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- There are a lot of wear steel sellers out there, but few can do customisation in the same way as Entrack.
The words come from Kjetil Tørseth, workshop manager at Feiring. He is looking out over the gigantic plant at Lørenskog, where a number of machines are running steadily for one of the country's leading pulp managers. With extensive use of wear steel supplied by Entrack.
- Getting hold of A4 products is not a challenge. You can make them fit, but they cause more wear and tear on drawers and other equipment. Which in turn requires more maintenance. So we were looking for someone who could do customisation for us within reasonable limits. Entrack was able to do that, and thus our collaboration began," says Tørseth.
Great expertise
For more than a decade, Feiring and Entrack have been sparring with each other to further develop the most effective products for wear steel. Something that has left its mark.
- The result is that we have much lower maintenance costs. Customised steel, good service and close cooperation enable us to reduce the prices of what we do," says Tørseth.
- "Entrack has very good contacts with suppliers in many places around the world and has great expertise in steel. "We use Entrack a lot, especially with regard to wear steel for wheel loader buckets. In addition, we also get some for dosers, and they supply us with excavator teeth, to name but a few," continues the workshop manager.
Not reversible
Speaking of wheel loader buckets. One of the most remarkable things to come out of the collaboration between the two companies is the non-reversible wear bars for wheel loaders.
- "Kjetil didn't want reversible ones. "When they turned the wear steel, it often resulted in a shorter service life. So we agreed to pull back the row of holes by a certain number of millimetres and made a prototype on a Volvo L350," begins Herbjørn Haug.
- With a non-reversible half-tip, the centre piece is shorter and the sides longer. This made the sides very heavy, so in the next version we made it five-piece. We also wanted a little more protection on the corner and added a little more cargo there. After a lot of testing and several versions, we ended up where we are today," he continues.
Customised steel, good service and close cooperation enable us to reduce the prices of what we do.
The Entrack manager for G.E.T. products is clear that the job has had a ripple effect. "The template was set, which made it easy to create drawings for smaller machines as well. As a result, more products have become available to the entire industry.
- Now we have non-reversible versions for both straight and half tips all the way from L150 to L350," says Haug.
Cost-effective
There's no doubt that the non-reversible wear steels are valuable to Feiring.
- We get products with a longer service life. It's difficult to give exact figures, but I estimate, for example, that the straight wear steel kits we use now have about 20 per cent longer service life than the traditional ones. So it's cost-effective, while at the same time you have the environmental aspect of throwing away less steel," says Tørseth.
Another important element he emphasises is the efficiency and availability Feiring experiences with Entrack.
- The time it takes to discuss a new product until it's ready for testing is short. That's where I think Entrack is unique. They deliver what they are supposed to, and not least they have their products available on the shelf. It's absolutely essential to have it delivered when you need it.
Proximity to customers
What about the way forward for Feiring, will there be as frequent use of wear steel from Entrack in the years to come?
- "As long as Entrack continues to be competitively priced, I see no reason not to continue as we are now. We are very satisfied with what they deliver," says Tørseth.
Entrack's product managers are crystal clear that they want close co-operation in the foreseeable future.
- We can't sit in the office and make up our minds. We have to get out and get feedback from our customers. This development of expertise and sparring is crucial for us," says Haug, before concluding:
- It's our job to make adjustments that ensure that our customers earn more money. Yes, we have to make a few bucks too, but the products must benefit our customers. So it's always dangerous to say that you've got the best this or that, but we can still make sure we deliver top quality!
