THE SITUATION
A large cement plant in South Wales was a big user of 800mm bore spherical roller bearings. The cost of replacing these bearings when they either failed or reached the end of their expected service life, had risen over recent years. The significant leadtime involved in sourcing replacements, had also caused periods of unplanned downtime for machinery on-site.
THE SOLUTION
The team at the plant’s local HAYLEY DEXIS branch in Newport, Wales, were contacted for assistance. After learning about the situation, it was recommended that together, along with SKF, they investigate the possibility of bearing remanufacturing. The process was presented to the customer, who agreed that a set of SKF 241/800 bearings could be sent to a SKF remanufacturing centre for refurbishment. Once the remanufacturing work was completed, the bearings were sent back to the customer for recommissioning, with a full warranty. This process took a fraction of the time that the regular manufacturing process would have taken, for these bearings.
"A SIGNIFICANT COST-SAVING WAS ACHIEVED IN CHOOSING THE SKF REMANUFACTURING SERVICE."
THE RESULT
By choosing to remanufacture the existing bearings, the customer enjoyed a shortened leadtime on getting full SKF warranty-covered bearings back. A significant cost-saving was also achieved in opting to not purchase new units. 18000KG of CO2 emissions were avoided as a result of remanufacturing; the equivalent of a car driving 45,838 miles per year. 4600kg of steel was also reused and 38000kWh energy use avoided, thanks to SKF remanufacturing. The completed bearings are supplied with full SKF warranty, giving the customer peace of mind over the quality of work done. Also supplied is a comprehensive report which details exact CO2 savings calculations, boosting the customers sustainability credentials and their contribution to a circular economy.