Above: With a Haas+Phillips OEM service program, customers can significantly reduce costs by using saw blades multiple times.

New service and support programs help improve operations

May 2018 - “If you need a machine and don’t buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it and don’t have it.” Henry Ford’s words resonate today as much as they did when he invented the Quadricycle in 1896.

In that spirit, Phillips Saw & Tool, Frankfort, Indiana, a third-generation family owned business founded in 1959, has introduced a creative solution for manufacturers of primary metals, steel tube and pipe, automotive components and consumer products. The company is working together with Haas Saw & Supply, also a third-generation family owned business established in 1958, to streamline the supply chain for metal-cutting circular saw blades. The goal of this partnership is to help end users realize lower costs, obtain first-class technical support and implement specialized programs tailored to each operation.

As vice president for Phillips Saw & Tool, I began collaborating with Peter Haas at Haas Saw & Supply in autumn 2016. Together, we are convinced that bridging the gap among end users, tool producers and service providers would require greater transparency and information sharing. By helping each partner exploit its individual strengths and simultaneously minimize its weaknesses, Haas+Phillips is striving to change the relationship between producers of consumables and the end users who rely on them.

Collectively, the two companies have more than 2,500 active customers and manufacture, distribute and service more than 125,000 metal cutting saw blades annually. Having a combined geographic footprint that includes locations in four states and distribution throughout North America, this collaboration is providing greater access to on-site technical support and customer service. These successes have allowed Haas+Phillips to provide new Certified OEM service programs.

Recently, Haas+Phillips created a customized saw blade and service solution for an international powersports vehicle manufacturer. In this case, the customer made new capital investments in specialized sawing and end-finishing equipment, capable of producing several thousand parts per hour. The manufacturer forecast that it would produce nearly 7.8 million parts in 2018, with a variation of 60 part sizes and several different material types. Haas+Phillips calculated a total amount of material removal of over 3.5 million square inches required to achieve the forecast production.

Bins hold hundreds of cut parts ready to deliver just in time to an automotive manufacturing customer, reducing WIP and providing significant cost savings.

Carrying costs

With that data, a detailed analysis of the number of saw blades and service intervals required was identified, allowing the end user to determine its exact annual expenditures on tools and service. Haas+Phillips removed the burden to configure cost requirements and inventory management— typically borne by the end user alone—by spreading it evenly across the entire group.

Peter Haas explains, “Work in process (WIP) is one of the real costs often missed by the end user in making calculations for the overall costs associated with production.” A frequently used industry metric for the value of semi-finished inventory is carrying cost. Many businesses believe that 12 percent to 15 percent is a good generic number associated with the cost to carry inventory. So, if a company has an inventory value of $1 million, the cost to carry that inventory would range from $120,000 to $150,000 annually.

Cycle times

Haas+Phillips uses proprietary formulas to determine machinability of material alloys and appropriate cutting parameters, which results in faster, more reliable cycle times and a reduction in materials waiting for further processing. These reductions in inventory provide many additional benefits, including increased flexibility to accommodate part revisions or new process technologies, reductions in storage of semi-finished parts, just-in-time (JIT) delivery performance, and timely identification of problems in the system.

The Certified OEM service programs also include incorporating important steps to ensure all saw blades are returned to their original manufactured state. For example, steel pipe and tube producers that partner with Haas+Phillips can reuse saw blades that were previously discarded, helping amortize the cost of tools over multiple uses. This service program includes, but is not limited to, the following key components:

• Initial inspection with vision systems designed to measure the tools and determine work to be completed

• Removal of all material buildup from tools to ensure proper performance

• Carbide-tip replacement, when required, utilizing high frequency, automated brazing technology

• All tungsten carbide-tips and PVD coatings to the original tool specifications

• Grinding of all tooth geometry via servo-controlled, CNC machines, maintaining accuracy and repeatability from blade to blade and batch to batch

• Inspection, hammering and roll-tensioning, when necessary, to reduce side runout and maintain consistent part lengths and minimal burr

• Documentation of all service processes on individualized tooling, facilitating data collection of tool life and overall performance throughout its lifetime

Educating operators

To achieve a healthy, longstanding partnership, all parties involved have to be invested in its success, providing solutions that benefit the entire group. For this reason, Haas+Phillips educates sawing machine operators on the proper maintenance and use of tools and explains how it relates to equipment and production goals. Becoming a team allows Haas+Phillips to inform its customers of important questions they should be asking to ensure they achieve these goals.

Not taking advantage of these types of services means that high-volume metal fabricators and manufacturers might end up paying more over time with few realized gains, echoing Henry Ford’s viewpoint. Haas+Phillips customers benefit from this collaborative approach and specialized management system with all their Haas+Phillips purchases. No links in the supply chain should settle for yesterday’s success, and stable relationships among end users, producers and service providers will ensure ongoing improvements. MM

Jordan Chynoweth is the Vice President at Phillips Saw & Tool.