Tag: business

Next Level Customer Service

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

I recently spoke with a customer who is a casting / machining manufacturer.  They had an automated cell that was finish machining a feature on a cast aluminum part then placing it on a conveyor belt for an operator to pick up and continue processing.

The parts were placed 3 pieces wide per row and the conveyor would index with every three parts.   The operator would pick three pieces up and transfer them to another station during the machining time.  These parts were carrying residual machining coolant and debris onto the outbound conveyor.

The operator would blow them off with a handheld blow gun and all the coolant and chips would generally end up on the floor in the area causing a slip hazard.  The focus of the project is to eliminate the safety hazards and leave the parts as clean as possible for the inspection and further process.

The metal parts were positioned similar to the parts I placed in the mock up picture below.  The conveyor the customer has is an open mesh conveyor so the process will work better than if it was a solid belt like in the mock up.

The bulk of the concern from the customer was the outside of the part and they stated that anything to blow out the internal is a bonus.  The objective is to get as much coolant off as possible.   For that we recommended they span the conveyor with a Super Air Knife Kit to blow all the parts off at once.  This is mounted closely in the mock up because the customer had space restrictions.

The Super Air Knife Kit with Universal Air Knife Mounting System will firmly mount the knife over the parts and leave adjustment if needed.
The model 1103 Mini Super Air Nozzles with Stay Set Hoses of various lengths easily bend into place and hold their positioning for the side hole on each part.

Then, because the parts are always placed in the same location with the same orientation we can locate the ID hole with a Mini Super Air Nozzle on a Stay Set Hose of varying length to reach each set of parts as they come through.  Once I had the idea and the products in place I delivered the customer  a quote and dimensional CAD file for each part.

Another recommendation was to use a regulator and filter to control just the knife then operate the three nozzles off their own regulator and filter so that the forces between the two can be varied and the performance of the other is not effected.  Accompanying the models were installation sheets for each item as well.   Followed by the pictures of this mock up for their application.

Needless to say the customer was amazed that we would go to such lengths just to give them more assurance than our 30 day guarantee.  They were extremely thankful and are pleased we shipped from stock and met their installation window.

If you are looking for a creative solution, next level customer service, same day product availability, or just a nice human to talk to about compressed air, contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

EXAIR’s 2015 Year End Review!

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

In case you were too busy to notice, it’s 2016!  With the start of the new year I would like to review just a few milestones EXAIR reached which will help continue to serve our customers and provide solutions to manufacturing problems. The year was extremely busy for us and so far, 2016 is looking to be even better.

Throughout the course of the last year EXAIR has released hundreds of new products. We continue to increase our Atomizing Spray Nozzle product line and we received the official patent on our No Drip Atomizing Spray Nozzles. The No Drip versions of our spray nozzles have a patented design which helps conserve precious liquids, including water, while also preventing drips which could affect your product finish.

Stay up to date with EXAIR Press Releases
Stay up to date with EXAIR Press Releases

Our new line of Back Blow nozzles have been created to clean the inside of pipe, tube, hose, channel or shafts and prevent the operator from pushing debris further inside by directing the airflow and debris back out toward the nearest end. We have also outfitted our air guns with these nozzles to provide an easy to activate and ergonomic solution. EXAIR also expanded our swivel fitting, air operated conveyor, industrial housekeeping and Cabinet Cooler product lines. See our website for more information on these products. These new stock products ship same day on orders received by 3 PM EST for orders within the United States.

Custom products helped solve problems for hundreds of customers with manufacturing solutions that just didn’t quite fit the bill of our off the shelf products. Since we are a manufacturer (located in Cincinnati, OH) we have the ability to modify stock products, create custom solutions, provide timely information and fast lead times for special products. We blog about specials a lot and we continue to help customers with custom fit products that will surpass their expectations.

With all of the new products and customs, we continued to achieve higher levels of shipping accuracy.  We now have a 20 year streak of shipping complete, on time, correct orders if over 99.9%! There are not many companies that I deal with on a personal level or through EXAIR which can claim their accuracy is this high.

When we weren’t shipping orders or helping customers with custom solutions we also managed to post more than 1 blog per business day, I don’t even want to count the thousands of other Social Media posts we have done, and released numerous videos of tips and tricks for many of our products.

The message I am trying to get across is that we press forward here at EXAIR.  We are constantly making moves and trying to ensure that we offer our customers every item they may need, in a timely manner, correctly, of high quality, and easy to do business with.

That is the only way that we can continue to be the best company for Intelligent Compressed Air Products!

Brian Farno
Application Engineer Manager
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

 

What Exactly Does “Easy To Do Business With” Mean?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

That’s the goal – we want it to be easy for you to do business with EXAIR. I understand this is not exactly a quantitative expression, and everyone here likes to have data to back up our claims.  Well, here are just a few ways that I have found to verify we are easy to deal with.

Whenever you call in, the phone is answered by a live person.  This of course is true for Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM EST – what most of us consider “normal business hours”. The team that answers the phone is also our Order Entry team who can help with pricing, some general product questions, lead times, freight quotes, etc. And, if you need additional technical information or an expert to assist you with implementing a solution for your problem, they are the team who will pass your calls on to my team, the Application Engineers.

We have a full staff of Application Engineers who are here to assist with selecting the right product to fit your needs and troubleshooting existing compressed air setups. Our Application engineers are experts at determining how much compressed air can be saved compared to an existing setup and how that translates into your dollar savings. They understand how important it is to you to keep your processes OSHA compliant and personnel safe. Our Application Engineers also walk you through any returns which may occur with our 30 day trail period, which brings us to the next topic.

We honor a 30 day guarantee on stock products.  This permits you to get the product in to your facility and put it through the paces and if it doesn’t perform to your standards, give us a call.  We will take the item back and issue you a full credit for the purchase price of the product. I should probably state at this point that – Yes, we do deal with applications we have not dealt with before. In these situations we remain confident in our recommended solution (or we would not have made it) but will remain close to you as the installation and implementation occur just so we can help troubleshoot if necessary. If it ends up not working – see the first 3 sentences.

On top of all those, we stand behind our product with a 5 year built to last warranty for compressed air products, and a 1 year warranty on electronic components.   This just goes to show how strongly we believe in our workmanship and our products.

30 Day Guarantee
30 Day Guarantee

In case you have never called or sent in an inquiry from one of the numerous ways we offer to contact us,  please do.  I can assure you that you will receive a timely response from a live person that will give you the best answer possible.   If we don’t have the answer, we’ll tell you and many times we will offer a good place to find a solution.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

 

Tall Fences May Make Good Neighbors, But it’s Bad for Business

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

Well, my wife and I moved into the new house, so last week I started my first home improvement project.  Of course, there is the typical moving jobs of changing locks, painting rooms and putting up shelves or photos.  Those projects were enough to keep me busy for a couple of weeks, but with the last few weekends of good weather for the year, I decided that I was going to install a fence.  I got up on Saturday and took the trip to big box store to buy supplies.  I left there late in the morning with a lighter wallet and a truck full of pressure treated lumber, concrete, and a post hole digger.  I spent the rest of my Saturday digging post holes, which wouldn’t have been so hard, except for the old house had some bricks buried in the back yard, and a garage footer that was precisely where I decided to put my last fence post.4RailPostRail

As I was digging my fence posts, I was contemplating my station in life.  How did I come to a place where I need to separate myself from my neighbors by building a fence?  The most pressing reason for building the fence was to keep my dog in the yard.  He likes to chase things that are in his backyard, which I encourage. The problem is once the cat, squirrel or bird has left the yard, he still chases it into the neighbors yard.  After I find him in the neighbors yard, I have to apologize.  Since meeting several neighbors this way, let me say that it is not the greatest way to introduce yourself.

The icy stare of the neighbors after my dog had treed their cat convinced me that the old proverb, “tall fences make good neighbors” might not be exactly right.  I think it should be rewritten as “tall fences keep you from being a bad neighbor”, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it.  Many people have mistakenly attributed that phrase to Robert Frost, but according to YourDictionary.com and Wolfgang Mider, the author of “‘Good fences make good neighbours: history and significance of an ambiguous proverb’”, a version of this proverb exists in many different cultures and languages. Consequently, no one person can claim to have said this. Mendingwall

Robert Frost actually seems to be advocating against fences in his poem, Mending Wall, or at least arguing that things aren’t just as simple as the proverb makes it out to be.  I will let you read the poem to judge for yourself.  At EXAIR, instead of mending fences, we are trying to tear them down.  We make it a priority to be accessible to our customers at every turn.  Obviously, we post on this blog regularly, and as you see from my twitter handle at the bottom of this post, I (and every other Application Engineer) can be reached on twitter.  We make it a priority to be present on Facebook, Google+, and our Website.  Even still we are available everyday from 8 AM to 5 PM EST on the telephone at 1-800-903-9247, through email at Techelp@EXAIR.com, or online chat.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
davewoerner@exair.com
@EXAIR_DW