Customer Success Stories: How nexAir Helped Companies Optimize Gas Supply for Increased Efficiency
From Challenge to Solution: A Metal Fabricator’s Journey
A southeastern metal fabrication company faced persistent challenges with their welding operations. Inconsistent gas flow led to quality variations in their finished products, creating bottlenecks in production and increasing rework costs.
“We knew something wasn’t right with our gas supply, but couldn’t pinpoint the exact issue,” their operations manager explained. After consulting with our team, we identified multiple inefficiencies in their delivery system and storage methods.
Our solution included:
- Redesigning gas distribution across their facility
- Implementing digital flow monitors at critical points
- Installing a microbulk system to replace outdated cylinder banks
- Creating backup protocols to prevent production interruptions
The results spoke for themselves. Within three months, their rework rate dropped by 42%, and production capacity increased by nearly a third. The company estimates annual savings exceeding $120,000, with additional benefits from improved worker productivity and reduced handling time.
This transformation showcases how optimized gas supply does more than just deliver a necessary input—it fundamentally changes production capabilities.
Healthcare Provider Improves Patient Care Through Supply Chain Excellence
When a regional healthcare network struggled with managing medical gas supplies across multiple facilities, the challenges went beyond logistics—patient care was at stake.
Their manual tracking system created unnecessary emergency deliveries and occasional supply concerns. Staff spent valuable time monitoring gas levels instead of focusing on patients.
Our approach centered on removing these worries entirely:
- Transitioning to telemetry-equipped tanks with remote monitoring
- Creating auto-replenishment schedules tailored to usage patterns
- Implementing safety redundancies beyond industry standards
- Providing staff training on efficient gas usage in clinical settings
With our expert KnowHow™, we created a system that essentially managed itself, allowing healthcare professionals to redirect approximately 900 hours annually toward patient care rather than supply management.
“The peace of mind alone would be worth the change,” noted their director of facilities. “But seeing our staff focus on patients instead of gas levels has been the real victory.”
Food Producer Reduces Waste While Expanding Market Reach
A specialty food manufacturer faced a common industry challenge: balancing product freshness with distribution reach. Their limited shelf life restricted sales to local markets, severely constraining growth potential.
Traditional packaging methods weren’t working, and product waste rates exceeded industry averages, particularly during summer months when temperature variations affected distribution.
Working collaboratively, we:
- Analyzed their current packaging atmosphere composition
- Conducted shelf-life testing with modified gas mixtures
- Redesigned their packaging equipment for optimal gas infusion
- Created quality verification methods for production staff
The customized modified atmosphere packaging solution extended product shelf life by 15 days—an improvement that immediately opened new market opportunities. Within six months, the company expanded distribution to three additional states while reducing product returns by 76%.
“We’re selling more and wasting less,” their CEO summarized. “That’s as straightforward as success gets in our business.”
Automotive Supplier Finds Efficiency Through Automation
An automotive parts supplier wanted to modernize their manufacturing process to remain competitive in a challenging market. Manual gas management created inconsistent results, especially during shift changes and peak production periods.
We helped this company Forge Forward by completely reimagining their approach to gas as a manufacturing input:
- Integrating automated gas delivery with their production scheduling system
- Installing digital mixers that adjust gas blends based on specific product requirements
- Implementing usage analytics that identified optimization opportunities
- Creating predictive maintenance protocols for gas delivery equipment
The new system eliminated human variables from the equation. Production quality metrics improved across all shifts, and the company achieved certification requirements that opened doors to new contracts with major automotive manufacturers.
The plant manager noted that the changes “transformed gas from a background utility to a strategic manufacturing advantage.”
These success stories demonstrate the substantial impact that optimized gas management can have across industries. Each company faced unique challenges, but all found that addressing gas supply strategically rather than as a simple commodity yielded benefits far beyond initial expectations.
Contact us today to discuss how we can create a success story for your operation through smarter gas supply solutions.
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Manufacturing downtime costs American companies billions annually. When production lines halt due to gas supply issues, every minute translates to lost revenue, missed deadlines, and frustrated customers. At nexAir, we've spent decades developing solutions that keep manufacturing operations running smoothly.
The Hidden Costs of Gas-Related Downtime
When manufacturers calculate downtime costs, they typically focus on labor and lost production. However, gas supply disruptions create cascading effects that multiply these losses:
- Production rescheduling that disrupts carefully optimized sequences
- Rush shipping fees to meet customer deadlines despite delays
- Quality inconsistencies when processes restart after interruptions
- Overtime costs to catch up after unplanned stoppages
- Reputation damage when delivery commitments are missed
For a typical mid-sized manufacturer, each hour of downtime represents $5,000-$10,000 in direct and indirect costs. Our analysis shows that gas-related issues cause 7-12% of total manufacturing downtime - a substantial opportunity for improvement.
From Reactive to Proactive: The Supply Continuum
Most facilities follow a predictable pattern in their gas management evolution:
Stage 1: Reactive Management At this stage, facilities order gas when they notice supplies running low or, worse, after running out. Emergencies are common, and disruptions are accepted as "part of doing business." One automotive parts supplier operating this way experienced 14 production interruptions in a single quarter.
Stage 2: Calendar-Based Management Facilities advance to scheduled deliveries based on estimated usage. While better than the reactive approach, this method still results in either excess inventory (tying up capital and space) or shortages when usage spikes occur. A plastics manufacturer following this model maintained 40% more cylinder inventory than necessary while still experiencing occasional stockouts.
Stage 3: Consumption-Based Management Our telemetry systems monitor actual gas consumption, automatically triggering orders based on usage patterns rather than calendar dates. This approach virtually eliminates both stockouts and excess inventory.
Stage 4: Integrated Supply Management The most advanced approach connects gas management directly to production planning systems. Upcoming production requirements automatically adjust supply parameters, ensuring resources are precisely aligned with needs. A medical device manufacturer using this approach reports zero gas-related downtime for 27 consecutive months while operating with minimal inventory buffers.
Our expert KnowHow™ in industrial gas applications allows us to guide customers through this evolution at a pace that makes sense for their operations.
Customizing Solutions for Maximum Uptime
Manufacturing environments vary dramatically in their gas requirements and operational constraints. We've developed flexible approaches that address these differences:
- For high-volume, consistent usage operations, our bulk systems eliminate the cylinder handling that frequently causes supply disruptions. Bulk installations include telemetry monitoring and automated ordering to prevent outages.
- For variable-demand environments, our microbulk delivery systems provide the benefits of bulk supply with lower volume commitments. These systems reduce handling requirements while maintaining the flexibility needed for changing production schedules.
- For specialized applications requiring multiple gas types, our gas management programs combine cylinder tracking, usage monitoring, and automated replenishment. This comprehensive approach ensures that specialty gases are always available when needed, regardless of how infrequently they might be used.
- For multi-site operations, our enterprise supply programs coordinate deliveries and optimize inventory across locations. By treating the organization's gas requirements holistically, we minimize both stockouts and excess inventory across the network.
This consultative approach ensures that manufacturers receive solutions aligned with their specific operational patterns rather than generic "one-size-fits-all" systems.
Beyond Traditional Supply: Integrated Services for Total Reliability
Maximum uptime requires more than just reliable gas delivery. Our integrated services address the full spectrum of gas-related reliability factors:
Equipment maintenance programs that prevent system failures before they impact production Technical gas specialists who resolve application issues that could otherwise cause production problems Safety training that prevents accidents leading to downtime events Emergency response capabilities that minimize impacts when unexpected events occur Supply chain redundancy that ensures continuity despite regional disruptions
These services complement our supply solutions to form a comprehensive reliability strategy. By addressing both everyday operations and exceptional circumstances, we help manufacturers Forge Forward with confidence that gas-related disruptions won't derail their production targets.
Measuring Success: The Results That Matter
The ultimate measure of any downtime reduction strategy is its impact on production metrics. Our manufacturing customers consistently report significant improvements after implementing our comprehensive gas management solutions:
Downtime reductions of 85-95% for gas-related issues Inventory cost decreases of 20-30% through optimized supply management Administrative time savings of 5-10 hours weekly through automated ordering and tracking Production schedule adherence improvements of 3-7% due to improved supply reliability
These performance gains translate directly to bottom-line benefits that typically deliver ROI within months rather than years. More importantly, they allow manufacturers to confidently make delivery commitments, knowing that gas supply issues won't compromise their ability to perform.
Don't let gas supply issues impact your productivity. Contact us today to explore our tailored solutions.
Looking out for your future
Get your career going on the right track with nexAir
Find out how nexAir KnowHow has impacted businesses all over the Southeast
Our expertise makes us more than a valuable partner, it makes us headlines
