What’s Inside:
Maag Americas Message Featured Team – Dryer Design New Video – Is plastic sustainable?
New Hires and Farewells Employee Appreciation Service Anniversaries
August 2023 Newsletter MAAGAZIN
Safety Message Employee Hobby Employee Interests
Dear MAAG Americas Team: I'm excited to share some great news with you. Maag Group had a record-breaking month in June, shipping $70 million worth of systems and parts! This is a significant increase over our previous months. Being the end of the Quarter, Dover needed our support since some of the other OpCo’s are down, therefore we significantly contributed to Dover meeting commitments to our investors. Our biggest opportunity that remains is margin improvement. We are working hard to improve this area, yet we're still facing some challenges. We need everyone’s support in identifying and executing on productivity opportunities. Please take a step back and think about how we can become more efficient/productive and act on it. I am confident that we will be able to overcome these challenges and achieve our goals. I want to thank everyone for your hard work and dedication. This success is a testament to our team's commitment to excellence. In this edition of MAAGAZIN we highlight the MAAG Dryer history and legacy. We have manufactured and designed dryers since 1969! We will also share with you what direction we are heading with our Dryers. We had a fantastic customer success story from the Large Area Filtration team, that shows the power of working together to deliver great customer service. Enjoy! Rommel
One Maag America – Together, as a team, we can accomplish more Maag Gala – Dryers History and Future
Centrifugal Dryers are an integral part of any pellet processing systems. Maag Gala is known as the leading manufacturer of centrifugal Dryers in the world. Dryers are important in post-pelletizing as the drying process reduces residual moisture in pellets. Gala Dryers boast features that make them advantageable comparing to competitors: • Our Agglomerate Catcher limits size pellet flow through and restricts foreign object going through the process. Dry pellets in final hopper are consistent and as expected. • We strive to have pellets that are sized, right moisture, right temperature for the next process of each manufacturer from gum, asphalt, toy production, IV lines and bags, etc. • In the full life cycle of plastic processes, we are an important part of getting each customer consistency in their process lines. 8064
Dryer design and production at Maag Gala began in 1969, with the LEG or FALGO Dryers. This design featured a 36” nominal rotor, which design was built upon throughout the 1970’s through 1980’s which added taller editions. In the 1990’s the Conventional or “ CAN ” Dryers offered a complete welded housing and a 48” nominal rotor. Water systems were incorporated through the TWS integration. In the beginning there were limited manufacturing abilities which made customization more difficult. Later with the addition of a plasma cutter and laser used for sheet metal precision allowed for more options to meet customer need. Movement from drawing board designing to 2D CAD and now SolidWorks technology changed everything positively for the business. Over the years adding Dryer products that met demands of the market were critical. The Easy Access Dryers were designed with bigger doors with hinges to make operator use more practical. The shape and feet changed, as we began bending the outer surface. Entry into the recycling market with EA Dryers began with the first 5032 Dryer. This taller version created a shift to adjusting to larger/taller Dryer units overall. The requirements for taller Dryers from customers kept growing, actually making units so large there were new shipping challenges to overcome. The extremely large 8064 and 6064 Dryers are still operating in Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands.
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5032
Maag Gala – Dryers History and Future
ECLN
ECLN (Easy Clean Low Noise) Dryers then entered the market to meet an 85 dba safety limit for noise. The original ECLN’s were under feed (UF), which brought new ideas that could be arranged many different ways. UFs Dryers were replaced with BFs and DWs. 48” rotors and screens remained the same, so the options for arrangements were easier to bring to customers. The hexagon shaped ECLN’s moved to square shape becoming the 2016 ECLN or 3016 ECLN, and eventually the 4016 ECLN. The demand for single wall versions (2016 EC and 3016 EC) kept same innerworkings as the ECLN. Replacement parts necessary as wear problems became more evident, which assisted with the growth of more aftermarket needs.
The Stand-Alone Dryer design supports larger OEMs such as Fuji, Coperion, Dow and Dupont. These Dryers interact with current customer equipment fitting to their existing lines. R&D, Customer Support and Design Engineering frequently come together to explore possibilities for improvements and new applications. Improvement and understanding customer application continues for the Tumble Dryers, Classifiers, Cyclos and the eXso. Interesting to note - there is an uptick of requests from designs of the 80’s and 90’s. Customers who have had equipment in production for 30+ years, are now willing to pay more to have something similar to their existing model for the consistency in their production lines and the support from those in Eagle Rock, Virginia. Lessons learned over the years: • Early design principles remain true even with available modern technology. The mathematical equations remain accurate and valid as we continue to use original formulations. • By trying to standardize across the board several times over the years, we caused unintended issues for many customers. However, we found many parts we can use interchangeably. • Listening to what the customer is asking for is paramount to success. Current designers of the Dryers include Melinda Kay , Jeff Mynes and Jack Olsson . The entire team, including Jason Barr , Libby Rhodes , Amanda Thompson , Christian Newbury , and Jim Ward also work on Dryer projects, yet spend more of their time on systems design. The Mechanical Design Team Leader is Travis Sarver . The Sales Engineering Team , After Market Service Team and Field Service Team are critical support for the Dryers. Those working in the field alongside customers are the eyes and ears to identify new opportunities, as well as provide much needed troubleshooting. The commitment from all who support Dryers is much appreciated and needed, every single day. Information for article provided by Melinda Kay, Design Engineer, celebrating 30 years with Maag Gala. Congratulations, Melinda, and thank you for your hard work and dedication!
New Video
Is plastic sustainable? The answer may surprise you…
Welcome July New Hires
It was a wonderful July as we welcomed new employees. When you see them, check in, see if they have any questions, ask them how they are doing and give them a warm Maag Americas Welcome!
Sam Craft Sales Support and Order Processing Coordinator
Jonathan Anderson Operations Intern
Daniel Anderson Operations Intern
Farewell We wish the following people who left in July the best of luck in their future endeavors: Eagle Rock: Moses Keyser, Hunter Dodson, Nicole Joyce Charlotte: Peter Frey, Skylar Shepard
Congrats to our winners!
July Raffle Winners Kent: Kathy Dawson and Tasian Harrington EGR: Donald Huffman and Milton Linthicum
Tickets for August are Red Good luck to everyone!
August Anniversaries
Department
Location
Name
Yrs. Of Service
Barry Irvin
35
Global Sourcing
Charlotte
Lynda Stull
34
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Pat Wait
19
Sales and Marketing
Charlotte
Lance Craft
16
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Jamie Doolittle
13
Manuf. &Operations
Kent
Missy Cahoon
12
Sales and Marketing
Eagle Rock
Ryan Ghezzi
12
Sales and Marketing
Kent
Edwin Turner
10
Manuf.& Operations
Kent
Bryan Buchanan
7
Engineering
Eagle Rock
Darryl Newcomb
7
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Andrew Fridley
6
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Derek McCullough
6
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
August Anniversaries
Department
Location
Name
Yrs. Of Service
Alisha Konst
6
Research & Development
Eagle Rock
Kenneth Thompson
2
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Samuel Bryan
2
Sales & Marketing
Eagle Rock
Jeff Delp
2
Quality
Eagle Rock
Taylor Landram
2
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Wesley Markham
1
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Abby Lodge
1
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
John Agbo
1
Manuf.& Operations
Eagle Rock
Jeremiah Stone
1
Manuf. & Operations
Kent
Melanie Peredo
1
Research & Development
Eagle Rock
Mike Kline
1
Quality
Eagle Rock
Priscilla Thompson
1
Global Sourcing
Eagle Rock
Kenneth Waino II
1
Manuf. & Operations
Kent
Safety Message
MAAG Americas Great Customer Support MAAG Americas is proud of our employees who rushed to assist the customer when an emergency occurred at the Chemours Company, Fayetteville, NC. On Thursday, July 13 Chemours contacted George Vince and informed him they needed filter candles urgently! This was difficult timing as the lead candle manufacturing technician, the filtration product manager were both out of the country. Also, the lead filtration engineer was about to leave for a one-week service trip. Knowing this, others willingly jumped in to help with the emergency. • Pablo Vaca with the support of Derek McCullough was able to find a suitable media for the application in stock. • Drew Thompson then working during off hours created a drawing for the filter candle. David Jewell got involved and requested a technician from a different department assist with the actual manufacturing of the candle. • Anastacio Guerra (“Tacho”) was able to manufacture (3) candles immediately to keep the customer from going down. As a result of this strong support, we will likely gain more business from Chemours in the future. Many thanks to George Vince, Pablo Vaco, Drew Thompson, David Jewell, and Anastacio Guerra for handling this emergency when almost the entire filtration department was not available!
Hobbies Lights, Camera, Action! As follow up to a previous Hobby article featuring Steve Aaron, this is an update about Attic Productions, our very own hometown theatre. Attic Productions was founded by Geraldine Lawson in 1995 and, during her lifetime she shined brightly for her family, community, and church. Ms. Lawson is known for her compassion and willingness to give everything she had to better the lives of those around her. In 2006 she passed away but one of our employees, Steve Aaron has enjoyed both acting and has now added director to his hobbies. Steve Aaron recently directed "Dear Nannie" on the history of Lexington, Fincastle, and Botetourt about a banker named Charles Figgat. We find out in the play that Mr. Figgat is a bit of a scoundrel. In 1895 Charles Figgat was known as a trusted cashier of the bank in Lexington, but when he left, he robbed $180,000. On the day of his departure, the doors of the bank remained closed. These losses were placed on Judge James K. Edmonson, who ended up only paying the depositors about 70% of what was stolen. As an accomplice, Robert K. Godwin, who was a teller of the bank, was afterward convicted and sent to the penitentiary for 4 years. Steve mentioned the play was emotional as the songs highlight the Shenandoah Valley and the Confederate War. After the show was over, Steve and some of the other actors found the gravesites of Charles Figgat and his family to further tap into the history. These people loved here in our community, and this team at Attic Production are now telling the forgotten stories. Steve also visited the gravesites of the children impacted and placed flowers on their graves. It was an honor to remember those who struggled so many years ago through telling their stories, and later facing the presence of their existence.
This play was written by two impressive directors from Virginia Tech. The plan is for Attic Productions to conduct more plays telling the history of Virginia. These people lived here in our community, and this team at Attic Productions is now telling the history of Virginia. Steve himself wore many hats producing this show, such as the music director, musician, three different character roles, and assistant directed this play. He also has co- directed many other plays and enjoys being part of the process just as his passion for acting. Steve is currently working on a Latin Commedia dell 'Arte version of A Christmas Carol. Steve had done the show before and is familiar with it, but this will be his first time as the Director. I asked him what the most challenging thing was as a director, and he stated it was to find the right fit for the cast.
When there are not enough cast members, many people must take on a variety of roles. Steve acknowledged that it can be difficult to break the news for those who do not make the cast, as some take it personally. As a Director, he explained that technical support is crucial, including someone who is adept at operating the lighting. To ensure a smooth production, He emphasized the importance of knowing the show inside and out and being able to sometimes work with uncooperative individuals. When casting actors, they prioritize those who can sing, dance, and act, which they refer to as the "triple threat."
Attic Productions offers acting classes and directing classes to keep things interesting. More information can be found at https://www.atticproductions.info/ The owner of the theater also ensures that they have all the necessary licenses to avoid performing the same shows within a 500-mile radius. If you are interested in seeing a show, you can buy the tickets online or in person.
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