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Reflections of the Year

This time of year always makes me reflect on what has happened to bring us to where we are now.  It must be the holidays and the talk of how I am going to make myself better this coming year, besides losing weight.  In looking at business and the goals we had for the past year and are looking to attain for the New Year, it makes me look at what went right and what went wrong.  Call it reflecting call it questioning, but it made me realize that throughout the year we tend to spend a vast majority of our time focusing on the negative and missing all of the positives which come from the hard work.  We find ourselves too busy to recognize the successes because we are trying to overcome what we see as our failures.

It is this time of year which makes us, as a company; realize how much our success has brought us.  We have weathered a tough economic storm where we have seen customers, vendors, partners and even friends not survive the tough times.  We have seen layoffs and plant closures, but we have found a way to push through and make our positives into a brighter future.  Will the economic times get simpler and will the markets come back.  I am positive they will, but we will keep our heads up and our work ethic on full as we tackle any goal or problem which will make our negatives into positives.  And those positives will keep our history and our way of thinking moving forward.

Moog Flo-Tork would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous year.

Posted by  |  December 29, 2010 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

Global Economy

Spending the past couple days in meetings discussing how to work with our divisions around the globe I realized how small the world is, and how small it can make you feel as a salesperson.  The days of worrying mostly about the companies which you could drive or fly to relatively quickly have come to an end.  We are now looking at how we can build relationships with customers in places we have not visited or have visited very infrequently.  I was in these meetings discussing our growth and large projects we are working on and came to the realization that I am very uneducated at the best method to work in this global economy.  I have business dealings in almost every continent around the globe, but I have never looked at how we as a company best do business in this global economy.  How do we offer solutions that are already well known to solve problems in our region, to the rest of the world?  How do we best find the needs of the global customer?

We are answering these questions through our international offices, using the local talent and ability to help determine the need which is not being filled by the current companies.  Our offerings are solving problems which are not currently being filled.  We fill a niche within this global economy which require the types of products we have been supplying to our local companies for decades and we thought would be well known.  To my surprise we have done the global world an injustice by not supplying more information about our products.  This is something we are trying to correct through websites and blogs.

Posted by  |  December 15, 2010 | Categories: Moog Flo-Tork | Leave A Comment »

Mining Pipeline Slurry Actuation

When I think of mining I picture coal miners of a century ago with shovels, picks and lanterns.  The mining today as we have seen from the rescue in Chile has a much more high tech aspect.  Though mining still requires people to travel underground, there is much more machinery involved both for the digging and transport of the ore. 

The days of the rail car or truck transporting metal ore down the mountain are all but past for many of these large mines.  The new method being used relies more on the pipeline technology as would be found in a large waterline.  The use of the pipelines is more efficient than the trucking and transport, as the ore is suspended in a slurry and gravity fed down a pipeline.  In this method of transport, vehicles which brought down the ore and had to travel back up to get the next load are eliminated. 

The use of this technology has brought about the need for larger valves with ever greater torques.  The torques required in these valves is coming to a point where the limiting factor is the method of operation.  This is one area where Moog Flo-Tork excels; we have been providing high torque hydraulic actuation with torque output exceeding 45 million inch pounds for 50 years.  Throughout our history we have provided these type of actuators for large booms.  When we designed these actuators they were designed with robustness to exist in the marine environment on coal or ore barges.  We are taking this same design which has been and is still used to transport the ore by sea, and utilizing this on the slurry pipeline valves which control the ore transport down the mountain.

When these actuators were first designed to be used for the unloading of ore from barges it was never thought that these same actuators would also be used to control the flow of ore from the mine extraction nearly 50 years later.  It just shows that when the design is sound the application is timeless.

Posted by  |  December 1, 2010 | Categories: Moog Flo-Tork, Rotary Actuator Application | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Rack and Pinion

I was recently speaking to an engineer about rack and pinion actuators, and he relayed to me that they are nice actuators for very small loads.  This opinion seems to be shared across the quarter turn valve industry.  The introduction of hundreds of small rack and pinion actuators has made this type of actuator referred to as the “lunch box actuator”.  I want to write a little about the actuators we at Moog Flo-Tork produce, and show there are differences between the rack and pinion which are seen as the lunchbox to what we design and build.

The rack and pinion as we have designed is a robust, powerful and efficient means to produce rotary motion.  The rack and pinion has many benefits which other technologies are missing.  The rack and pinion produces the same torque no matter where it is in the stroke and can be started and stopped at any point without the loss of power experienced by other technologies.  The rack and pinion actuator can utilize simple pressure sealing systems which can give millions of cycles without leakage, because it uses piston which move in a linear motion.  This gives the ability to hold a load at any point within the operating range using controls.  The rack and pinion mesh has more of a roller motion instead of a sliding motion.  This makes it more efficient than a technology where the components slide against one another. 

The stigma which has been attached to the rack and pinion design surprises me sometimes, since it is a technology which almost everyone has had contact with in some way.

Posted by  |  November 17, 2010 | Categories: Moog Flo-Tork | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

Designing for Purpose

Sitting at my desk I was thinking about a comment that a customer made to me.  They were surprised that the first thing offered by me wasn’t my catalogs and what we offered.  We find that with our customers we are not selling just a catalog rotary actuator.  In some instances the standard catalog actuator might work, but this is not the norm.  What we offer is a solution to a problem, a partner who is willing to help solve a problem or to help in the development of something new. 

Some of our most common actuators we sell, would be considered by us as tailored actuators, not as new products for our catalog.  Actuators Moog Flo-Tork provides for an industry such as offshore oil and gas may have very stringent requirements.  They may require special American Petroleum Institute (API) requirements for exposure to well fluids, or internal compensation for depths in the ocean of 10,000 feet.

I think Moog Flo-Tork is able to provide these actuators, because we focus on the engineering problems, and application requirements.  We may not have the flashiest or thickest catalogs, we do not feel we are selling just a rotary actuator from a catalog.  Yes we do have catalogs which we will gladly hand out, but they are just a place to begin a discussion of the requirements.  They are not the end of the product line, but the beginning of the discussion.

If you are ever wondering what if, give us a call and we will help turn questions into products.

Posted by  |  October 6, 2010 | Categories: Moog Flo-Tork | Leave A Comment »

Steel Mill Problem Resolution

Over the years in servicing the heavy industrial markets we have come across many pieces of equipment which were designed based on the types of motion control that was the best method at the time.  Through time some of these designs have not held up to the punishing environment that is present within the steel mills.  One of the these devices is an edge guide which is controlled from below by an electric motor.  The electric motor is used to rotate a pinion gear which drives a pair of racks in an out. 

The operation of the edge guides in this manner is very simplistic as it only requires one axis of control.  The problem that becomes apparent with this design over time is the impact loading that occurs from slabs of steel slamming into the edge guides.  This quickly started to cause problems with the motor and gearbox, however the pinion and connecting racks held up durably. 

In working with the personnel at the mill to solve the issue of downtime, we determined the drive system was the main culprit..  Utilizing the Moog Flo-Tork hydraulic actuator with an embedded transducer and a hydraulic power source we were able to replace the drive system.  The actuator is designed for the impact this application requires and was able to eliminate the downtime.  This application was originally replaced in the early 1990’s, and after 10+ years of operation the actuator was still providing uptime for the mill. 

During a shutdown at the mill we determined the actuator needed an overhaul.  At that time we removed the actuator, provided a full overhaul and reinstalled the actuator for another 10+ years of uninterrupted operation.

Posted by  |  September 9, 2010 | Categories: Rotary Actuator Application | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Safety

We recently passed an important milestone in safety; Moog Flo-Tork has gone seven years without a lost time accident. We accomplished this as a team, all of us doing our part, and in so have been able to stay on the job supporting our families and fulfilling customer needs. 

It says we pay attention as a group.  Realize we have a very active machine shop and extensive assembly and test with all the inherent risks. We pay attention to details, noticing an oil leak from a machine or test bench before someone slips, properly handling hazardous waste, and storing material safely.  Yes we have safety-training matrixes, perform audits, and have checklists, but all of this does not result in safety without people who care about the welfare of others and the details of the tasks they are performing.

By paying attention to the details, we serve our customers. We save on our insurance premiums because of our safety record, and this savings is passed on to our customers. We keep our experience in our workforce instead of in rehabilitation for an injury.  Our attention to detail shows in our safety record and this follows through all aspects of our culture, which translates into making sure the customer gets the best product at the best value to meet their needs.

Posted by  |  August 26, 2010 | Categories: Culture | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment »

New Ideas

Sitting in my office today I was wondering what problems we face that our focus may be able to help.  This is a daunting task thinking of all the industries throughout the world. 

Without interaction with different people we always tend to fall back into our own comfort zone.  We do not like to try new things because the outcome may not be what we expected, or we think we may fail.  It seems that if we are not willing to try a new idea, or new process or even a new discussion it is hard to move forward.  I often think back to the inventors of the day and how they moved the world forward into where we are now.

I try to think of the fear new ideas can cause and the admiration I give to the founders of our own company.  This at the time was not new technology; the rack and pinion has been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years.  However, taking this old technology and putting it together into a new for was the novel approach.  Even today the uses for the rack and pinion actuator are almost endless.  The hardest part is trying to open up to the possibilities of using one thing versus many others.  The information is at everyone’s fingertips all the time so it would seem to be easy to find the best.  As I find with vast information comes a lot of fear, and this pushes people back into the things they know whether it is the best way or not. 

I am always trying to keep myself open to the new idea or from discounting the new thought, as this may be the one that propels us all to greatness

Posted by  |  August 11, 2010 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Core Competency

Recently the question, “What is our core competency?” has been running through my mind.  As with any organization, there are many aspects of what we do, from sales to design to manufacturing to assembly and test.  By understanding our strengths, we can become stronger as an organization. 

 I thought of the sales group, how hard they struggle to capture the customer’s needs and what Moog Flo-Tork can do to meet them.  Despite so many issues with communication and expectations, Sales succeeds in being the voice of our customers while balancing the needs of the rest of the organization.

I use to believe our core competency resided in our manufacturing group.  They are always striving for ways to meet deadlines and quality standards, sometimes working too many hours trying to pull off impossible schedules.  However, at the end of the day, they find a way to make it work, keeping on-time delivery close to 98% and our quality at a higher standard.

 Our engineering group is always coming up with solutions no one has ever thought of or changing an old idea into something unique to meet the customer’s needs.  These engineers push the boundaries of what is possible.

 The other departments: Accounting, Information Systems, Purchasing, etc. are important as well.  However, our core competency is not a department, a process or an individual it is all of us.

 Yes, we struggle with suppliers, lean times and our own interpretations of what direction we should go.  Nevertheless, we pull together, sometimes kicking and screaming, to make all these things happen.  For the most part, we also stay friends and family.

 WE are Moog Flo-Tork’s core competency.

Posted by  |  July 28, 2010 | Categories: Culture | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

Repair and Rebuild

Do your rotary actuators ever need repair?  Do you ever have problems with the rotary actuators you have?  Have you been unable to get assistance to repair or rebuild? 

Moog Flo-Tork has recently expanded our rebuild services, for over 40 years we have been rebuilding our own actuators, both in house and at customer’s facilities.  This service has not been limited to shop environments.  Our service crews have been dispatched around the world to steel mills, nuclear power plants, and onboard ships.  Once at these locations the repair or rebuild of actuators whether manufactured by Moog Flo-Tork or someone else is performed.  We have started to expand this service; we have seen a growing need to help facilities manage the maintenance of large rotary actuators.  In the current economy, the purchase of new capital equipment is not always a feasible option.  We are committed to helping our customer in keeping their facility up and running with as little down time and expense as possible.  We are now offering to help rebuild and perform a scheduled maintenance program for their entire stock of rotary actuators.  The program will track the usage of the actuator and the wear that is occurring.  With this knowledge we can assist our customers with performance evaluation and better design implementations when a new rotary actuator is required.

Posted by  |  July 21, 2010 | Categories: Moog Flo-Tork | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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