Tumbling Department

Over the past two months the Tumbling Department has seen some sweeping changes. Beginning in October, both Dry Tumblers were picked up and moved from the corner of the Shipping Department to Building 5. In December, the Wet Tumbler along with the Dryer Oven was dismantled and moved to its new home alongside its dry counterpart along the West wall also in Building 5.

This move will serve multiple purposes. First it will free up some much needed space for the Shipping Department to better utilize their material storage and lessen the congestion when loading and unloading trucks. It will also afford the opportunity of more storage space for inventory.

In Building 5, the placing of these units side by side will permit the Tumbling Personnel a more streamlined process flow as they won’t have to move across the building to perform their daily operations. This move will also permit a centralized queue area for product flowing into and out of the Department.

The tumbling media and its usage for the Wet Tumbler has been improved too. All different media have been placed in new plastic barrels which are identified as to type and size. They are identified by a photo. This improvement will make the process more fail-safe throughout.

An additional improvement to the Dry Tumbler was the purchase of a new conveyor for the oil dip tank. The conveyor has a steel belt and steel tabs which will withstand the heavier parts more so than its predecessor which had a plastic belt and tabs.It should be mentioned that the new Receiving Area also located in building 5 will be operational very soon. The dumpster has been relocated to an area behind the plant, and the dock area will be open for our box truck and any other receiving trucks to make their deliveries.

Art Glover, Bill Stephens and Charles Owen have accomplished a lot in a short period to keep production running smoothly especially during one of the busiest periods of the year.

 -Fran Levenduski