Lillbacka USA • 1629 Prime Court, Suite 400 • Orlando, FL 32809Phone (847) 301-1300 • Fax (847) 301-2562 • www.lillbackausa.com

VOLUME 11 2018

Reducing Cycle Time, Maximizing Operating Efficiency & Increasing Output...pages 2 & 3

Watchman Software: Manage Production on a Global Level...page 5

New Finn-Power Intelligent Crimper Control...page 4

Technology Day & Golf Tournament...pages 6 & 7

Customer Profile 2

Since 1964, Transmission & Fluid Equipment, Inc. (TFE) has provided high-quality Fluid Power and Power Transmission products across the United States, and particularly to northeast and central Indiana, northwest Ohio, and southern Michigan. After a half-century, TFE is still a growing family-owned and operated company with emphasis on quality products and service for the OEM customer and the end user.

Today, TFE has evolved into three Indiana locations, two in Fort Wayne, and one in Indianapolis, with 90 employees and 60,000 square feet of warehouse, production, and office area. While TFE has a healthy counter business in all three locations, it mostly services OEM customers in such industries as: material handling, food processing, trucking, ergonomics, construction, vocational vehicles, etc.

Crimping Integrity Chris Hughes, president, explains that TFE produces a wide range of hose assemblies to exact customer specifications while exceeding SAE standards. Many of these assemblies go into critical applications such as power steering and brake hoses. “There are many applications where our OEM customers are building equipment where a person is being raised in the air and lowered to the ground. The crimps on our hoses have to be perfect every time.”

Finn-Power Crimpers Help Reduce Cycle Time, Maximize Operating Efficiency, and Increase Output for Midwest Distributor

“They can go a million or two million cycles before they need maintenance. They are just monsters, and very repeatable. They are the most reliable crimpers that we ever had.”

TFE purchased its first Finn-Power crimper nearly 20 years ago. “When we were out visiting manufacturers we started to see a number of the Finn-Power crimpers in action at their plants, and it made sense to begin acquiring them,” says Hughes. “They can go a million or two million cycles before they need maintenance. They are just monsters, and very repeatable. They are the most reliable crimpers that we ever had.”

Finn-Power 120 CrimperToday, TFE has a total of eight Finn-Power crimpers spread through its three facilities. The latest Finn-Power crimper was the 120S. The Finn-Power 120 from Lillbacka is a high-speed, high-production model that has a crimping force of up to 280 tons. It quickly adjusts and crimps to an exact dimension and can adjust in .01 mm increments. The 120 is designed with soft and even die movement, using a twin-pump hydraulic system which eliminates pressure shock during crimping. The 120 crimping machine is designed to handle large jobs with optimal crimping force, speed, and efficiency. These models are full-scale production units.

What distinguishes them are their larger die opening, strength, and speed. These production units can accommodate small and larger

continued on page 3

Chris Hughes, TFE’s president (right) and Steve Caccamo, operations, inspect a hose assembly produced on the Finn-Power 120 crimper.

The Finn-Power 120 is a high-speed, high-production model that has a crimping force of up to 280 tons. It quickly adjusts and crimps to an exact dimension and can adjust in .01 mm increments.

Customer Profile 3

Continued from page 2

assemblies. Their large pass-through head design makes them ideal for crimping elbow assemblies, flange pieces, and oddly-shaped parts.

Steve Caccamo, operations, explains that TFE’s number one goal in purchasing the 120 was to maintain the highest quality and reduce cycle time. “We enjoy the Finn-Power brand,” reflects Caccamo. “We wanted to add to our fleet. We also wanted to increase our turnaround by reducing our crimp cycle time. We must have that turnaround to keep our production running. And of course, you need the security that the crimper is going to run when you need it.”

Industry Acceptance“An important feature that doesn’t get much publicity is the fact that every major hose manufacturer will allow you to build an assembly on a Finn-Power crimper,” adds Hughes. “That gives us a great advantage in the marketplace that other crimpers in the industry do not provide. Finn-Power crimpers are universally accepted by all hose manufacturers.”

"The integrity of the crimp is extremely important to TFE. Our customers expect the highest quality and that is what the Finn-Power crimpers deliver for us.”

“With Finn-Power, we have consistency of the crimp,” adds Caccamo “We don’t have to be concerned with ovaling or some type of an non-conforming crimp. The integrity of the crimp is extremely important to TFE. Our customers expect the highest quality and that is what the Finn-Power crimpers deliver for us.”

Quick Turnaround TFE’s arsenal of crimping and swaging machines allow the company great flexibility in the type and amount of hose assemblies it can provide to its customers. “Today, we no longer experience what you would call a long run,” continues Caccamo. “In the past, businesses ordered in bulk, and we would build 400 - 500 hose assemblies in one run. Today, with just-in-time deliveries there are purchase orders for as little as one piece. Our customers are reducing their inventories and increasing their turns. The Finn-Power crimpers with easy setup, quick die change, fast cycle times, ergonomics, etc., reduce the amount of time to produce the final product and allow us to provide that value added element for our customers. The Finn-Power crimpers have allowed us to reduce our cycle time, maximize our operating efficiency, and increase our output. They help ensure a dependable and safe work environment for our operators, while meeting or exceeding the needs and expectations of our customers.”

"The Finn-Power crimpers have allowed us to reduce our cycle time, maximize our operating efficiency, and increase our output. They help ensure a dependable and safe work environment for our operators, while meeting or exceeding the needs and expectations of our customers.”

“Since 2009, we have experienced double-digit growth each year,” concludes Hughes. “We need reliable machines to accomplish these results. We have tried quite a few different crimper brands over the years, but we’ve always come back to Finn-Power. They aren’t the cheapest...but they are the best. Finn-Power crimpers are part of our strategic planning for our company. When you are a growing company you can’t worry about your equipment...you don’t have the time. It has to be running, and that is why we choose Finn-Power.”

The 120 is designed with soft and even die movement, using a twin-pump hydraulic system which eliminates pressure shock during crimping.

TFE’s number one goal in purchasing the 120 was to maintain the highest quality and reduce cycle time.

New Product 4

New Intelligent Crimper ControlThe new Finn-Power Intelligent Crimper Control (ICC) has an industrial-grade touch screen that is engineered for tough conditions. Visual symbols on the control guide assist the operator to complete the task with ease and comfort. The ICC menus are language neutral, thus allowing operators with different language backgrounds to be comfortable in operating the machine. The screen has brightness and contrast control to provide optimum readability in any lighting condition.

State-of-the-art quality monitoring assures that the crimp is made to the correct diameter and crimping pressure at all times. A report is automatically generated confirming that only quality assemblies are produced.

Connectivity of the control to the company network, and even to the internet, elevates the crimping machine and crimping cell management to new levels where all machines, regardless of their global locations, is provided with the ability to use the latest updated crimping data and parameters.

Lillbacka Finn-Power machines have earned the reputation for producing high quality, robust, accurate, and durable machines serving various industrial applications, including: hydraulic and industrial hose

assemblies, wire, cable, metals, plastics, rubber, fiberglass, wood, and ropes that are formed or joined together.The newly developed ICC has a long list of standard features to assure the crimping process is performed to the highest standards regardless of the material crimped. Please visit www.Lillbackausa.com for more information on the standard features.

The new Finn-Power Intelligent Crimper Control was developed with the vast knowledge that the Lillbacka Group has gained during the 40+ years of manufacturing the industry’s finest crimping machines.

The many benefits of the new Finn-Power Intelligent Crimper Control includes: diameter crimping, actual die position, actual pressure, counter counts ascending/descending, motor stand-by, and greasing alarm.

The ICC provides the Finn-Power customers with the ultimate in usability, connectivity, and quality control. Data transfer is available through USB or Ethernet TCP/IP.

Software 5

Watchman is a digitalized solution which enables faster and more efficient production processes by reducing manual work. Using Watchman, you can enter the order information into the software which transmits the information straight to the Lillbacka crimping machines and cutters.

Watchman software provides a new level of management capability for Finn-Power manufacturing machines and cells. Watchman streamlines the work in the production cells using Lillbacka machines. With Watchman, the production can be managed and planned on a global level.

Watchman also guides the operator to accomplish the right tasks in the cell. Watchman makes the quality control easier and more efficient by gathering production information such as machining parameters. Watchman gathers thorough quality reports, including order information, technical machine settings, and production quality parameters.

With Watchman, you can create new orders faster and easier than ever. New orders can be created to Watchman anytime: for example, during the customer meeting. Watchman gives the delivery dates immediately to customer, even while you’re still in a meeting. When a new order is started, it will send order items to crimping machines and no manual input is needed from a machine operator. Watchman service can be installed on-premises (inside the factory) or delivered from cloud. Watchman system will handle all communication to Lillbacka crimpers and cutters and it will transmit the information concerning the orders to the machines. By using Watchman, company functions become more efficient with Watchman’s features that make the production and order processes faster and easier than ever.

Watchman – One Software to Manage Production on a Global Level

Technology Days 6

Lillbacka USA Hosts Technology Day & Golf EventLillbacka USA held its annual technology day and golf event on February 16 and 17 at its US headquarters in Orlando Florida. A significant focus related to introduction and training of the new ICC control to its independent sales representatives, customer service support providers, in addition to customers and potential customers. Approximately 35 individuals participated in the day’s events. The day’s technology day was followed by a group reception and dinner at a local restaurant, Canvas, in the growing Lake Nona Medical City area.

Saturday’s golf event began at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast. A total of nine groups participated in the golf event which included two ladies’ groups. We look forward to next year’s event which will be held on February 9, 2019.

For more information, please contact sales@lillbackausa.com

Golf Tournament 7

Visit us at www.lillbackausa.com1629 Prime Court, Suite 400 , Orlando, FL 32809Phone (847) 301-1300

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Since 1973, Lillbacka’s Finn-Power Crimpers have been the industry’s choice for quality and dependability.

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