THE COMPANYLippert Components,

a Drew Industries subsidiary,manufactures specialty trailers at their Milford, Indiana plant that arefully customizable for hauling a wide variety of items.

THE CHALLENGEIn the past, Lippert had been a liquid coating operation. They turned to powder coating to achieve a better finish that was bothenvironmentally friendly and cost-effective and decided to place anautomatic powder coating line at the Milford plant. Quick color changeand low powder consumption were significant factors for theinstallation. Since Lippert is a spray-to-waste operation, transferefficiency was a very important consideration.

THE SOLUTIONLippert’s Milford facility chose an automatic line from ITW Gema. A 20,000 cfm Diamond™ booth contains sixteen OptiGun™ automaticpowder guns, OptiTronic™ Plus control units, and OptiFlow™ pumps.The system also includes an AutoTracker™ Programmable LogicController (PLC) and Chameleon™ Color Management System.

THE SAVINGSThe combination of OptiSystem™ components, along with theAutoTracker and Chameleon, has enabled Lippert to realize greaterapplication efficiency than they had experienced in the past. Sincethey do not reclaim powder, achieving the best coverage with the leastwaste is very important. Decreasing consumables and optimizingpowder consumption have resulted in a highly cost-efficient operation,factors that have contributed to a payback in 24 months.

“Deciding to upgrade with ITW Gema

I T W G E M A C A S E S T U D I E S

“High transfer efficiency and savings onconsumables has really made our newsystem pay off.”

Cliff Boyer III, Lippert Components

has saved us a lot of money.” “Deciding to upgrade with ITW Gema

has saved us a lot of money.”

Call 800-628-0601 and ask for Deborah or visitwww.itwgema.com/upgradefor a free assessment of yourpowder coating operation.

Call 800-628-0601 and ask for Debra or visitwww.itwgema.com/upgradefor a free assessment of yourpowder coating operation.

Leaders Like Lippert

Lippert Componentsmanufactures specialtytrailers at their Milford,Indiana facility. Theyneeded high transferefficiency, so they turned to ITW Gema for a solution.

Company BackgroundLippert Components, a Drew IndustriesSubsidiary, is a steel fabricationcompany serving the manufacturedhousing, recreational vehicle (RV), andspecialty hauling industries. Theyproduce mobile home chassis, chassis

parts, and galvanized steel roofing as well as RV, fifth-wheel, and traveltrailer chassis. Lippert is a multi-state, multi-facility organization, with areputation for being both an industry leader and innovator.

Existing Equipment and ChallengesLippert began powder coating at theirGoshen, Indiana location using anotherbrand of manual powder coatingequipment. Unimpressed by theperformance of their system, Lippertchose ITW Gema when they openedanother manual powder coating line inMiddlebury, Indiana.

Because of the success they achievedwith their manual system, Lippert onceagain turned to ITW Gema to outfit their new plant in Milford, Indiana.They wanted an automated line that could perform the fastest possiblecolor changes, maximizing efficiency to provide a high-quality finish at areasonable price. To achieve this, having the most technologicallyadvanced equipment available was imperative. According to Cliff Boyer,Powder Coat Manager, “Our entire line from blasting to oven to powdercoating contains state-of-the-art technology and this gives us a majorcompetitive advantage.”

Objectives for the new paint line included:

• Superior transfer efficiency • Low consumables cost• High-level of process control • Quick color change

Equipment InstalledITW Gema installed sixteen OptiGun™ automatic powder guns,OptiTronic Plus™ control units and OptiFlow™ powder pumps in a20,000 cfm Diamond™ booth. For parts needing manual work, anEasySystem™ touch-up unit with OptiTronic™ controller was mountedon each side of the booth.

Light curtain part recognitionwas also included, enabling theguns to recognize different partconfigurations and only triggerthe number of guns necessaryto coat the part. Reciprocatorsallow for automatic movementof the powder guns, while an AutoTracker™ Programmable LogicController (PLC) provides complete control over the coating process.

Using eleven colors and planning to increase their palette to over twenty,Lippert needed the capability to perform quick color changes. They foundthat ITW Gema’s Chameleon™ Color Management System provides thehighest level of performance and enables them to spray powder directlyfrom the manufacturer’s shipping container.

When it’s time to change colors, the Chameleon controls the internalcleaning of suction tubes, pumps, powder hoses and spray guns, takingvaluable time off the cleaning process and freeing operators to handleother color-change tasks. “With the push of a button, it purgeseverything and makes color changeovers incredibly fast.” Cliff stated.

SavingsSince the installation of the OptiSystem, Lippert has achieved the hightransfer efficiency they were looking for. With the help of powder supplier,Environmental Coatings, they were able to develop a special powder withlow cure times and the unique characteristics that the industry demands.This special powder formulation, coupled with the precision of theOptiSystem, has kept quality high and costs low. Optimizing performancehas enabled Lippert to achieve a payback in 24 months.

All objectives have been achieved for this project, including:

• Compared to the Goshen system, transfer efficiency is 15% higher

• Cost of consumables is 50% less as compared to the Goshen system

• Management has complete control over the system,resulting in repeatable results and virtually no rejects

• Color changes can be performed in ten minutes or less with two operators

Future OutlookThe service Lippert receives fromITW Gema and their local distributor,American Industrial Corporation, isvery important to the success of thepowder coating line in Milford. “Thetraining and support we receivedfrom Gema,” Cliff said, “was betterby leaps and bounds than anything we got from their competitor.”

Lippert has been so pleased with the success of this system, that theyare looking forward to upgrading two more plants with equipment from ITW Gema.

“Whether youreclaim powder ornot, at ITW Gemathe objective is toget paint on thepart – not on the floor.”

ITW Gema saves Lippert bigmoney with the precisioncontrol of the OptiSystem.

A case study from LippertComponents, a DrewIndustries Subsidiary

I T W G E M A C A S E S T U D I E S

Lippert Saves Money on Consumables With HighTransfer Efficiency from the OptiSystem™