Partnering for Success: How nexAir Helps Local Manufacturers Thrive with Tailored Gas Supply
Small and mid-sized manufacturers form the backbone of American manufacturing. These companies create specialized components, finished products, and custom solutions that larger manufacturers often cannot provide economically. Despite their importance, local manufacturers face distinct challenges that their larger counterparts can more easily overcome.
Limited purchasing power makes negotiating favorable supply terms difficult. Smaller technical teams must cover more applications with less specialized expertise. Tighter cash flow restricts inventory and equipment investments. Competition from larger operations and overseas producers creates constant pricing pressure.
These realities make efficient operations critical. Every input, including industrial gases, must deliver maximum value without creating administrative burdens or reliability issues.
Moving Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Supply
Standard gas supply arrangements rarely meet the specific needs of local manufacturers. A fabrication shop running two shifts needs support different from a food processor operating 24/7. A precision machine shop requires different gas purity levels than a structural steel facility.
We recognize these differences and have developed flexible supply options specifically for local manufacturers. Our approach starts with understanding each operation’s unique requirements rather than offering generic packages.
For shops with variable production schedules, we implement usage-based delivery that adjusts to actual consumption patterns. This approach prevents both stockouts during busy periods and excess inventory during slower times.
For operations with limited storage space, we offer smaller-footprint supply systems that maximize cubic utilization while maintaining necessary reserve capacity. These space-efficient solutions allow efficient gas management without compromising production floor layout.
For manufacturers with seasonal or project-based demand swings, we provide flexible rental equipment that scales with production requirements. This option eliminates the capital expenditure of purchasing equipment that might sit idle during slower periods.
Our KnowHow™ Accessible to All Sizes
We apply the same technical expertise to local manufacturers that we provide to our largest customers. This commitment ensures that smaller operations benefit from advanced gas application knowledge without maintaining specialized staff.
When a local fabricator needs guidance on optimizing shielding gas for a new material, our welding specialists provide application-specific recommendations. When a food processor requires verification of gas purity for packaging applications, our quality assurance team supplies the necessary documentation and testing.
This technical support helps local manufacturers implement best practices that might otherwise remain inaccessible. By sharing our application expertise, we help these companies improve quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs.
Supply Reliability Scaled for Local Needs
Production continuity matters just as much to a 20-person shop as to a 2,000-person factory. Supply interruptions create the same quality issues, missed deadlines, and customer disappointment regardless of company size.
We’ve developed supply reliability programs specifically sized and priced for local manufacturers. These systems include appropriate monitoring, backup capabilities, and delivery prioritization without the cost of enterprise-scale solutions.
For critical applications, we implement dual-supply systems with automatic changeover capabilities. These systems prevent production interruptions even during cylinder changes or primary supply issues.
For operations with limited receiving capabilities, we offer flexible delivery scheduling that aligns with staffing patterns. This coordination ensures reliable supply without requiring dedicated receiving personnel.
For companies in remote locations, we maintain distributed inventory that reduces delivery lead times and weather-related delays. This regional approach ensures consistent access regardless of facility location.
Helping Local Manufacturers Forge Forward
By providing appropriately scaled gas supply solutions, accessible technical support, and reliability systems matched to actual needs, we help local manufacturers focus on their core operations. This partnership approach supports both current production requirements and future growth opportunities.
Ready to experience the difference a tailored gas supply solution can make for your manufacturing operation? Contact our local team today or visit nexair.com to schedule a free consultation with one of our application specialists.
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
Don't see what you're looking for?
Everything we offer is a click away and it will arrive before you know it.
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
