The USA mistake

 

Today I would want to remember the big mistake of some European and Japanese washers manufacturers in the Automotive American industry  middle 1990’s .

Sometime the successful manufacturers of one continent try to introduce their products in other continent without considering the difficulties due to the philosophy of the washer concept in each continent.

Sometime the customers of one continent wants to punish or improve their present manufacturer suppliers buying machines to a supplier from another continent without considering the difficulties due to the philosophy of the washer concept in each continent.

This happened in the 1990’s with the Japanese SUGINO . Ford Motor co placed orders for gear boxes high pressure washers to them(I hope it was in Livonia factory). The machines were of Japanese concept , giving good cleanliness quality but not appropriated to the maintenance requests from the American users ( accessibility , inside room, safety devices, documentation..). In conseque the application was a fracas and SUGINO didn’t had continuity in Ford.

In another case Ford Motor ordered a high pressure transfer wash/deburr for aluminium cylinder heads with also brush deburring.The supplier was the German company Beyss. The machine had a very complete process with brush deburring, cavitation wash, high pressure wash , ferris wheel.

When the machine starts to work in the factory( Romeo?) all the American normal washers suppliers were invited to see and appreciate the top of the technology in washing machines.  Not more than two years later the machine was a nightmare for the client due to his high complexity and the quantity of chips remaining inside the machine .The maintenance was difficult for the customers people,they were not trained for the job( complexity,controls, safety standards..).In consequence the application was a fracas and Beyss didn’t had continuity in Ford. Beyss lost a lot of money .

The American Automobile market had some particularities not present in Japan or in Europe:

 1) The car engines were much bigger . V engines of 3 to 6 litters volume. These sizes in Europe would be considered truck engines , not car engines.

2) The throughput in America was 200 to 300 parts /hour . In Japan or Europe the throughput was between 100 and 125 p/h

3) The tendency in Europe was to install sophisticate automatic filters for the wash liquid filtration with small tanks to have a minimal quantity of  liquid  in  the machine, when in America the tendency was opposite : big tanks simple filters and safety manual bags filters.

4) The amount of chips arriving to the machine with the parts was much bigger ( three to four times) than in Europe.

5) The detergents used in America were restricted to the environmental request of the State and in was not easy to use new ones used in Europe.In America the customers were working at ambient temperature ( witout machine heating)

6) The maintenance request in America were different. The “sizes” of an American foreman were much bigger than the Japanese foreman or European foreman. The machine access had to be bigger and easier in America .

7) The preventive maintenance philosophy in America was different: better to change a mechanical part after a certain number of working hours , than to check frequently how is it ,and evaluate if it has to be changed. It was more a “big maintenance” when needed than an small “periodic maintenance” to prevent a “big maintenance”.

8)The mechanical robustness of the machines in America was bigger than in Europe or Japan ans less sophisticate . For this reason the high production machines were hydraulic driven instead of electromechanical. The American hydraulics  standards were very constrained for the Europeans or Japanese  with inexperience and a high cost for them.

Al theses particularities were not well evaluated by Sugino, Beys… and caused their failure but it was also the pressure of the customers that forced them to deliver without enough analyses of the Market needs.

This was the situation when the company AGULLO arrives to the American market. People in Ford USA saw the Agullo Ferris wheel washing transfer machines in Ford Europe and wants to try it in America.

Then the american premium washer suppliers were Ingersoll (Centri-Spray), and Valiant on the Ferris wheel machines and Rocktool,and Liquiburr( in bankrupt) on high pressure.

Knowing the American particularities , AGULLO arrived to this market with the Ferris wheel machines( in line transfer with two vertical rotary tables across) for the cylinder blocks and cylinder heads.

The machines were in stainless steel body, with big tanks , robust mechanics, total accessibility (full side wall as motorized vertical guillotine door) for the maintenance, high pressure wash, and machine tool mechanics quality. In Chrysler with individual automatic filters , in Ford with Central filtration systems.

These machines astonish the customers and competitors. Some American suppliers commented the machines to be like the  ”Cadillac “of the Washers.

 

 

The majority of the machines are still working and have been retooled for new engines. This is an example to show that the washing machines are specific machines linked to a market and demands of a market and that before to go to other markets ,other customers, other requests,other mentalities, all the details have to be analysed in dip  .

The training of the customer is also important because if the machines are of a new technology for him , the operation and the maintenance is new and without a hard support from the supplier it could defeat.

Years later another example of that happen when one Automotive customer wants to buy exactly the same machines that he saw in Germany working in cylinder heads and cylinder blocks featuring new technologies for the Americans : hot cavitation wash, oil evaporators and vacuum dry. The machines were running successfully in Europe but not in America. Two years after the installation , the customer was enable to run the machines . ( tanks too small , foaming , parts too hot for the leak test , difficult maintenance , not enough training for the maintenance people in the factory, documentation not adequate…). The  consequence : the supplier was banned for several years in the customer Factories.

The washing machines are special machines receiving the hardest working conditions in the automotive factory : aggressive detergents , agresive machining oils and coolants , chips , helical chips , flat chips , burrs , liquid temperature , full humid ambient , temperatures changes , air condensations , noise , PLC or CNC  machine tools standards , rust atmosphere… and nobody likes to maintain it ( it is a dirty job…).The machine needs a good maintenance people understanding of chemicals , electronics, mechanics , lubrication , and also “process”(wash-blow off).

To be successfully on the utilisation of a washing machine from one Continent in the other is necesary the full implication of the washer manufacturer with the customer factory engineers , and factory maintenance people (not only the customer’s purchase or staff )before the construction of the machine. Is the only way to be successfully and that the machines and the washer manufacturer can last time in the customer preferences.

Maybe the future would be that the washer manufacturer has also the responsability for the maintenance and warranty the machine performances? .I know that the are some customers looking for that.

The machine engineering of the AGULLO washers in America inspired to several american manufacturers who updated their design and technologies and incorporate to their machines some AGULLO particularities like the  robustness, mechanics or the full size guillotine door( See Valiant , HMM pictures)