Investing In The Future
We've mentioned it before, but it's worth repeating - the diesel industry is changing at a rate never seen before. As the market grows, so do the opportunities we see in the world of remanufacturing and machining. Investing in the future is the only clear path to avoid being overwhelmed by it. To that end, we are excited to announce the addition of a few new pieces of equipment that will not only increase our production capacities but also give us an edge in developing new parts and tools for the diesel industry through our state-of-the-art machine shop.
Work has already begun on the installation of a new 5-axis Okuma M560V Verticle Machining Center along with a (2) new Hartgridge common rail test benches; an AVM2-PC and a CRp-PC. We're also investing in the Delphi DFP1 and DFP3 common rail pump kits and the Cummins CAPS II test tools. This equipment is being installed in our machine shop and fuel shop located at the company headquarters: 1300 North University Street in Carlinville, IL.
The Okuma M560V requires a herculean effort to install. Standing at 9' tall and weighing over 18k pounds, not only did we have to move the majority of the shelves in half of our warehouse, we had to remove an entire section of a wall in order to fit this enormous machine in the building! But worry not, we've been down this road before. This new machine will be joining it's slightly older twin brother that we brought online back in late 2014. Needless to say, the folks in the machine shop can't wait to unpack this beast and put it to work!
With the addition of the two new Hartridge test benches, our goal is to increase testing capacity in the fuel shop. The new AVM2-PC can save a technician as much as 50% of the time it takes to use another test bench. The secret of this machine is in its ease of use. Although it is a sophisticated piece of equipment, it allows the operator to use the test stand quickly, so we can potentially test more diesel pumps using the AVM2-PC than we could using another test stand system. Combined with the ability to test “All Makes” of fuel injection equipment, the AVM2-PC was an obvious choice for our fuel shop.
The CRp-PC, with its compact design and standalone platform, allows for the testing of Bosch, Delphi, Denso and Siemens Common Rail pumps. Controlled with Hartridge's proprietary software, MAGMAH, the CRp-PC allows for the creation of test plans, together with the ability to save these for repeat standardized testing. Combined with the Delphi DFP1 and DFP3 common rail pump kits and the Cummins CAPS II test tools, our fuel shop technicians will have the tools and equipment necessary to launch us to the next level in fuel injection component testing and rebuilding.
As we approach our 50th year in business, it's more important than ever to continue investing in the equipment and tools necessary to carry us into the future. We're confident that these recent investments will do just that.