Ecochlor BWMS Ramps Up Production With a New Factory

According to a Marine Log article, Maynard, Mass., headquartered Ecochlor has announced that their manufacturing partner, ProFlow, Inc., has opened a new factory in North Haven, Ct., for production of the chlorine dioxide generator used in the system.

• This step was taken due to a significant upsurge in orders for its ballast water management system (BWMS)
• ProFlow was able to quickly increase production capacity and efficiency by incorporating LEAN manufacturing procedures while maintaining its ISO 9001 certification.
• The new factory will be exclusively used to manufacture the generators, which ProFlow has been building for Ecochlor since 2001.

How will it help?

“This past year we have seen increased orders from Ecochlor, so our manufacturing volume had to grow to match the high demand,” said Kurt Uihlein, President of ProFlow. “With this additional factory space, we are able to move from one-off customized deliveries to volume production assembly cells. In addition, we have built up an inventory of components and sub-assemblies for faster delivery times. These changes in our production process have allowed us to reduce our manufacturing time by more than 25% while also increasing our productivity”.

1. The manufacturing site and new assembly procedures have allowed Ecochlor to boost deliveries to over 200 units per year.
2. The new assembly process has each generator unit in a production cell for approximately 2 – 3 days, followed by state-of-the art factory acceptance test (FAT) cells that allow for multiple generators to be tested simultaneously.

What does it say about Ecochlor’s Commitment?

The factory’s location was chosen strategically, as it is situated near the Ecochlor corporate engineering offices and an additional ProFlow manufacturing site for the generator’s sub-assemblies.

Steve Candito, Ecochlor CEO stated, “This new factory is a reflection of Ecochlor’s dedication to providing an exceptional product to our customers in a timely manner. The additional production cells and workspace in the factory, along with increased staffing, has allowed ProFlow to more than double our delivery capacity from last year.”

How good is Ecochlor BWMS?

The Ecochlor BWMS uses a two-step treatment process – filtration followed by chlorine dioxide. The system’s effectiveness is not impaired by variations in salinity, temperature, turbidity, organics, and vibration. The automated system is crew-friendly, has low power consumption and is well-suited for mid-sized vessels through to the largest ships in the world. There is no treatment or neutralization on discharge. Ecochlor BWMS has IMO and USCG Type Approval.