Solutions That Pay Off:

Turbine Blades

A major refurbisher of turbine blades faced three major problem areas to effectively aid in the process of rebuilding and refinishing turbine blades.  The areas included the proper tool, which would permit him access to inaccessible areas of the blade to do sanding; the proper type of abrasive which would have long life and the proper rate of metal removal; and lastly the most effective size abrasive disc needed to efficiently sand the blade.

The Houston Tool & Hoist technical sales representative worked with both our customer and our vendors using trial test methods to choose the proper type (formulation, backing and grit) to perform the job.  Final selection was based on the number of pieces finished per dollar investment of abrasive.  This trial test proved to the customer that the cheapest means is not always the best solution.  In fact, one of the discs selected was about 2-1/2 times the cost but outperformed the competition by a factor of more than 400%.

Currently, we maintain local inventories for this customer and continue to assist him in viewing and solving problem areas with new applications.  Our customer views Houston Tool & Hoist as an asset to their company.


Trumpf Nibblers

"I understand you get involved in specialty tool manufacturing?" a recent caller asked Damian Walat, president of Houston Tool & Hoist Co., Inc. in Houston, Texas.

The caller was an engineer with one of the world's largest telecommunications companies.  Another customer of ours had given him Mr. Walat's name.  The engineer described his application.  He needed to cut a window into an aluminum conduit in order to work on the fiber optics inside.  He couldn't use a saw because the resulting chips would be too small to recover from the pipe and damage the contents.

Walat thought of the use of an electric nibbler.  He suggested the field people first drill a small hole in the conduit, then, insert the nose of the nibbler into the hole.  They could then use the nibbler to cut out any size or shape window.  The engineer liked the concept and was so sure that it would work that he immediately placed an order for the unit.

Results were positive!  The nibbler performed as Walat and the engineer thought it would.  After the crew completed their work inside the conduit, they simply secured the window into its original position with epoxy.

The customer was so pleased with the success of the solution that he bought setups for all of his service centers worldwide.


Restaurant Chain

A locally based restaurant chain grew to such proportions that they decided to fabricate their own kitchens.  This included kitchen counter tops, back splashes, overhead vents and other stainless steel fixtures typically found in commercial kitchens.  It was obvious to them they could save money by custom fabricating their own fixtures at a central location rather than buying from an outside vendor.  The economic incentives were there but the solution was not obvious.

Our technical sales representative, with his knowledge of air tools, coated abrasives, three-dimensional abrasives and buffs and compounds, outlined the proper approach for him. Our representative showed the customer each phase of production step by step and product by product.  The customer now has the knowledge and ability to fabricate his own commercial kitchen fixtures.  Both the product and applications knowledge led the way to meeting this company's  need.