Due to the close collaboration between Henkel’s engineering staff and HydraForce, the hydraulic valve manufacturer was able to use the principles of lean manufacturing to help improve process efficiency. The project also created opportunities for HydraForce to revisit its Loctite application and assembly procedures to help move product quality to the next level by taking full advantage of an innovative Loctite retaining compound.
HydraForce, based in Lincolnshire, USA, designs and manufactures hydraulic valves, manifold systems and electronic controls used in off-highway vehicles such as tractors, excavators and harvesters. As part of Henkel’s technical support, Henkel engineer Chris Powers conducted a line survey at HydraForce to identify opportunities to improve its processes. Chris collaborated with HydraForce engineers to design validation tests for a new upgraded Loctite 648 retaining compound. Henkel’s Technical Customer Service engineers conducted the validation testing in Henkel’s labs and provided a detailed report. HydraForce agreed with Henkel’s recommendations to begin using the upgraded Loctite 648 to enable a faster processing time.
“Chris and the Henkel staff brought some good ideas to the table about improving our processes and reducing batch size,” said Jesse Arias, HydraForce design engineer. By using Loctite 648, HydraForce can now test its parts after 5 minutes instead of waiting for hours.
