Downtime is a fact of life in any manufacturing operation. But losing a full day of production every one to two weeks due to equipment failure can take its toll on even the most profitable plant.  

That scenario was exactly the situation faced by a USA-based manufacturer of industrial boilers before they replaced the lubricant in their corrugation machines with FTI's high-temperature, fire-resistant Tetra^® Lube Grease. By switching to Tetra^® Lube Grease, the manufacturer was able to dramatically reduce downtime and save $14,000 in just 20 weeks. The problem originated in the plant's corrugators which contain large roller bearings that are in constant contact with steel heated to 2300°F. This extreme heat is transferred to the bearings themselves which caused them to burn out. Each time a failure occurred, the corrugators had to be shut down and the bearings replaced. Estimated cost of a downtime: $10,000 per day, not including lost sales. Complicating the situation was the fact that the hydraulic leaks caused by the burnout inevitably resulted in a fire, which created a safety hazard and necessitated an expensive clean-up.

"We’ve tried everything we could think of to alleviate this problem," said the manufacturer’s maintenance director. "But we could not find a lubricant that could stand up to the extreme temperatures.” That's when the FTI product distributors recommended a Tetra^® Lube Grease that had been re-engineered to perform in temperatures outside the standard product guaranteed operating range of -100° to 750°F.