Spotlight on Machinery Purchases
by Tara Taffera

With current challenges facing door and window manufacturers, machinery suppliers are definitely feeling the effects as many companies have postponed equipment purchases. However, there is some purchasing activity going on in the machinery and insulating glass equipment arena. Find out what a few companies are buying and what spurred the purchases.

On the Spot
American Insulated, based in Conley, Ga., wasn’t in the market for an insulating glass (IG) machine. But when its president, Rick Freeman, saw Erdman®’s fixed head IG secondary sealer at a trade show in October 2010 he quickly signed a purchase order during the event.

The machine also was on display at the Win-door North America show in Toronto in November and from there it was shipped to American Insulated.

While it may have been a quick decision, Freeman already has seen a time and labor savings from use of the machine.

Automatic Benefits
Freeman originally was looking for a printing machine, but noticed the sealer in the Erdman booth and stopped to observe it in action. The machine is designed to easily apply a professional secondary seal to IG units, according to the company, but in an economical fashion (see box below for more information).

Prior to the purchase of the Erdman sealer, American Insulated had recently begun using Edgetech’s SuperSpacer product and Freeman says the company had been manually gunning units.

“At the event Erdman staff showed me what the machine could do,” says Freeman. “I operated it and figured if I could do it, my guys could do it.”

“We still do some manual gunning,” he adds. “But when the machine does it automatically this offers a smoother finish than by hand. The sealer also calculates the flow rate so it sped the SuperSpacer up, offering us additional savings.”

The machine also integrates well into American Insulated’s business.

“Over the years I have looked at automated lines,” says Freeman. “We are diverse as we offer different shapes. We may make one particular shape, then five of another. The change-out on this machine is pretty simple so it works well for us.”

The machine was so new that Freeman says it has been refined since the company made the purchase. Some of those changes were based on his feedback, further improving the machine.

Secondary Sealer Specs
Erdman says its Secondary Sealer offers many benefits, including the following:
• Dispensing capability of hot, cold or two-part sealant;
• Dual- and triple-glazed unit capability;
• Option for single pass on triples (increased speed);
• Noticeable reduction of waste and clean up; and
• Use of high-end components and a steel tube frame.

DWM
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