Maintaining momentum in washing & drying technology
Image: CIM
David Williams, division president at Cincinnati Industrial Machinery, speaks to CanTech International about the company’s history and the key driving forces behind its operations
Headquartered in Mason, Ohio, in the US, Cincinnati Industrial Machinery (CIM) has been innovating industrial cleaning and finishing systems since 1943. During and post-World War II, Cincinnati became a key supplier of industrial equipment needed in production for a multitude of industries.
CIM developed the world’s first two-piece can washers in response to the development in 1959 of the two-piece aluminium can from Adolph Coors Company (now Molson Coors). In 1963, Cincinnati Cleaning & Finishing Machinery Co (as the company was named at the time), made modifications to an industrial conveyor washer to deliver the world’s first two-piece can washer and dry off oven. This was a crucial step in bringing the two-piece aluminium can to mass production levels.
Since then, “Cincinnati has become synonymous with can washing in the can manufacturing market,” as the company’s division president, David Williams, told CanTech International. CIM operates on a ‘no subcontract manufacturing’ basis, meaning that all of its two-piece can washers including washcoaters, IBOs, and pin ovens are built by CIM personnel. CIM has operations in both the US and China and has installed over 450 processing machines worldwide.
‘Under one roof’
The company sells hundreds of washers globally to all major can makers. Its wide range of washers include the required cans per minute of its customers and feature a variety of stage configurations. Patented features are also available, like CIM’s quick adjust system that allows for the quickest and most accurate can height changeovers. The company also offers features for water and energy savings for sustainability.
“What makes us particularly unique is we build the whole washer to include controls under one roof, whether in our Mason, Ohio plant in the US or Chon Buri, Thailand plant. We also do a full runoff (minus chemistry) under the same roof, which means we control the quality and delivery timing better than anyone else.
“We also have an expert aftermarket team with many installations behind their belt that ensure faster startups to get product to market sooner with less downtime,” said Williams.
He continued to praise CIM’s aftermarket team, describing it as “the top technical support and maintenance services provider in the industry… A core principle of our company is that we do not outsource, because we want to maintain control of the quality and timing,” he said.
When asked about the efficiency and productivity in its can washers and dryers, Williams replied: “Efficiency and productivity can mean a variety of things. We build machines that efficiently use water and energy and can be fine-tuned to customer requirements.
“By building in one place and running the machines off prior to delivery, we have reduced the lead time to delivery and our machines can be installed and up and running with production sooner than anyone. Also, our aftermarket team provides audits, parts, maintenance, and rebuild services quickly and at the highest quality to keep machines up and producing with minimal downtime.”
Customer-centric approach
During the designing and building process, Williams explained that CIM uses its decades of expertise to develop machines “with the customer machine operators in mind. Every detail is engineered based on customer feedback,” he said.
“Our design ensures that our machines startup to faster production and stay running. Some say our machines are over-engineered to our sales disadvantage, as our machines last decades, some that remain in service from the 1960s. We use high quality components assembled by high quality teams with much experience.”
Williams emphasised that listening to the customer is of the most paramount importance to CIM. “We ask, what cans per minute do they need? What sized cans will they be running? What chemistry will they be using? A lot goes into it,” he commented. “We help ensure sustainability starting in our own factories and how we operate.”
Williams highlighted again how doing everything in one location “cuts down on multiple shipments from multiple sites.” He continued: “Undertaking the full runoff prior to shipment means less resources are being used trying to get things up and running at the factory. Our designs allow for fine tuning water and energy usage to use just the right amount to clean the cans while mitigating waste, to include reusing as much water as possible and reclaiming heat.”
In order to remain updated on industry trends and ever-evolving regulation, Williams said that the team at CIM stays “connected to customers,” and that it “tracks developments across many disciplines to even include foreign affairs and economic news.”
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