10/21/2021
Did a job for a local company here in Modesto called SunOpta, Inc. They are a leading global company focused on natural food, indredient sourcing, organic food, and specialty foods. I was provided the opportunity and introduced to Senior Plant Engineer, Patrick Fischer via with Rexel Automation Solutions. There are many OEM parts that cannot be sourced because of global supply chain issues for their automated palletizing systems. Even if all OEM parts were available for them to order, most don’t last long from the 24-7 production stress and environmental factors. So is stepping in to help reverse engineer them with a more robust goal and better choice of materials for the different environments they are in. The part in my post is a steam regulating valve key, machined from Ultem 1000 that is part of a bigger housing assembly for their CIP process. Patrick has waited over 2 months for the original OEM manufacturer to get him replacements of this exact part or an ETA on delivery with zero luck. So with the introduction from , we were able to get our foot in the door and after today’s delivery of parts/plant tour, their go to shop is officially . We also did a Teflon version so they could test which material will hold up better though both are rated well for such high temps from something like steam. Appreciation to both Sonny and Patrick for the opportunity to earn the business of such a huge company, SunOpta, Inc.
