Ecochlor Opens New Factory

Ecochlor opened a new factory in North Haven, Connecticut for production of the chlorine dioxide generator for its ballast water management system (BWMS).

Due to a surge in orders, ProFlow, Inc., Ecochlor's manufacturing partner, was able to quickly increase production capacity and efficiency by simultaneously incorporating LEAN manufacturing procedures and maintaining itsISO 9001 certification. ProFlow's production space has surpassed 30,000 sq. ft. and the new factory will be exclusively used to manufacture the generators.

ProFlow has been building the Ecochlor BWMS generator since 2001. "This past year we have seen increased orders from Ecochlor, so our manufacturing volume had to grow to match the high demand. 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," said Kurt Uihlein, President of ProFlow.

Additionally, the manufacturing site and new assembly procedures have allowed Ecochlor to boost deliveries to over 200 units per year. 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 allows for multiple generators to be tested simultaneously. 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 work space in the factory, along with increased staffing, has allowed ProFlow to more than double our delivery capacity from last year. We are happy to collaborate with a company that is committed to 'hiring talented people and building high quality products using the best available means.'"