Strabeko B.V. Tilburg

Strabeko B.V. is a Tilburg-based blasting, metallizing, and coating company, founded in 1964. It has since grown into a business that performs a variety of surface treatments, such as cabinet blasting, metallizing, powder coating, wet painting, and glass bead blasting.

At Strabeko B.V. in Tilburg, products weighing up to approximately 10,000 kg are hung on trolleys for powder coating. The trolleys are manually pushed into the oven. Due to insufficient lubrication, this results in a significant physical strain on the staff. At least 6 to 9 man-days per year are spent removing the trolleys from the rail to grease the bearings. Once the new building is completed, this workload will double.
Immediately after lubrication, there is a relatively large amount of grease on the bearings, but just before the next greasing, there is almost none. This shortens the lifespan of the bearings.
The temperature in the oven reaches up to approximately 200°C, and a lubricant is needed that will not drip at this temperature. Over the years, a wide range of lubricants have been tried, but none have provided the desired result.
In addition to the costs of expensive greases (around €1,600 per year), labor costs, and production downtime, the bearings also had to be replaced annually, at an average cost of over €3,000.

SWEPCO 722 HiTemp Chain & Roller Lubricant, combined with an automatic lubrication system, has proven to be the solution. SWEPCO 722 remains stable up to 293°C and does not drip. By installing the automatic lubrication system, there is no longer a need to remove the trolleys from the rail for lubrication, and there are no longer fluctuations in the presence of lubrication. This significantly lightens the workload for the staff. The trolleys now roll smoothly through the rail as standard, and the bearings are continuously lubricated with a minimal amount of oil, which extends their lifespan.

• The trolleys now move more smoothly, reducing the physical strain on the staff.
• The bearings receive continuous lubrication instead of occasional lubrication, which has extended their lifespan.
• Since the system was installed in 2009, no bearings have had to be replaced.
• There is no longer a need to remove the trolleys from the rails.
• This has resulted in a saving of 6 to 9 man-days per year for lubrication, and with the new building, this will double.
• The oil reservoir can be topped up at any time without causing production downtime.
• Due to the minimal amount of oil sprayed onto the bearings each time, there has been a significant reduction in lubricant purchasing costs. The company now spends less than €150 annually on oil, compared to the previous €1,600.
• Due to the excellent results with SWEPCO 722, Strabeko now also uses SWEPCO 121 Tri-Plex Universal Grease for general lubrication and SWEPCO 708 Industrial/Turbine Oil for pneumatic tools.

“When we were advised to switch to oil lubrication, our biggest concern was that it would start dripping. In collaboration with AMBI, a system was installed that has significantly reduced maintenance costs and made the work much easier for our staff.” – Mr. Van den Dries, Director-Owner.

Strabeko Straal Metalliseer en Coatingbedrijf has been using SWEPCO lubricants since 2007.