M A G A Z I N E
as the filters in LustorSystem, air controllers and oil analysis services.
Warwick Evans: Designer of LustorSystem
Ian is running a very good business, it’s all cloud based, all virtual business, it’s all done online, there’s no warehouses, no factories. A 40-foot container comes in every month, it’s stored in a logistics centre in Holland, customers can buy online and it gets shipped out immediately – like an industrial version of Amazon. Ian’s been in the predictive maintenance world all of his career and he sensed that there would be a need for an upscale (greater than 100 litre) lubrication storage, filtering and dispensing system to meet the needs of modern ‘clean room’ maintenance departments. He
LustorSystem is a unique product. What makes it unique is that it is the only lubricant storage product that stores, filters and dispenses lubricants and is CE Compliant in accordance with EN ISO 17050-1:2010 The Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC). In the early research phase of this project we looked to see if there were any competitor products. There are some simple garage oil storage systems with very limited functionality and a couple of very expensive American products. All of these suffer from not being CE compliant.
commissioned my design consultancy, IndustrialDesign.com, to design and develop the product, which he called ‘LustorSystem’. It took us 10 months from design to production.
‘The local strategy was critical’
Maintenance managers realise that if they buy into LustorSystem, it creates the basics for improved plant reliability and thus reduced long term maintenance costs. To meet modern health and safety requirements it must
At the design feasibility stage we evaluated various materials, processes and finishes before deciding on rotationally moulded polymer tanks with integral pumps, filters and dispensing meters and taps. LustorSystem is designed and developed here in our studio in Cambridge. It is also tooled, manufactured and assembled (by Pirtek) here in Cambridge. This ‘local’ strategy was critical as all our suppliers are ‘on the doorstep’ and so project management (which we do for Enluse BV) is low cost and immediate. We were struggling to find a supplier for the hoses and pipes. I was watching the BTCC British Touring Car Championship on television and noticed the Pirtek car mullering the opposition. I called Pirtek Cambridge, spoke to Kevin Gabriel and the rest is history. Kevin and his team are critical to the success of LustorSystem. They know lubricants and lubricant systems, they have a huge stock of parts and can turn around a LustorSystem in hours. They supply our logistics centre in Holland with stock of 125, 250 and 500 litre systems and their knowledge of LustorSystem also means they can sell direct to their customers.
be CE Compliant to The Machinery Directive. For a maintenance manager, ticking that box is the first priority. I’ve worked with Ian Knight for more than 20 years. He was Marketing Director of SKF Maintenance Products (MAPRO) and I was Consultant Designer to MAPRO for the design of their range of bearing fitting, removal and condition monitoring products. Ian left SKF and set up Enluse BV (based in Holland) in 2000. Enluse BV is Europe’s biggest importer of a product called Oil Safe, a range of injection moulded oil drums and lids that come in one to 20 litre capacities. They are designed specifically for the maintenance industry with cleanliness in mind. Enluse has more than 200 distributors in Europe. If you go into a big mill with a well-run, clean, maintenance department you will inevitably see Oil Safe drums supplied by Enluse. The products are manufactured in the USA and Enluse’s business is the importation and distribution of them and auxiliary equipment such
UK 0800 38 24 38 ROI 1800 74 78 35 www.pirtek.eu
31
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog