Overview

Maxion Wheels has been in business for over a century, and is the world’s leading manufacturer of steel and aluminum wheels for passenger, commercial & specialty vehicles, producing 55 million wheels a year in 15 countries across the globe. 

In the area of machining, they found that the use of synthetic coolant represented their highest raw material cost. Additionally, they detected that in the machining cells, there was oxidation in the mechanical parts as well as in guards and ball screws due to the contamination of the oil in the tanks of the machines, which ultimately would shorten their tool life. 

They knew they could potentially reduce their costs and extend the life of their equipment if they could find a recycling system with a proven tramp oil separator.

Action

The Chihuahua plant for Maxion Wheels reached out to SmartSkim and learned that our Coolant Loop Recycling Systems could be a potential solution. To help increase their confidence in the solution, we arranged for Maxion Wheels to visit Trane Technologies in Monterrey, MX where they could see an installed system and see the practices that were in place for the filtration and removal of tramp oils.  

Ultimately, they purchased a SmartSkim Coolant Loop Recycling System.

Maxion Wheels Case Study

Results

The benefits Maxion Wheels obtained exceeded their expectations. The team found the equipment to be easy to install and operate, saving valuable man hours. They immediately saw $17,541 dollars in savings per month from reduced coolant and waste removal. Prior to installing our Coolant Recycling System, they were producing 30 machined wheels per liter of coolant. After installing our system, they averaged 72. 

The team that managed the project was recognized for the Maxion Team Award for the best internal project in terms of benefits to the aluminum wheel machining process.

Due to the results seen at the Chihuahua plant, Maxion is now implementing the SmartSkim system globally.

$127,787

SAVINGS IN FIRST 6 MONTHS

140%

INCREASE IN MACHINED WHEELS PER LITER OF COOLANT

Award Winning

AWARD WINNING

SmartSkim equipment at Maxion Wheels

“It is an easy-to-install and operate equipment. The equipment was installed in June and at the close of the month of December there was a saving in 6 months of $127,787, a monthly average of $17,541.” 

R Sanchez, Manufacturing Engineer

© 2021 Copyright All rights reserved