Wire-Mesh Products Replaces Damaged Conveyor Belt to Save Midwest Client $164,000 Annually

As a first step, the manufacturer approached their original belt supplier and paid for a diagnostic of the equipment at their facility. The field service team sent by the supplier claimed that the customer’s rollers, conveyor equipment, and oven alignment were defective, not the wire mesh conveyor belt their company provided.

After searching the internet for another belt supplier, they found Wire-Mesh Products and asked them for a second opinion. They mailed us a sample of the belt and we quickly identified that there were several quality control issues in the manufacturing of the belt:

• Spirals were flipped almost 180 degrees out of alignment and turned up along the edges.
• Mismatched spiral geometry and improper crimp created severe surface undulations (waves) on both belts, making flat-put processing nearly impossible.

After conducting a thorough review of the manufacturer’s equipment and the competitor supplied belts, our team discovered that the equipment was functioning properly and did not require any modifications. The main issue was poor belt construction and an inflated belt price from the original belt supplier.

To confirm that the issue was a poorly made belt, our engineers designed a custom wire mesh conveyor belt with round-top spirals. The manufacturer installed our belt directly onto their existing machinery without modifying any rollers or equipment settings. The issues previously experienced did not show up with the high quality belt from Wire-Mesh products.

The custom replacement provided reliability for the manufacturer’s process and outstanding ROI:

• 82% Cost Reduction: Reduced annual belt expenses from nearly $200,000 to just $36,000.
• Immediate Payoff: Reduced downtime allowing for steady output as well as reduced maintenance costs
• Proven Durability: Operates continuously with zero defects after 12 months on the line.

The result is a smoother operation, reduced maintenance stress, and long-term savings that far exceeded client expectations. Today, our team has been the manufacturer’s sole supplier for over 8 years, with zero recurrence of the trouble experienced from the original belt.