Komatsu Staff Demand CEJN eSafe
Forestry machine manufacturer Komatsu Forest in Umeå is pleased with their quick connect couplings from CEJN. They started off by testing a handful of eSafe compressed air couplings, which were circulated round the different stations. “Every time we removed them we got complaints from our staff, proof that we needed to switch to CEJN eSafe,” states Esbjörn Öberg, Tool Technician at Komatsu Forest, a company with a requirement for safety products.
KOMATSU FOREST in Umeå, Sweden, has a vision: to become worldleader within the field of forestry machines. At their site and headquarters in Umeå with a workforce of 400, you can clearly feel the ambition. The facility shows continuous improvement with its fast-paced production. “Over the last ten years we have expanded from being asmall industry into a large production complex” says Esbjörn Öberg,Tool technician at Komatsu. One winning concept is that Komatsu always aims to provide that little extra feature for their customers, such as the cab with shock absorption, making the ride stable and comfortable for the user.
Testing CEJN
When Komatsu Forest was first introduced to CEJN eSafe compressed air couplings, they were very curious about the small size and non-recoil safety function. The aim is to use light, compressed air machines at the facility for optimum economy, but compressed air couplings can be clumsy. “Today we sometimes use battery-powered tools, which is an inferior solution due to a shorter life span, less power and the fact that parts can be hard to find,” says Esbjörn.
“Since switching to CEJN eSafe on our assembly line, our couplings require no maintenance”
- Esbjörn Öberg, Tool technician, Komatsu Forest
Komatsu Forest decided to test a handful of eSafe couplings, circulating them between different stations at the company for evaluation. After installation the staff got to use the eSafe couplings on their tools for a couple of weeks and then Esbjörn removed them for transfer to another station. “Every time I took the eSafe away, the staff started to complain,” states Esbjörn, who considered this feedback to be the confirmation he needed for switching throughout. “eSafe actually became the hot topic for a while here at the company and staff would come up to me asking when it was their turn to try the new coupling,” says Esbjörn with a laugh. Among the staff, the silent recoil has been the most appealing feature, and also the single-handed operation.
With eSafe, Komatsu Forest noticed that they could reduce the coupling size and still maintain the same performance level. This is good when you have to haul around your grinding tool but also for economy. On the assembly line they use air palettes to circulate the big aggregates and eSafe is able to handle the job: “The palette is driven by compressed air and eSafe has plenty of capacity for supplying the block with air,” says Esbjörn.
eSafe evaluation
The products Komatsu Forest was using before eSafe caused a lot of problems due to leakage and difficult connections.“Since introducing CEJN eSafe we haven’t had any problems with leakage,” says Esbjörn and continues “we always look at the overall economy and eSafe saves us money. We have now switched over 1000 couplings and it has been worth every penny”. It is clear to Komatsu Forest that using quality products from CEJN pays off. They are now looking into the eSafe streamline, which reduces both leakage and hose cuts with its coupling nut. When hose reels are to be changed, they prefer high-quality optimised hose reels from CEJN. “From experience we know that cheaper reels break down, so we invest in quality,” says Esbjörn. For CEJN, it is a delight to witness how our quality products speak for themselves when tested.
