Case Study

Wholesome Harvest Lowers Oil Usage with FPC Products

The results were cleaner and more effective oil storage, less frequent oil changes, and less machinery wear.

Corporate Continuous Improvement activities at Wholesome Harvest Bakeries drove the organization to change their lubrication storage and dispensing practices. FPC worked with the MRO supervisor at the Roanoke, VA location, who knew he needed to change his lubricant storage and transfer process to reduce storage space requirements and minimize contamination potential.

Customer Issue

At the Grupo Bimbo Wholesome Harvest Bakeries facility in Roanoke, VA, Tony, the MRO Supervisor, knew he needed to improve the lubricant storage and transfer process to minimize contamination potential. He was aware that other Wholesome Harvest locations utilized a Des-Case product line specifically engineered to solve this problem, so he reached out to Filter Products Company, an authorized distributor of Des-Case products, to help resolve the issue.

Filter Products Company Solution

Filter Products Company sent a technical sales expert to the Wholesome Harvest facility to review the current process for lubricant storage and transfer. The facility was storing 5-gallon pails of oil outside, which was not only an inefficient use of space and inconvenient for the maintenance stage, but also presented the opportunity for oil contamination.

FPC specified various Des-Case products that would minimize contamination at each step. Bulk lubricant storage moved to 45-gallon Des-Case LT-LMS storage units in a clean indoor area. Des-Case IsoLink portable containers were specified for transferring lubricant from bulk storage to the point of use. Color coding on these containers matched the equipment that used the oil they would be transporting. The facility utilized integrated filtration while filling the LT-LMS storage containers and when filling the IsoLink dispensing containers. Desiccant breathers were attached to both the bulk storage and the dispensing equipment to prevent moisture absorption. FPC’s solution fulfilled Wholesome Harvest’s requirement not to store more than 55 gallons of any single type of oil in the facility, and FPC also trained the maintenance crew in the new process and in safe handling of the new equipment.

Customer Result

Filter Products Company helped Wholesome Harvest specify and implement a new lubrication management system. The results were cleaner and more effective oil storage, less frequent oil changes, and less machinery wear. In partnership with FPC, Wholesome Harvest Roanoke made the equipment changes and implemented the new process in September 2019.

Please contact FPC to help you lower your oil usage and maintenance costs by designing a lubricant management system for your facility.