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Paint Efficiency Audit Shows Huge Savings for Woodshop
Cabinet manufacturer meets production goals with ProMix PD2K Dual Panel Acid Catalyst.
CUSTOMER: Wood cabinet manufacturer
GRACO EQUIPMENT: ProMix PD2K Dual Panel Acid Catalyst
CHALLENGE: A wood cabinet manufacturer operated three shifts per day, five to six days per week with 24 color changes per shift. Production continued to increase, and their current ProMix 2KS system was maxed out.
Paint and solvent waste was extremely high, color changes were slow, and throughput was falling behind.
Three separate booths, feeding two guns, each with over 25 foot lines created high solvent and paint waste.
- Each color change took over two minutes, equaling over three hours each day on color changes alone.
- As more orders kept coming in, there was not enough time in the day to push them through.
The production engineer worked with a Graco account representative to try to improve efficiency with their current equipment by:
- reducing color changes by batching production by color
- reducing material waste by shortening lines and reducing hose diameter
But at the end of the day, they still required overtime to meet production demands.
SOLUTION: The production engineer was challenged directly by his CEO to solve this problem.
A paint efficiency audit by his Graco account representative found high waste numbers that could be resolved with the ProMix PD2K Dual Panel Acid Catalyst proportioning system.
ROI calculations by Graco
| Per year | ProMix 2KS | ProMix 2KS | ProMix PD2K | ProMix PD2K |
| Solvent waste | 64,486 gallons | $478,786 | 11,161 gallons | $82,814 |
| Paint waste | 9,116 gallons | $300,828 | 3,619 gallons | $119, 427 |
| Total waste | 73,602 gallons | $779,314 | 14,780 gallons | $202,241 |
| Disposal cost | $147,204 | $19,560 | ||
| Total cost | $926,518 | $231,801 | ||
| Savings | $694,717 |
When their material supplier’s paint audit reported higher waste numbers, they pitched the case to the CEO.
ROI calculations by material supplier
| Per year | ProMix 2KS | ProMix 2KS | ProMix PD2K | ProMix PD2K |
| Solvent waste | 77,350 gallons | $573,937 | 17,035 gallons | $126,399 |
| Paint waste | 13,650 gallons | $450,450 | 6,624 gallons | $218,592 |
| Total waste | 91,000 gallons | $1,024,387 | 23,660 gallons | $344,991 |
| Disposal cost | $182,00 | $47,320 | ||
| Total cost | $1,206,387 | $392,311 | ||
| Savings | $814,076 |
RESULTS: After installing three ProMix PD2K Dual Panel Acid Catalyst systems, they saved over $600,000 per year by wasting less paint and solvent. They reduced color change time from more than 2 minutes to 45 seconds.
The time saved allowed them to produce an additional 288 parts per shift. This brought in an extra $20,000 in revenue per day in finished product coming through the line.
| ProMix 2KS | ProMix PD2K | |
| Mixed material hose | 25 to 35 feet | 8 feet |
| Color change waste | 64 ounces | 18 ounces |
| Color change time | 2 minutes | 45 seconds |
| Increased throughput | status quo | + 288 parts per shift |
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