Piston and chokes manufacturer, The Midlands, United Kingdom
Industry: Pistons and Chokes for Oil & Gas
Application: Downhole Tools
Location: The Midlands, United Kingdom
Problem
A manufacturer of pistons and chokes was faced with long lead times and several quality issues with the previous supplier of 718 nickel alloy bar. While lead times can be the major setback for many, the larger issue at hand was that highly specific requirements were not met by suppliers, leaving thousands of dollars’ worth of material rejected to scrap. The customer was left to incur costs for the unusable material.
Solution
Castle Metals worked closely with the customer to better understand their supply chain management and the quality requirements for their products. The 718 nickel alloy bar has to maintain very tight tolerances, even after boring. Castle Metals led an analysis meeting with the customer, a partner engineering company and representatives from Castle. The three companies met to determine the exact needs of the customer. During the collaboration, they developed a plan that was best suited for the customer: Castle Metals now provides the materials, which then goes to the engineering company to be bored and turned to the very tight tolerances.
Result
After making the change to Castle Metals, the customer reduced lead times by more than one week. They are also generating less scrap because the 718 nickel alloy is always within specification. At one point, they were faced with $100,000 of scrap. Each piece now arrives with the exact same quality, reducing scrap to zero. The customer knows that every product will arrive at the exact quality standards they require, in a timely fashion. And because more production is done prior to its arrival, there is a higher value added to the product that they receive and then further produce.