Case study: a decades-long partnership renewed on trust

A global provider of high-quality and cost-effective fine blanked, steel components and punched electro-sheet metal products has locations across the U.S., including a plant near Elevated Industrial Solutions, formerly Compressed Air Technologies (CAT). In that Cincinnati, Ohio plant, the company makes automotive parts, including seat recliners.

This company and Elevated had a partnership that has lasted decades, but it hasn’t been without challenges. The automotive-parts maker left Elevated to save short-term costs. Those short-term “savings,” turned into a scenario that wasted thousands of dollars and brought production to a halt all due to a small issue that could’ve been prevented: a clogged aftercooler.

Now the employees there know when they face adversity, they can count on Elevated.

Opportunity

The automotive parts maker was using an Elevated competitor when their compressed air system came to a halt, shutting down the facility. Workers were standing around waiting. Production was shut down.

Eager to get their facility running again quickly, employees called their vendor, the company they thought would save them money. But that vendor indicated they couldn’t send anyone for four days. Understanding the cost in lost production and labor, the company recalled an old partner who’d been there for them before: Elevated.

Because Elevated offers 24/7 emergency service, the expert team arrived quickly. Assessing the issue, a clogged aftercooler, they jumped on repairs and fixed the compressed air system within two hours, getting production running and the staff back to work.

The team realized that lubricating and unclogging components would be handled in maintenance. Following up, they learned that those repairs hadn’t happened because maintenance had lapsed – the root cause of why the facility was shut down.

Elevated immediately recommended scheduled maintenance to run the compressors more efficiently and effectively. Schedule reminders go out so the company doesn’t miss a maintenance appointment again. Plus, employees there know their old partner will be there for them if anything unforeseen happens.

Results

Overall, Elevated saved the facility about $40,000 in downtime (through production and productivity costs wasted of waiting several days until the competitor could help them).

Thrilled with the repair work and service, the automotive parts maker left their previous vendor. They even used Elevated when they expanded, purchasing a 100HP Kaeser compressor. The facilities manager also expanded their preventive maintenance agreement to cover all compressors, knowing Elevated will be there for them with schedules and reminders as well as emergency repairs if something goes wrong.

A renewed partnership sparked with an emergency repair request from an old customer.