CC Peak Rig Dramatically Improves Ergonomic & Towline Performance Agricultural Equipment Manufacturer

Caster Problems for an Industry-Leading Agricultural Equipment Manufacturer

This industry leading manufacturer is serious about improving ergonomic, safety, and production initiatives, but they realized that they were not caster experts. They had tried other products through the years, but these products had proven to be very ineffective. They didn't know exactly how to solve the problem, but they recognized that there had to be a better way.

This manufacturer contacted us at Caster Connection to see if we could make an assessment of their situation on-site. Caster Connection Director of Business Development Eric Hassen flew to Nebraska and worked with the team at one facility to see all of the applications that they had there. After a thorough inspection and meeting with the folks at this facility, Eric had enough information to solve their caster issues.

This manufacturing plant for agricultural equipment had a variety of challenges, but one in particular concerned the rigs of their carts that were moving indoors and particularly outdoors. Nebraskan winters can be pretty severe. There is all manner of grease, dust, snow, and salt during the more extreme times of winter. Even when it is not winter time, dust, gravel, and debris are still a problem. This environment is a battleground for any piece of gear.

The carts were being run through the elements but were also stored outside. Because of this, the rigs were freezing and were not able to move. In fact, Greg, their head of cart design and maintenance, would see carts being pulled with the wheels sideways. These rigs were failing every week.

The rigs in general were also performing poorly during the warmer months when dirt and grime were causing the rigs to become extremely difficult to work with. The rigs were difficult to push when employees were repositioning the carts. The bearings and rigs in general were failing because of applications with heavy weight, and this facilitywas having problems with these rigs in their towlines because of the freezing and poor performance.

The problem was the rig design and quality. These rigs allowed snow, dirt, gravel, dust, grime, salt, and other types of debris to penetrate the rigs’ bearings because they were semi-exposed. Even this small amount of exposure caused huge problems. In addition, the small and poorly designed rigs could not handle the weight being put on them and were putting the employees at risk of injury. The environment that these rigs were functioning in demanded high performing casters. The solution was to implement the CC Peak rig in their towlines and in their push/pull applications.

Caster Solutions for an Industry-Leading Agricultural Equipment Manufacturer

First, they used the CC Peak in push/pull applications. Specifically, they used the CC Peak in fabrication with their laser cutters. This change had a dramatic effect on production and the well-being of the employees. The new rigs were able to handle the heavy weight with ease and without breaking, utilizing the thrust bearings for primary weight impact and the tapered roller bearings for support and a smooth performance.

The rigs were so much smoother than the previous rigs that their fabrication employees saw an immediate and hugely impactful change. Jeremy from fabrication stated that getting the new casters, “Completely changed their job.”

Because the rig was maintenance-free, they had zero problems with debris interfering with the performance of the caster. The results of this change were so dramatic, other locations studied this Nebraskan facility's fabrication to duplicate their results in various different locations aross the country.

At the same time, this industry-leading agricultural equipment manufacturer used the CC Peak in their towlines. There was absolutely zero problem with the snow, salt, and sand getting into the rig because of the maintenance-free design. That meant that the rig wasn’t freezing up either. So, before, they were replacing casters every week, but now they have gone around one year without a single failure. The smooth performance also helped increase the overall life of the machinery used to pull the carts by taking load off of the engine.

The CC Peak totally transformed their operations and allowed them to reach their safety and ergonomic goals. They all but eradicated downtime, protected their employees, made their employees' jobs much more efficient and enjoyable, became an example for other facilities across the country, and increased performance and the bottom line. All of this wouldn't have been possible without the CC Peak.

If you’d like to learn more about this agricultural giant’s experience or see how you can duplicate these results, click here to contact us.