Empire’s business has traditionally been in four sectors – (1) Portables including blast tanks, (2) Airblast Rooms, (3) Cabinets – standard and modified, and (4) Automation. We have eagerly serviced all these sectors with not only the standard, off-the-catalog fare but also customized solutions based on customer needs and requirements. In such cases, the customer and our technical team work towards the vision of increased productivity through a customized solution. Our goal is to “engineer” this vision into reality by blending proven designs from the past with newly engineered sub-systems. This results in a product that provides the customer the much-needed “competitive edge” in their business.
We were quick to recognize that customization wasn’t restricted to automated equipment alone. Even low-cost equipment could benefit from customization…..About 5 years ago, our distributors identified a market need for low-cost manual airblast rooms. At that time, we were already a prominent player in Airblast Rooms. However, this newly identified need required a fresh approach to making it more cost-effective and presentable to a new market segment. This led to the inception of our PEB line. The Pre
Engineered Booths (PEB) provided a low-cost alternative to our customers who didn’t necessarily want all the frills of a conventional airblast room. These were customers who would otherwise have carried out manual blasting in their existing makeshift rooms, containers etc. The PEB design gives them the option of purchasing a professionally engineered, balanced system, or parts of a room such as just the reclaim system, a set of swing doors with air inlets, wall and roof panels etc., all unpainted to save on costs. This is a classic example of us “engineering to enhance our customer’s competitive edge” in their operations.
Our approach to sales has always been highly consultative. In order to facilitate this process, we invested a significant amount into modernizing our Demo Lab. We now have a demo facility that customers and distributors have endorsed as being second-to-none in the industry. The entire Empire product line is available for testing parts at this lab, including automation and robotics. Our approach to automation has always been to reduce ambiguity and get as close as possible to actual production process parameters.
Whenever feasible, our prospects for automated equipment visit the demo facility with their parts and expected results for finish and productivity. In some cases, they also have a concept of the type of equipment. Empire engineers and technicians work with them closely to design their process, whether it be cleaning, grit blasting or shot peening with automated equipment. We are proud of the fact that this lab has been home to developing process specifications for numerous applications for both new and existing customers. During the course of selling automated equipment, most times the customer is buying into a concept. Our first approach is to eliminate as many unknowns as possible for both of us at this stage.
Secondly, there could be several solutions to an engineering problem. At Empire, we have the luxury with our demo facility to test as many such solutions as possible. For instance, Robotics may not be the answer to all automation projects. A cell machine with a nozzle carriage might be all that a particular application requires. Our next approach is to provide as many options as practical for an application. If a particular application does require a robotic solution, our investment in Robotmaster (software) allows us to simulate robot path with your actual part. This powerful tool helps us size up the blast cabinet, check for interferences, and carry out a large part of the path program long before designing the machine.
Lastly, we strongly believe in education and training. This goes well beyond employing educated and well-trained personnel, to spreading it out to our distribution channels as well. The Empire Distributor’s School is conducted every spring and continues to attract over 25 students every year. Over three days, the students learn every aspect of our business and technology, with theoretical and practical sessions. Armed with expertise, we can then expect precise collection of data when our distributor channel members go out to meet with customers and report back on an application, once again eliminating ambiguity and reducing risk.
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