ORCMT
SUCCESS STORY
 
Lifetime Industries 
 
COMPANY/LOCATION: Lifetime Industries, Memphis, Tennessee 
PRODUCT: Air and mist filters constructed from aluminum mesh on aluminum frames 
YEARS IN BUSINESS: 33 
EMPLOYEES: 50 
 
SITUATION:   Lifetime Industries manufactures mist-eliminating filters ranging in size from 4 inches square to 10 feet by 12 feet. The filters are made of aluminum mesh and rolled aluminum frames using a hot-melt adhesive to bond the parts. A problem developed in a main product line, an 18-inch by 60- inch filter. Filters came apart after assembly. An examination showed that the hot-melt adhesive was breaking down. To find a solution to this problem, the company contacted the Oak Ridge Centers for Manufacturing Technology through the Manufacturing Technology Information Service.
 
PROJECT:       An ORCMT expert on adhesives examined material samples and found that residue from a light lubricant on the machine used to roll and slit the filter frames caused the adhesive breakdown. The researcher recommended a new type of adhesive and new cleaning techniques to remove any lubricant residue. 
 
RESULTS:       The recommendations from the ORCMT staff solved the adhesive breakdown problem. Lifetime Industries retained one of its oldest and best customers, reduced production costs by an estimated $25,000, and retained five jobs that might otherwise have been eliminated. 

Chip Cayce, vice president of engineering for the company, said the service provided by ORCMT allowed the company to keep business they could have lost had the problem not been solved. 

"That product was for one of our major blue chip customers one we have worked with since the 1960s. With a small business like ours, losing a customer like that is like getting your feet knocked out from under you. On a scale of 1 to 10, the service we received from Oak Ridge was a 9.5 or a 10. They came back with not just one suggestion but several. It was a great service. It is something that small business needs. Big businesses can afford to pay for consulting services such as this, but small businesses can't," Cayce said. 
 
PARTNERS: 
    
 
 

Technical assistances provided to the private sector by the Oak Ridge Centers for Manufacturing Technology (ORCMT) and its manufacturing extension partners throughout the United States. 
 
 
 
    For information or assistance, call the Manufacturing Technology Information Service at 1-800-356-4USA or visit the
ORCMT Home Page.