"I upgraded with ITW Gema because they have the best performing guns!"

"ITW Gema provides excellent service, but the performance of the equipment is what really stands out - I simply love the Gema guns!"
- George Howe, Sternberg Lighting-

The Company:  Sternberg Lighting has been creating lighting fixtures and ornamental poles since 1923.  Today, their product has expanded to include custom projects and site amenities, such as clocks, street signs, mail boxes, benches and trash receptacles.

The Challenge:  Previously a liquid operation, Sternberg made the transition to powder in 1996-1996-2010, As a custom shop, they will apply any color the customer wants.  Making quick color change an important consideration.  More importantly, the reliability and application efficiency of the powder guns were a primary concern.

The Solution:  Finishing Department Supervisor, George Howe, has worked with numerous application equipment vendors over his careers and concluded that ITW Gema would make the best fit for Sternberg. "Some of the other equipment gusy make a pretty good booth," George admitted, "but ITW Gema definitely makes the best guns!  Sternberg installed a Diamond™ 10,000 CFM powder booth with automatic gun triggering.  The booth was fitted with OptiGun™automatic powder guns, OptiTronic™ control units, and OptiFlow™ high-performance powder pumps.  EasySystem™ touch-up units were attached to the booth to accommodate areas where manual work is required.

The Savings:  "The system has been awesome!" George remarked.  "Our pump inserts last so long that our spare parts expense has been drastically reduced.  Filters seem to last forever because the overspray is virtually nothing."  Rejects are almost non-existent at Sternberg, and are never due to the powder application.  According to George, "These guns are so incredibly efficient, we get over 70% transfer efficiency and save a ton of money on powder."

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"The ability to control current with the Optiflex is a big plus!"

"I really like the lightweight and balanced feel of the OptiSelect gun."
- Tyler Hensel, Generac Power System, Inc. -

The Company:  Generac Power Systems, Inc. was founded in 1959 as a manufacturer of portable generators.  Since then, Generac's business has grown to include a full line of home generators, including the Guardian Automatic Home Standby generator line, as well as commercial generators.  Gererac now operates from four plants; three of which are located in Wisconsin (Waukesha, Eagle and Whitewater), and one in Maquoketa, Iowa.

The Results:  Following an upgrade of their automatic powder coating system with ITW Gema, Generac decided to add an OptiFlex wall-mounted manual unit to their finishing line.  Generac has already been using ITW Gema EasySystem units for a couple ofyears, so paint line operators were able to compare the feel of the new OptiSelect First Pass Power Gun to the previous generation EasySelect Gun.  The operators really like the ergonomic balance of the gun in their hands and said the lighter weight of the OptiSelect gun helps reduce fatigue while coating.  Management is impressed with more advanced elements of the OptiFlex, like t he trigger hour counter within the OptiStar Control Unit that tracks the total time the gun has been in use.  According to Production Supervisor, Wayne Brown, "The runtime feature on the OptiFlex is an excellent tool for maintenance.  We use it to change out nozzles, tips and inserts on a scheduled routine, which give us practically zero downtime."  More than anything else, however, the ability of the OptiFlex system to provide precise adjustments to powder output, air volume, voltage and current truly gives Generac maximum flexibility.  "The lightweight and ergonomic design of the OptiSelect handgun is just fantastic," remarked Wayne Brown, "But the ability to control current is the biggest plus and give us the transfer efficiency we need."

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like Generac Powder Systems, Inc.
 

"My new OptiSelect gun is powerful yet lightweight and comfortable"

"We bought two OptiFlex units and when everyone saw how great they coated, we had to buy a third one!"
- Kim DeWall, Professional Powder Coating -

The Company:  Partners John Mashak and Ed Quinn started out liquid coating, but soon realized Sparta, Wisconsin needed more powder coating solutions.  In 1999, Professional Powder Coating (PPC) was born.  Since then, PPC has experienced rapid growth and now coats everything from children's archery bows to huge pipes for transporting drinking water.  All this growth necessitated the purchase of additional equipment.  After considering several brands, one demonstration with ITW Gema's OptiFlex unit and they were sold!  "We were using a Wagner unit and after seeing what the OptiFlex could do, no one wanted to use the Wagner anymore." commented Ed Quinn, Co-Owner of PPC.  Three Opti-Flex units were purchased from ITW Gema's local distributor.  Dietz Supply.  Painter Kim DeWall remarked about the new gun saying, "It's amazing how easily the OptiSelect gun an coat the complex bow parts." PPC hd been struggling with a job consisting of several semi-loads of parts coated in Europe with the wrong color.  The parts had to be preheated and the finish was less than optimal.  Shop Manager, Mike Olson, tried an OptiFlex and was blown away by the results.  "It was effortless - like coating a completely bald part," he related.  "We don't even have to preheat the parts anymore!"

The Results:  Along with three OptiFlex units from ITW Gema, PPC also invested in a new curing oven from the Wisconsin Oven Corporation.  Initially, they were concerned about the financial commitment and considered purchasing lower priced powder coating units.  "There is no double we made the right decision in staying with the OptiFlex units."  Ed Quinn stated, "The results have been remarkable."  PPC has seen a 30% reduction in powder, defects are down by 70% and finish quality has improved by 40-50%.  "Before, we had a nice facility that produced fairly low quality output,"  Ed conceded, "Buy now, with our three new OptiFlex units from ITW Gema, we are growing exponentially!"

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"Compared to other units we've had, the OptiFlex is a real workhorse!"

"Each unit ITW Gema introduces just keeps getting better and better."
- Tim Havens, Commercial Finishing Corporation -

The Company:  Commercial Finishing Corporation is an Indianapolis-based custom coating facility that is truly a family affair.  founded in 1971 by Rod P. Hughes and Thomas O. Hughes carried on the family business.  "My son Zackary, has now joined us as Assistant Manager," Tim explained.  "Our Plant Manager, Tim Havens, has been with us so long, he's just like family, too!"  Commercial coats a variety of products from basketball goals and telephone parts to fiber optic cable.  Spraying over 50 colors and numerous custom finishes.  Commercial was looking for a unit that could accommodate the various powder formulations and was also easy to clean and maintain.  Having worked with ITW Gema equipment for many years, they were very interested in trying out the newly introduced OptiFlex box unit.

The Results:  "We thought our EasySystem™ units were great," states Plant Manger Tim Havens, "But this OptiFlex unit is even better."  commercial was very satisfied with their EasySystem units, but has found that the transfer efficiency of the OptiFlex is even better.  As their customer base grows, so does their color palette.  This means they need equipment that is both flexible and easy to clean. According to lead painter, Gary Rettig.  "I really like the purge setting that blows out the powder hose.  This feature, plus the anti-static powder hose, makes color changes a lot faster."  The operators like the lightness and ergonomics of the OptiSelect™ manual powder gun and management likes the powder savings.  According to President Tim Hughes, "I really notices a difference in our powder invoices.  We are spending about 20% less on powder each month due to the Commericial Finishing Corporation demands equipment that is consistent, dependable, and able to rise to the challenges they face.  "If you want a real workhose," remarked Tim Havens, "OptiFlex is the ticket."

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"We couldn't stay competitive without an upgrade, so we turned to ITW Gema"

"Our new Magic Cylinder powder system gives us the quick color change capability we needed and the financial savings we were looking for"
- Steve DeJong, Profile Powder Coating -

The Company:  Profile Powder Coating founded in 1989 and located in Rogers, Minnesota, provides cost-effective finishes for metal and MDF wood composites.  With an emphasis on quality and service, Profile strives to achieve fast turnaround times to their customers without cutting corners on the integrity and quality of the finish.

The Challenge:  Quick color change and updated technology were important to Profile in their consideration of a new powder coating system.  They were also looking for faster line speed, more automation and lower rejects.

The Solution:  ITW Gema's Magic Cylinder® powder coating booth with the solution chosen by Profile.  They were impressed with its unique, round-wall design and quick color change options.  An OptiSystem™, including OptiGun AX™ automatic powder guns, OptiTronic Plus™ control units and OptiFlow™ pumps, was also installed.  Completing their quick color change system is a Chamaleon™ Color Management System.

The Savings:  According to Steve DeJong, "ITW Gema's knowledgeable staff has provided us with the hands-on training we needed to run our new system at peak performance and achieve optimum results.  "These results include producing higher quality finishes, while increasing the line speed by 30%.  Ten minutes have been shaved off their color-change time and they have achieved powder savings of 40%. 

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"I feel like I got a whole new system simply by upgrading my old one."

"With ITW Gema's new OptiTronic™ controllers, I was able to dramatically reduce material waste, rejects and labor costs.  I've increased control over my system - and my profits.  My return on investment has been exceptional."
- Steve Koehl, Schulte Distinctive Storage -

The Company:  The Schulte Corporation combines both wood and wire to produce a variety of unique storage products for home, office and institutional use.

The Challenge:  Schulte was concerned with material utilization and the capability of their existing powder coating equipment.  Therefore, Schulte began considering new options for their expanding business.  The plant engineer, Steve Koehl, turned to ITW Gema to improve their operation.

The Solution:  ITW Gema upgraded the existing system with OptiTronic Control Units and new guns.  Also included in the upgrade was a remote powder feed hopper and a vibratory sieve for reclaiming powder, improving quality and consistency.

The Savings:  Schulte immediately realized a substantial reduction in powder, the elimination of downtime, and extended life for their wear-arts.  After using the new equipment for three months, the average powder savings was 32%.   Based on powder savings and cost, this translates into a total payback in less than three months.

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"Overtime on the powder line is non-existent now that we've upgraded to ITW Gema"

"The improvement in maintenance is night-and-day and we've eliminated 20 labor hours of overtime a week.  We expected a 7 month payback on this project, but hit it in only 5."
- Dan Kastrup, Quest Manufacturing, Inc. - (a customer of Fluid-Air Products Inc.)

The Company:  Quest Manufacturing, Inc. a leading manufacturer and marketer of quality air cylinders and fabricated parts, produces three main products: reservoir tanks used for storage of compressed air, air receiver lines that drive pneumatic construction tools, and a specialty line of miscellaneous tanks.

The Challenge:  Quest was working with very old powder coating equipment.  Their existing powder coating booth and guns, purchased from one of ITW Gema's competitors, were inefficient and expensive to operate.  In order to grow their business and earn new customers, Quest knew they had to upgrade their powder line to stay competitive.

The Solution:  Fortunately for Quest, a neighboring business had recently upgraded to a new system from ITW Gema.  Quest visited the plant, observed the new system and discussed their results.  They were so impressed, that they requested a demonstration from ITW Gema.  In the end, Quest purchased an OptiBasic^TM system, including six OptiGuns^TM, OptiTronic^TM control units and OptiFlow^TM pumps

The Savings:  According to Dan Kastup, Production Manager, "ITW Gema promised us a 33% reduction in powder costs.  What we actually got was 40 to 50% savings!"  The new system has reduced Quest's reject rate to almost nothing.  They not only eliminated 20 hours of overtime per week, but have reduced overall labor costs by 5%.  Quest had anticipated that the system would pay for itself in 7 months, but achieved payback in only 5!

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"We went with ITW Gema because we can't afford to waste powder."

"When your powder costs more than $20.00 per pound, precise application becomes critical."
- Malcomn Brant, Windsor Metal Finishing -

The Company:  Windsor Metal Finishing is a privately held company that specializes in architectural finishing.  Located in Kissimmee, they are currently the only company licensed in Florida to provide the complete lines of high-performance fluoropolymer coatings compliant with the extensive requirements of the American Architectural Manufacturer's Association (AAMA) Specification 2605-8.

The Challenge:  Operating as a purely liquid coating facility, Windsor saw that there was an opportunity to expand their operation by offering high-end powder coatings capable of withstanding Florida's harsh environment.  The combination of high humidity, salt-laden air, strong UV rays, and abrasion from windblown sand, quickly cause fading and chipping and Windsor wanted to provide a solution to these problems.  Florida's "Green Building Movement," encouraging businesses to provide more environmentally-friendly finishing solutions, created additional motivation to upgrade their operation with a powder coating line.

The Solution:  Because part sizes can be large and vary significantly from job to job, a manual application technique was determined to be the best option.  EasySystem^TM touch-up units with OptiTronicTM controls were installed in a
cartridge-style booth.  The powered roll-on/roll-off booth gives Windsor the flexibility to perform both liquid and powder coating operations on the same conveyor line.

The Savings:  The new system has been so successful that it helped Windsor to win the Governor's 2004 Council for Sustainable Florida Small Business Award.  As powder continues to grow and replace liquid coating applications at Windsor, disposal costs of volatile chemicals have been declining.  Since the powder coated parts do not require a primer, the elimination of this step has led to time savings, as well as other cost reductions associated with the liquid process.  The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the upgrade, coupled with increased business volume, has enabled Windsor to realize double the profit level anticipated at the start of this project.

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like Windsor Metal Finishing
 

"Since we upgraded with ITW Gema we cover more surface with less powder"

"I got much more out of this upgrade than I ever expected - we're getting 60% more throughout using 40% less powder"
- John Loomis, Temple Products of Indiana, Inc. -

The Company:  Temple Products of Indiana, Inc. powder coats aluminum extrusions.  While their parts are mostly used on recreational vehicles and cargo trailers, Temple also powder coats components for specialty vehicles like ambulances.

The Challenge:  It had become clear that Temple needed to increase line speed significantly without reducing line density to handle their challenging production schedule.  The existing equipment was not capable of meeting their demands and they were interested in upgrading to the latest technology the powder coating industry has to offer.  After a lab trial at ITW Gema, Temple felt that the OptiSystem™ offered the solution they were looking for.  

The Solution:  An automated system including OptiGun™ automatic powder guns, OptiFlow™ pumps and Optitronic™ Plus control units was installed.  ITW Gema's AutoTracker™ Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) was added to enable automatic gun triggering and precision control

The Savings:  According to John Loomis, "We knew we were going to see powder savings, but we never expected to save this much - our powder usage has decreased by 40%." The OptiSystem™ allows Temple to put the right amount of powder on the part, creating less waste and enabling them to increase throughput by 60%.  Upgrading with ITW Gema gave us the efficiency we were looking for and a payback in 3 months.

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like Temple Products Of Indiana, Inc.
 

"Deciding to upgrade with ITW Gema has saved us a lot of money."

"High transfer efficiency and savings on consumables has really made our new system pay of"
- Cliff Boyer III, Lippert Components-

The Company:  Lippert components a Drew Industries subsidiary, manufactures specialty trailers at their Milford, Indiana plant that are fully customizable for hauling a wide variety of items.

The Challenge:  In the past, Lippert had been a liquid coating operation.  they turned to powder coating to achieve a better finish that was both environmentally friendly and cost-effective and decided to place an automatic powder coating line at the Milford plant.  Quick color change and low powder consumption were significant factors for the installation.  Since Lippert is a spray-to-waster operation, transfer efficiency was very important consideration.

The Solution:  Lippert's Milford facility chose an automatic line from ITW Gema.  A 20,000 CFM Diamond™ booth contains sixteen OptiGun™ automatic owder guns, Optitronic™ Plus control units, and OptiFlow™ pumps.  The system also includes an AutoTracker™ Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and Chameleon™ Color Management System.

The Savings:  The combination of OptiSystem™ components, along with the AutoTracker and Chameleon, has enabled Lippert to realize greater application efficiency than they had experienced in the past. Since they do not reclaim powder, achieving the best coverage with the least waste is very important.  Decreasing consumables and optimizing powder consumption has resulted in a highly cost-efficient operation, factors that have contributed to a payback in 24 months.

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like Lippert Componenets
 

"Our upgrade has made us quite efficient."

"We can handle all types of powder in any color.  With our quick color changing abilities, and a conveyorized line moving at 14' per minute we are quite efficient"
- Frank Logan, VP of Sales, American Products -

The Company:  American Products is located in Strafford, Missouri with a second facility in Marshfield, Missouri, they provide stamping, metal fabrication, powder coating and assembly.  ISO 9001 certified, they have a well-equipped inspection department as well.

The Challenge:  Needing new equipment to keep up with growth and to improve efficiency. 

The Solution:  American Products recently installed a new ITW Gema Vortech Plus series powder coating booth.  The booth is one of the first of its type in North American and part of one of the company's two conveyorized lines.  It has such advanced features as:  a mini-cyclone separate system; automatic guns; part canning capabilities; 15 minute color changeover; 95% powder reclamation and can handle parts up to 24" Wide x 72" Tall by 8' in Length. 

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"Our upgrade to ITW Gema has made real financial sense."

"We were counting on significant powder savings to justify the upgrade of our aging equipment and ITW Gema lived up to our expectations."
- Drew Hearn, Precision Products, Inc. - (a customer of Fluid-Air Products Inc.)

The Company:  Precision Products Inc. is a member of the Gleason Group of companies, and is proud to be a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty and garden equipment.

The Challenge:  With aging and obsolete equipment, Precision Products realized that they would not be able to achieve significant production increases without an upgrade.  Not only did they need newer technology to become more efficient, but they also had to demonstrate cost efficiency and powder savings to justify the investment.

The Solution:  Precision Products purchased two OptiBasic™ systems from ITW Gema.  The OptiBasic is a value-oriented system that couples the intelligence, integration and automation of a full OptiSystem with stream-lined design.  Each system included eight OptiGun™ automatic powder guns.  OptiTronic™ Control Units and OptiFlow™ powder pumps.

The Savings:  Precision Products began to see results right away.  They have been able to reduce their powder usage and are now saving about $1,000.00 per week.  Downtime for repairs has been eliminated and rejects have been reduced by 67%.  With these and other factors considered, Precision Products achieved a payback in only 9 months.

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"Upgrading to ITW Gema equipment made a tremendous difference."

"ITW Gema's OptiSystem has allowed us to increase our throughput by 67% and reduce our powder costs by 15% - which will save Winegard a substantial amount of money.  We couldn't ask for a better return on investment."
- Dick Garnjobst, Winegard Company -

The Company:  Winegard® is a leading manufacturer of high-quality television reception products, and distributes over 1,000 various items across the United States and around the world.

The Challenge:  Winegard's® paint line capacity for satellite reflectors was limited and uniformity was inconsistent.  This problem wasted powder and made application of the logo to the reflector difficult.  Dick Garnjobst, manufacturing engineer for Winegard, looked to ITW Gema for a solution.

The Solution:  ITW Gema devised a system that would significantly increase the number of reflectors sprayed at a time.  The upgrade included a new OptiSystem, with powder guns and control units.

The Savings:  Winegard saw a drastic increase in production.  Their coating thickness has been significantly reduced, translating to a 15% reduction in powder usage.  Based on powder savings and cost, this translates into a total payback in less than 10 months.

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"Since we put the first ProMix Easy in, we haven't had a single problem."

Customer:  Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., Lincoln, Nebraska
Application:  Painting Consumer Recreation Products
Objective:  Improve efficiency and reduce maintenance
Solution:  Graco ProMix Easy Proportioners
Results:  Paint ratios are strictly maintained and maintenance is reduced significantly

Kawasaki wants the world to know that if you're riding one of it's motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercrafts or utility vehicles you're riding. "The Leading Edge of Power/Performance/Exhilaration."  While accurately describing its consumer recreational products, the phrase could just as easily describe Kawasaki Motors Mfg. Corp. USA's "Leading Edge" manufacturing facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, where these products are built.  The facility features the best of Japanese and American manufacturing techniques; as well as state-of-the-art production equipment that is chosen for its ability to optimize productivity, maintain quality and reduce waste. 

Recently, faced with the high cost of rebuilding a mechanical paint proportioner on a paint line in the Lincoln facility, Kawasaki decided instead to replace the old piece of equipment with a high-tech electronic proportioning system. "For over 17 years we've been using Graco Variable Ratio HydraCats on our paint lines," said Matt Thomas, Senior Engineer. "They've served us well but after years of continual use, they're wearing out.  Replacing major components is expensive so when we compared the cost of repairing the old mechanical proportioner to purchasing a new one, we discovered the difference was insignificant.  It was an easy decision." Because the old Graco proportioners held up so well for such a long time, Kawasaki chose to replace the old workhorse with one of Graco's new generation of proportioners - the ProMix Easy.

ProMix Easy is an affordable, easy-to-use electronic proportioner designed for single color, two-component spray finishing applications.  The air-operated proportioner is capable of handling most coatings, as well as a wide range of ratios with flow rates as low as 20 cc/min. The ProMix Easy was installed on the finishing line where painters spray the fiberglass decks of the Company's Jet Ski personal watercrafts.  After being loaded onto an overhead conveyor, the decks receive a prime coat, topcoat and clear coat.  All three coatings are two component coatings that require metering and mixing. The ProMix Easy is used to proportion the topcoat, a 40 percent solids red urethane.  At this time, the old mechanical proportioners are still used to meter and mix the primer and clear coat.

In addition to the three coatings, the decks are puttied, sanded, buffed, polished and inspected numerous times as they progress along the line.

The ProMix Easy was installed right in the spray booth because it features intrinsically safe controls, allowing easy integration into hazardous environments.  "The system is just steps away from the painter," says Thomas, "providing him with easy access to the system's controls."  In addition to easy access to the controls, the short distance the mixed material travels from the ProMix Easy to the spray gun has reduced the amount of mixed material Kawasaki wastes during flushing, as well as the amount of solvent required to purge the fast curing paint from the fluid hose at the end of the day.  The proportioner also features a new fluid manifold that further reduces the amount of solvent required to flush the system by an additional 20 percent.

"There isn't much a painter has to worry about." says Thomas.  "All he has to do to start up the system is simply turn a dial, punch a button and he's ready to spray.  When he triggers the gun he knows he's getting the mix ratio we programmed into the unit. The ProMix Easy automatically maintains its mix ratio within +/- 1 percent.  If an off-ratio occurs the system will stop production and sound an alarm, preventing an off-ratio material from being sprayed on the part.  Codes on the controller will direct the operator to the cause of the problem.  The controller monitors pump and motor operation, as well as metering accuracy.  "Once we enter the specified ratio into the ProMix Easy, we don't have to worry about the quality of material we're spraying - it's the same every time," he says.

This wasn't the case with the old mechanical proportioners. "Ratio accuracy was a problem we always worried about." says Paint Line Supervisor Randy Tamerius.  "They were so worn they would begin to creep off-ratio.  It could result in a finish that was tacky and took longer to cure.  We had to constantly check the ratios."  Changing or adjusting the ratio on the old proportioner was anotehr chore.  It could take up to an hour.  On the other hand, changing the ratios on the new ProMix system is easy.  It simply requires the operator to enter the new recipe into the controller.  When the correct ratio is displayed on the controller screen, the system is reprogrammed.

"It's simple." says Thomas.  According to Thomas, they discovered just how easy it was t reprogram the system when the ProMix Easy was moved from the Jet Ski finishing line to a where ATV parts are painted.  "We were going to have to replace the mechanical proportioner that was metering and mixing a clear coat on that line.  We wanted to put the ProMix Easy in there to see if it could handle the material as easily as it did the topcoat on the Jet Ski line." They installed the ProMix Easy and reprogrammed it without suspending production.  "We did it ourselves without any difficulty." says Thomas. 

In fact, the team on the ATV line liked the ProMix Easy so much that they don't want to return it to the Jet Ski line.

In additional to proportioning the plural component material and alerting the crew to off-ratio occurrence, the ProMix Easy also measures and records the total amount of the mixed material used, as well as the usage of each separate component.  It also monitors pot life and sounds an alarm if the mixed material in the line is close to curing. 

"This system is just so much easier to use," says Thomas.  "It's easy to set up, easy to operate, and hte display is easy to understand.  We recently purchased a third ProMix Easy and expect to replace the remaining mechanical proportioners with ProMix Easy units as the old proportioners become too costly to repair."

"Since we put the first ProMix Easy in, we haven't had a single problem," he adds. They got the name right concludes Tamerius, "It's easy!"

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Reduce Utility Costs and Improve Product Quality - HOW?

High Intensity Electric Booster Oven was the answer. 
Learn more. . . .more

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"DeVilbiss is Moving in the Right Direction for Us

The DeVilbiss Difference - Compact Performance Series.

As a tier one aerospace finishing facility, Hytek Finishes, a subsidiary of Esterline Technologies, is the largest independent supplier of specialized metal finishing, plating, anodizing and organic coating services in the Pacific Northwest.  Over a recent six month period, Hytek processed 48,468 orders equaling 6,008,809 parts from 740 different customer.  On an average day, Hytek has over 1,800 jobs in house, brings in 200 jobs and ships 200 jobs.

The Challenge

Jack Louie, Hytek's Learning & Development Specialist, wanted to replace the spray guns in the Kent, Washington, finishing facility as part of an overall effort to standardize brands and reduce downtime.  He wanted the new spray guns to have the latest technology, an ergonomic design, and a performance and service reliability.  The parts Hytek finishes are of all shapes and sizes and colors change often 24/7, so spray guns must be easily adaptable to constant changes on the finish line.

The DeVilbiss Difference

Hytek tested both siphon feed and pressure feed spray guns from a variety of manufacturers, but didn't find a good fit until Louie tried the spray guns in the DeVilbiss Compact Performance Series.

"The weight distribution (of Compact) is better and it fits in the hand well," said Louie.  "Since it is better balanced, painted don't have to fight with the hoses.  This is less tiresome and leads to a better finish."

As Louie and DeVilbiss finishing specialists and distributors continued to evaluate Hytek's needs, DeVilbiss suggested using the Compact gravity model rather than the siphon feed unit to enhance transfer efficiency and to allow painters to maneuver around parts more easily.

Louie admits that he wasn't sure if gravity feed spray guns would work since they are more closely associated with automotive finishing, but he saw positive results almost immediately and virtually no complaints about downtime due to spray gun performance.

"I was used to downtime due to performance issues," he said. "When we put (Compact) online, there were no problems."

"The gravity feed guns have opened a whole new door for us," continued Louie.  "We can switch liners and colors quickly by taking off the cup, changing through.  We don't have the clean the whole gun every time we switch colors." 

In additional, Louie says that the Compact gravity guns allow painters to maintain tight firm thickness specifications and achieve high transfer efficiency rates.  The consistency and uniformity of the pattern is constant and Compact's design also allows painters to turn the spray gun in virtually any direction without breaking the spray patter.

"Since there is no cup between the painter and the part, painters are free to adjust the air as needed," said Louie.  "They can get as close as they need to the part.  That means low fluid, less air, and less overspray."

"The ability to use gravity feed guns was a nice surprise and transition for us," he said.  "DeVilbiss is moving in the right direction for us in terms of transfer efficiency and ergonomics - how (the spray gun) fits in the hand.  The Compact has been an easy gun to get used to.  It feels good in your hand and gets the job done." 

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ITW Gema Customers Speak Out on Saving Money with Gema Products/Optiflex

Click on this link to open a .pdf flyer showing Savings of Upgrading to Gema Equipment.

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