Last year, Art Kurth, president of Meyer Laboratory, Inc., Blue Springs, MO, was thumbing through a maintenance trade magazine when he saw something that he immediately thought might solve a challenge specific to innovative product development. That "something" was a publicity photograph of Stahlin fiberglass electrical enclosures featured in various styles and colors.
Kurth''s application, however, is not electrical, and came to mind in part because, as a long-time avid bass fisherman, he was familiar with the strength and durability of fiberglass as it is used for impact-resistant boat hulls.
Meyer Laboratory manufactures and sells to end users many formulations of industrial strength soap. Kurth notes that there are three methods for selling concentrated chemical cleaners:
- the "glug-glug" method, where the manufacturer simply provides a certain amount of chemical that users can dilute as little or as much as they want to;
- providing chemicals in transparent, graduated containers with instructions for efficient use -- an effort to establish more control for proper usage;
- much more accurate, discharging water across an orifice that is restricted by a metering system that measures out a prescribed chemical mixture. Even this method, however, does not guarantee accuracy -- if water pressure or viscosity change, the metering tip must be correspondingly changed. Otherwise a user may end up consuming much more chemical cleaner -- and incurring much higher costs -- than anticipated or promised by the manufacturer.
After years of seeking to discover the most accurate and time-efficient way for end users to discharge and apply water soluble cleaning chemicals, Meyer Laboratory designed and implemented a system featuring a positive displacement piston, in effect working on the same principle as a hypodermic syringe, that functions in tandem with a pump plus a meter specifically for measuring water usage. Meyer promises end users the ability to clean hard surfaces, at a reasonable price, using a highly predictable amount of chemicals. End users are charged only after cleaning has taken place and after a reading of the meter proves all claims about accuracy in application.
Meyer Laboratory''s chemical measuring and pumping apparatus requires protective housing, and this is where Stahlin fiberglass electrical enclosures come in. The housings, and their contents, are provided at no charge to users of the company''s cleaning chemicals but remain Meyer''s property. Initially, the laboratory prototyped housings from stainless steel. Although they were reasonably satisfied with the resulting appearance, they found that stainless steel was very difficult to work with -- in particular, it was not possible to easily achieve the required level of exactitude in customizing for functions such as waterline holes. Kurth''s thoughts then turned to his knowledge of fiberglass and his need for a material that could be quickly, efficiently modified using only a circular saw or other conventional tools.
For more than a year, Meyer Laboratory has used two Stahlin fiberglass enclosures: a 24 in. x 24 in. x 10 in. unit, to house a 7 gallon, 2 piston pump capable of discharging components down to a fraction of an ounce; and a 30 in. x 24 in. x 12 in. housing for a 25 gallon unit capable of discharging three components.
Art Kurth evaluates the results: "In the heavy alkaline environment of commercial chemical cleaners, painted steel and even stainless steel will deteriorate from corrosion. Fiberglass will not. There have been other pluses. I like the way fiberglass looks. It is available in molded-in colors and that enables us to match a corporate appearance. We are now considering silkscreening or decal labeling as an option for improved aesthetics. Cost advantages of non-metallics are also a factor but the main thing, quite simply, is that fiberglass is easier to work with than steel."
From bass fishing to a random glance at a trade publication, Art Kurth of Meyer Laboratory has evolved an innovative product into a marketplace success, in part due to the benefits of fiberglass and Stahlin non-metallic enclosures.