How Maintenance Keeps Things Humming Across Quanex

Around the world, Quanex makes quality products—and doing so requires reliable equipment and facilities that operate as intended. That’s where our maintenance teams come in.

What happens when a piece of production equipment isn’t running properly? For our businesses around the world, it can mean excessive downtime, lost production and a hit to the bottom line.

That’s part of why our maintenance teams play such a critical role in our ongoing success.

“Production is not going to be successful if those workers don’t have equipment that runs well,” said Dan Wagner, plant engineer and maintenance manager at Quanex Custom Component’s (QCC’s) Molalla, Oregon, facility. “We have a symbiotic relationship—there’s no need for us if they’re not making product. One team won’t be successful without the other.”

Quanex uses a wide range of production equipment to deliver high-quality products and solutions to our customers. From extruders to dust collectors, from electrical equipment to rubber compounding mixers, our maintenance teams are responsible for keeping it all in good working condition.

“Maintenance is critical to everything we do,” said Viktor Henke, maintenance manager for Edgetech Europe in Heinsberg, Germany. “Avoiding downtime is a very important part of our success and meeting production goals.”

More Than “Just a Fix”

“Nothing in this world is perfect, so it’s our responsibility to make things better” said Michael Gaboury maintenance manager at Quanex’s Kent, Washington, facility, which manufactures our Mikron brand vinyl extrusions for windows and doors. Whether it’s production or the facility itself, Michael sees his team’s mission as to not just fix, but to improve.

“That’s our goal as a team—not just fixing problems when they happen, but diagnosing them, finding a solution and preventing them from happening in the first place,” he said. “Being proactive and predictive is our focus, and if you look outside of Quanex, I think that’s a bit of a lost art for many manufacturers.”

Indeed, maintenance is all about machine availability—because when machines aren’t available, production simply grinds to a halt. And that’s why being proactive is so important.

“Preventive maintenance is the most important part of what we do,” said Dan. “We have tasks we perform on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. We inspect the equipment—are these belts tight? Do these bearings need grease? Are we hearing any funny noises? We’re looking for anything that tells us the machine isn’t performing the way we want it to.”

Sometimes maintenance work takes our teams to unexpected places. Last year, in the midst of an unexpected snowstorm, our Rice Lake facility experienced a partial roof collapse in the middle of the night. The Rice Lake maintenance team leapt into action, helping to alleviate the problem, all without delaying orders meant to ship the following week.

Staying Nimble Through Teamwork

Because our maintenance teams are responsible for taking care of such a wide range of systems and equipment, it takes a true team effort.

“When a new problem presents itself, we have to rely on each other and find a solution through teamwork,” said Joerg Joppen, head of operations in Heinsberg. “Maintenance is not just a job for one person. Everyone plays a part.”

“We collaborate across all of our facilities,” said Kevin Graham, maintenance manager at QCC’s Orwell, Ohio, facility. “Some plants have more knowledge on certain pieces of equipment—everyone’s always willing to share their knowledge to help anyone across our business overcome a problem.”

“We have a great group of people who come from a lot of different backgrounds and areas of expertise,” said Seth Tipton, maintenance supervisor for Quanex’s Cambridge, Ohio, facility, which produces our Super Spacer^® and Dura^® products for the window and door market. “Some guys specialize in mechanical issues, others in electrical issues. Everyone has a role to play.”

Furthermore, it’s that variety that keeps the job exciting.

“There’s always something to learn,” said Travis Howell, maintenance and equipment manager in Cambridge. “Technologies change fast in the industry, and it’s up to us to keep up with those changes. Our team is not afraid to take on new challenges and support and learn from each other.”