Background
This company manufactures industrial laundry machines. At their main factory, the large washers and dryers are built from the ground up, beginning with sheet metal formation all the way to completed products. The manufacturing process divides the factory floor into four work areas where the product takes shape and ultimately reaches the loading dock doors where they are shipped.
The Problem
Throughout the assembly process, workers use the cranes to handle smaller subassemblies up to final assembly. When they are complete centrifugal extractors and dryers measure roughly 8 feet tall, 10 feet wide and weigh as much as 5 tons. The washing machines can be even larger, with the tunnel style washers resembling a long, stainless steel tanker truck, and weighing as much as 10 tons.
The Solution
For nearly 30 years, they’ve relied on Cleveland Tramrail® overhead cranes to move the work in progress throughout assembly. Three of the four work bays are covered with Cleveland Tramrail® systems that measure 40’ wide. Two systems feature runway lengths of 350 feet, while the third is a shorter 200 feet. “We have a combination of single and double girder bridges on the cranes to handle the various capacities,” said Kevin, the Supervisor Assistant. “So we have interlock transfers that can handle all of them.”