Marianna Cuts Throughput Time by 3900% with a SaniForce Electric Diaphragm Pump

Marianna Beauty is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative hair and beauty products.

Jonathan, Operations Manager, is the point person to keep material moving through Marianna’s facility. This task is difficult due to the wide range of products manufactured and filled on his lines. He packages shampoo, conditioner, hair masks, pomade, gels, lotions and many more personal care products. His primary concern was finding a way to transfer product from holding tanks to fill stations quickly while keeping costs low.

Before implementing Graco’s SaniForce 2.0 electrically operated double diaphragm (EODD) pumps, Marianna had two options for high viscosity product.

       1. Do not take the project. Marianna passed on opportunities for not being able to transfer products without overtime. Any overtime used reduces project profitability.

       2. Use employees to manually scoop and dig product out. This is not an ideal option with the risk of product contamination and worker injury.

Jonathan, in an attempt to increase his efficiency installed a sinusoidal pump. This pump was not effective for the viscosity of the fluid he was transferring. The sine pump did not have the suction to pump material from the holding tanks to the movable totes. In addition to the performance issues the repair costs for sine pumps are extremely high. Three times the pump went down with each service costing $3,000 to $5,000. These repair costs eliminated any efficiencies seen from installing the pump.

Jonathan needed a solution to earn new business and increase profitability. Marianna decided to test Graco's SaniForce 2.0 FG EODD. The EODD self-primes high viscosity material with the ability to stall under pressure and run dry. The SaniForce 2.0 EODD uses much less electricity than a comparable AODD on compressed air. Electric pumps provide a large amount of operational flexibility with no need for plant air runs.

Marianna uses a three stage process to pack product. Manufactured material begins in large holding tanks. Material is then pumped to wheeled 1,892 litre (500 gallon) totes through a valve at the bottom of the tote. Employees wheel totes to the filling stations, the pump transfers material up to the fill hopper and finally packaging is filled.

This was difficult application and it took time to determine a successful configuration. With the help of Graco's technical experts, Jonathan had the pump operating effectively. Compared to sine pumps the SaniForce EODD is competitively priced and works much better with this type of product. Jonathan achieved his ROI goal much faster with the FG EODD through an increase in productivity and taking more business projects. Jonathan said what  convinced him to buy the SaniForce EODD was Graco's try before you buy program. Try before you buy allows users to test out Graco pumps in their specific applications before purchase.

This pump had a large impact on improving Marianna’s process. It used to take upwards of 3 days to complete a project from end to end. After implementing the SaniForce EODD it now takes 45 minutes. This had led to a large time reduction on the line and has cut most overtime needed. Instead of creating ad hoc processes for each new project, Marianna now standardises how to transfer material through the facility. This has led to much lower operational costs and higher profitability.