manufacturing Archives - Unitherm Insulation Systems

January 21, 2015 by UniAdmin

4 Common Misconceptions About Industrial Insulation

We come across many people who have the wrong idea about industrial insulation and think what we offer is not right for them. We ask them a few questions, and usually they are left wondering why they haven’t insulated their equipment sooner. We throw them a UniVest and they rush out the door to install it (cause it’s really that simple).

So we don’t have to go through the same spiel every time, we’ve compiled the most common misconceptions people have when it comes to industrial insulation.

1. Insulation is for my home, not my machines

This is the most common one we come across and it’s pretty obvious why. The first thing people think about when you say insulation is their home and what’s inside their walls. That’s a perfect analogy because UniVests work the same way. Properly insulating your home saves you hundreds of dollars a year on home heating and cooling costs. It protects outside temperatures from affecting the temperatures you want inside. The easier it is for your home to maintain its temperature, the less you spend at the end of the month. UniVests are no different, except we deal with higher inside temperatures. Take a second and think, if you save hundreds by properly insulating your home, imagine how much could be saved when insulating your machine. We’ll give you a hint…its much greater!

2. No Budget for Insulation

We all have budgets. Yeah, and we know they can be small and hard to deal with. Trust us, Windows 98 is getting really old at the office. Making new purchases on things that you are already operating without can seem like a luxury purchase. Little known fact is that with proper insulation, a company can see ROI (Return on Investment) in under 12 months. In the right conditions, a single set of UniVests or ISOCOVERS can last 5+ years after installed. That’s 5+ years of return. In 12 months or less, most companies make back the purchase price of a UniVest from energy savings alone.

3. My machines are working fine now without insulation

We’re sure they do, but wouldn’t you like for them to work better? Insulation minimizes the downtime of the machines they are on and relieves stresses from a hard working machine. This even increases the lifespan of the equipment. Wouldn’t we all like to work a little easier? Your machines would too.

4. Who Needs Protection Anyway

The biggest thing that people don’t realize is that insulation also improves workplace safety. As seen in a few of our videos on Youtube, a heated barrel with a UniVest on it can be touched and worked around without any special protective gear. More Safety = Less downtime and less liability. Insulation can also decrease surrounding ambient air temperature. Decreasing work fatigue due to high temperature and more comfortable work areas.

Here’s typically the point where some people are kicking themselves for not already having insulation installed. If you didn’t make it this far, we completely understand. Our insulation systems are much more than the sum of their parts and offer a lot more usability than most people realize. If you’ve finally come to the conclusion that insulation could benefit you, take a look around our online shopping cart at www.shop.unitherm.com. For some help finding the product, measuring, or just want some more insulation entertainment like this blog, visit our youtube page: www.Youtube.com/UniThermInsulations

September 24, 2014 by UniAdmin

New Shop Experience

We’ve just released our latest version of our new shop and we are excited for our customers to start using it. Shop.Unitherm.com is a little different and is much easier to use than our old shop. What we wanted most from our new store is ease of use for the customer and usability, and we think we’ve achieved that. On the store front, you can see our running specials and featured products, along with all of our product categories, and helpful links.

Ease of Use

The main goal of our new shop was to make the shopping experience easy and accessible to the customer. On our old shop, we found many customers would get lost or not know how to find what they are looking for. Now we have multiple avenues to search for what you need. Every page can be found with a couple of simple clicks. Whether you have a question or need to check out, you can get there from every page.

New Shop Features

Crucial to our design was adding a few new features to aid the customer. Some are more subtle than others, but here are a few of my favorite.

What we consider to be best new feature of the site is how easily you can find the right product for you. Each product is set into specific categories based on your needs, applications, or industry. Within each category you can set custom search perimeters to find the right size product you need. By selecting:

Diameter or Circumference
Width

You can have the exact fitting UniVest ordered in seconds. This makes our selection process even easier.

You can now also compare multiple products to be certain which is perfect for you. Selecting up to 5 items, and clicking the “compare” button will bring up a screen that will list all of the products benefits and features side-by-side for your viewing. From here you can add to cart or click an individual item for a closer look.

My Account adds the ability to return to your personal preferences and shopping history. From the My Account tab you can track your orders, change your preferences, and manage all of your information. This gives our customer the benefit of a personalized shopping experience.

My personal favorite feature is the new Wish List. The Wish List is your own personal shopping cart that you can come back to at anytime. Unsure about a product, not ready to check out, or are just making a dream Christmas List, the Wish List makes it simple to keep track of your items. Inside the Wish List page you can view products, compare, and add to cart normally. This list is saved to your customer account so it will be there next time you choose to visit.

Checking Out

Lastly (and probably most important), we felt that our check out process was a little overcomplicated and some customers had issues submitting their order. We condensed the order process down to 3 easy steps and can be completed in the matter of seconds. The checkout process becomes even easier and faster when My Account is used with the new checkout process.

Let’s Go Shopping

Enough talking about the new shop, take it for a spin, and see all our new changes for yourself. Let us know what you think and what your favorite new feature is on our Facebook & Twitter pages. Stay tuned for more exciting content soon.

New Shop Page: Shop.Unitherm.com

Facebook: facebook.com/UniTherm

Twitter: twitter.com/UniTherm

March 17, 2014 by UniAdmin

Check Out Our New Website!!!

UniTherm Insulation Systems, manufacturer of insulation blankets for high temperature applications, is excited to announce the launch of its redesigned website this week at: www.unitherm.com.

The design, e-commerce software platform and infrastructure of UniTherm.com have been completely reengineered. The goal is to provide a more personalized and simplified user experience on the website and e-commerce site. The revamped site also boasts ad units and integrations that are larger, more effective, and newly optimized for mobile users. Visitors of the site can now enjoy a seamless experience across all screens — desktop, mobile and tablet.

With the launch of the e-commerce website, the company’s President, Dan Sherrill, explains that, “In today’s market the launch of a new website may not be seen as groundbreaking, but within our niche, we recognized a need for and developed an e-commerce site that provides clear-cut, detailed information (such as delivery, product care, common FAQ’s, technical specifications etc.) on every product or part we sell.”

The new website includes a clean design, with brand new content that enables customers to easily search for new products and services. It is fully integrated with the company’s social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and its blog, and has an integral customer relationship management system to ensure that UniTherm’s sales and after-service professionals are fully informed of its customers’ needs.

Furthermore, the new web site showcases UniTherm’s pioneering efforts in offering a standardized product line –including product specifications for a broad range of available sizes and levels of performance– to make it easy for customers to order our products. This product line, along with the instant quoting, has eliminated the need for each project to receive a custom estimate and allows all orders to be instantly placed and processed.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with our new website. It’s well-designed, streamlined, and easy to use – just like our products,” according to Sherrill. “Our goal was to create a website that meets the needs of both our customers, who need easy access to our information, and the UniTherm staff, who need to be able to update the content easily to keep our customers informed. What we ended up with is a web site that looks great, is loaded with features, and has the ability to grow.”

May 14, 2013 by Kendal White

Manufacturing – Made in America (Infographic)

Generally, the mass population views manufacturing as beating hammers, arduous physical labor, and ancient assembly lines: employees don’t have to ponder their actions, due to their robotic movements. Manufacturing has come light years since its birth in America. Gone are the days of little pay, few benefits, and the distress of job outsourcing.

U.S. manufacturing, ‘made in the USA,’ is making its resurgence. Factory employment has increased for the first time in more than a decade: 500,000 jobs created in three years. The perception is manufacturing in the United States is slowly vanishing, and it may have appeared that outsourcing would be the demise of the American worker. Nevertheless, 30% of the country’s productivity progress is due to manufacturing.

Countless companies are reestablishing their manufacturing presence in America: Sleek Audio, Peerless Industries, The Coleman Company, NCR, Walmart, and Apple. Companies are parting with their Chinese industrial divisions to move back to America; production in the U.S. will attain cost efficiencies, increase local control of the manufacturing process, and curtail lead times. Mounting shipping and manufacturing costs have companies concerned about their future in China.

According to experts, the cost advantage associated with China is steadily declining. American companies have won substantial allowances from Unions in the past 10 years; meanwhile, China’s middle class is demanding increased pay. The United States has access to cheap energy, and its factories are profiting from the shale boom. Planes and ships are transporting goods and materials thousands of miles outside of the U.S., and this translates to steep fuel prices.

Despite the sheer size of U.S. manufacturing, 10^th largest economy in the world, China has the upper hand on future transportation. China’s high-speed light rail system stretches from Beijing to Guangzhou to Shenzhen, and it will continue to challenge airmail rates. The expansion of a high-speed rail system in America trails China by eons, yet China’s infrastructure lacks that of the United States’. China’s sprawling cities possess millions of consumers, and this is its epicenter; its wealth is exceptionally concentrated. The United States has a retail foundation stretching to secluded areas of the country due to the middle-class population base throughout the country.

An advanced breed of manufacturing is spreading in America: specialized manufacturing. Specialized training and computer skills are in high demand because of progressive technologies and an increase in machine quantity. Mastery of these machines is a necessity, and countless manufacturing positions are now demanding a 2-year technical degree, soon to be a 4-year degree.

Manufacturing in America is evolving and making its comeback. The U.S. has solidified its place as the largest manufacturer of goods.

May 31, 2012 by Kendal White

Up-skilling in the Manufacturing Sector

$29.75 an hour. That’s $61,880 a year. Not too shabby.

Manufacturing is one of the remaining sectors that provide high-paying jobs to workers without college degrees. For high school grads, earning potential in manufacturing exceeds earning potential in construction, logistics, and hospitality, other sectors that generally don’t require post-secondary education. Workers in manufacturing can get in on the ground level and work their way up to management positions, garnering raises and benefits along the way.

Is this all about to change?
According to the April Job Report by the US Department of Commerce, the education level in the manufacturing workforce is rising steadily: in 2011, 53% of all manufacturing workers had at least some college education, up 10% from 1994.

image from the US Dept. of Commerce

What does this mean for manufacturing?
Because the manufacturing sector has begun building a labor force of higher-educated and higher-skilled workers, factory work isn’t what it once was. Today’s high-tech manufacturing industries take advantage of innovative engineering and state-of-the-art machinery—no longer the dark image of 17^th century industrial life portrayed by Dickens.

A skilled and educated work force will keep US manufacturers competitive in a global economy and will spur technological advancement. In fact, House candidate Dan Kildee claims that any disinvestment in education is bad manufacturing and industrial policy: “Its just bad policy to not educate the kid who might have the next billion dollar idea. We have to create productive produces in this country.”

Hopefully the up-skilling trend won’t bar the middle class workers it once sustained. Rising education levels may encourage students and current members of the workforce to pursue degrees or certificates in manufacturing-related fields. Grants and scholarships in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education abound, and many manufacturers support employees (via time off or funding or both) as they continue their education.

May 24, 2012 by Kendal White

How to Buffer your Supply Chain from the Blow of Natural Disasters

Tsunamis in Japan. Flooding in Thailand. Before 2011, many of us went about our business, unaware of how intricately connected we are in international supply chains. But then, distant shocks caused ripple effects that rocked the entire world.

Such disasters expose the shortcoming of lean manufacturing—although efficient under regular operating conditions, scarcely stocked inventory leads to a greater dependence on a decentralized network and just-in-time delivery.

For the consumer, it’s easy to forget that our goods must travel a complex path as they come into existence and arrive at our local retailer. They, regrettably, don’t appear out of thin air, ready to be purchased the moment we feel the urge to buy them. It’s hard to imagine iPods out of reach because of a far-off shortage of lithium-ion batteries, but that’s the reality of this elaborately entangled ecosystem.

Multinational manufacturers, on the other hand, have a greater appreciation for frailty of the supply chain. Global giants like Honda, Apple, and Intel will tell you—in a split second, Mother Nature can shake even the most carefully crafted supply chain, putting any company’s operational prowess to the test. After the twin tragedies in Asia, economists don’t expect many industries to “return to normal” until 2013.

Still, safeguarding your supply chain and setting up emergency management protocols will lessen the blow if (or when) a natural disaster strikes. Even if you’re not a global giant—catastrophes can hit close to home, knocking out your niche. Just last year, a record number of disastrous tornadoes streaked across the American South.

image from flickr, courtesy of Wesley Fryer

So what can you do about it? It’s a difficult situation because in some respects there’s nothing you can do—weather will rage when it wants to. But here are some tips that will help you prepare ahead of time:

Run best- and worst-case scenarios to test how your organization would handle emergency situations.
Establish a crisis team that is responsible for making and communicating decisions throughout the supply chain.
Diversify suppliers and transportation, which will allow for flexibly in times of disaster recovery.
Maintain detailed processes and procedures and keep them up-to-date with the latest plans.
Review suppliers’ disaster plans on a regular basis and align their plans with your operations.
Monitor threats and trends in your country or region.
Back-up all of your trade-related documents in electronic format and store records offsite.

You can’t control the whims of the Mother Nature, but you can set up supply chain strategies to handle shortages and market fluctuations. Many multinational manufacturers took a hit in 2011—how likely would their recovery have been without tactical and predetermined emergency management protocols? For proof that such protocols make post-disaster situations passable, look at the iPods and Accords all around us today.

May 18, 2012 by Kendal White

Manufacturing Matters: 5/18 Weekly Wrap Up

DuPont announces prestigious packaging awards that recognize leaders in innovation, sustainability, and cost/waste reduction. Top honors went to FreshCase Packaging for its new vacuum seal that keeps meat looking and staying fresh longer than conventional packaging.

Packaging award winners, image from dupont.com

MITnews recaps “The Future of Manufacturing and the US” conference, which emphasized the importance of innovation from the manufacturing sector. MITnews highlights the fact that the US added 50,000 manufacturing jobs in January alone, and big manufacturers like Ford continue to move overseas plants back home.

Plastics News announces the DME Plastics University Scholarship Program, which will offer $1,000 awards to students enrolled in plastics manufacturing-related programs. This incentive is one of many intended to boost the number of skilled workers in the plastics industry.

The Brookings Institute discusses how location impacts manufacturing plants and the industry as a whole. In the report, “Locating American Manufacturing: Trends in the Geography of Production,” Brookings examines the advantages of clustering.

US manufacturers, image from brookings.edu

May 15, 2012 by Kendal White

Encouraging Insourcing to Revive the Economy

‘Made in America’—how important is it?

It’s no secret that American manufacturing has struggled since the late 1990s. We’ve seen massive layoffs and a growing trend to outsource jobs overseas—with some companies moving more than 90% of their manufacturing to countries in Asia or South America. But there is hope on the horizon. Over the past two years, the manufacturing industry has regained some of its former strength and added more than 400,000 jobs here at home.

The White House has turned its focus towards domestic manufacturing. In his State of the Union Address earlier this year, Obama advocated that insourcing would stimulate economic recovery. Companies like Ford, Honda, General Electric, Caterpillar and Intel have already moved plants back to the US, and the current administration encourages other American companies to follow suit.

“To create an economy that is built to last,” Obama announced, “we must ensure that the next generation of products are not only invented here, but manufactured here as well. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Companies that choose to invest in America, they get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. Does that make any sense? It’s time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas.”

To encourage insourcing, the Obama administration proposed tax incentives for companies that return jobs to American workers. The White House also introduced the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, intended to accelerate innovation by investing in manufacturing technologies. By bringing together industry, educators, and federal and state agencies, the network aims to

Bridge the gap between basic research and product development
Provide shared assets to help manufacturers access cutting-edge capabilities and equipment
Educate and train students and workers in advanced manufacturing skills

With a united effort to reshore, it looks like the tides will turn for American manufacturing. Based on a recent survey, economists predict that one third of American companies worth $1 billion or more will bring back manufacturing plants that moved overseas during the past two decades. The outsourcing trend may be losing steam as our technology improves and domestic manufacturing becomes a more viable option.

Check out UniTherm’s American-made insulation jackets that help manufactures save significantly on energy costs.

May 11, 2012 by Kendal White

Manufacturing Matters: 5/11 Weekly Wrap Up

The New York Times reports that manufacturing is “one of the few bright spot of the recovery, restoring 489,000 jobs since the beginning of 2010.” The article also describes geographic distinctions in growth, with half of the most manufacturing-specialized metropolitans now located in the Midwest.

Plastics News reports that in California a controversial pro-plastics lesson has been removed from a new statewide curriculum on the environment. After the EPA looked over the proposed curriculum, the section titled “Advantages of Plastic Shopping Bags” was replaced with recycling statistics in an 11^th grade textbook.

image from flickr

ICIS News announces that researchers at technology company Siemens have developed an alternative to ABS plastic. The new material—made with 70% renewable content—is the result of a three-year project funded by the German Research Ministry and was successfully used to make a vacuum cleaner cover.

image from icis.com

GreenBiz examines the Sustainability Leadership List, which recognizes environmentally-conscious companies each year. But because some criticize the results, they also discuss plans for the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings that would develop a standardized method of measuring and ranking sustainability performance.

Plastics Today recognizes Dignity Health, the founding sponsor of the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, as one of the first hospital groups in the country to start using pigment-free patient plastics. This California-based healthcare organization is a leader in sustainability efforts to reduce hospitals’ impact on the environment by adopting innovative alternatives.

May 4, 2012 by Kendal White

Manufacturing Matters: 5/4 Weekly Wrap Up

Another great week ripe with industry news. Here are the highlights:

Plastics News reports that the shortage of nylon 12 has led the auto industry to seek alternatives resins to use in fuel lines, connectors, tubes, and other key components. Molders and resin makers have offered a variety of possible alternatives, and automakers have established a system to begin testing.

The Huffington Post addresses the current the job market as US Congressional Candidate Stacey Lawson proposes a plan for creating jobs and rebuilding our middle class. Lawson stresses that we can by reclaim the American dream by “restoring the high-wage jobs that are the foundation of a sustainable economic recovery,” and she lays out 7 priorities to help us get there.

Clean Technica overviews the Department of Energy’s voluntary energy savings specifications designed to help building owners, operators, and manufacturers develop minimum performance requirements. The DOE recently released new specifications for lighting troffers and parking lot lighting, which could reduce energy use by 40%.

image from cleantechnica.com

Industry Intelligence announces a new compostable bioplastic film that extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by up to five days. The new film, developed by Sira-Flex Resolve, creates an ideal atmosphere to better preserve stored food.

image from flickr, courtesy of I-5 Design & Manufacture

And in a free webinar, Design World discusses how Design for Manufacturability (DDM) eliminates many restraints associated with conventional manufacturing. The webinar examines how DDM can create plastic parts, layer-by-layer without machining, molding, or casting.

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