Wagoner contacted the regional MECO distributor,
Jerry Chevalier of Mid South Mechanical Sealing. Chevalier came to the
plant to take shaft measurements and a pair of custom- engineered seals
was delivered several weeks later.
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