In my column last week, we asked, "Do you have a vital piece of equipment that is obviously obsolete?"

Sixty percent responded "Yes," and the reminder said "No."

We then asked, "If you answered "Yes" without revealing any company secrets can you tell us what it is?"

Responses:

>reel spools

>I am a color consultant (guess who!), and I see equipment frequently for delivering dyes to the paper machines which is very inefficient and costs mills money on a daily basis! Two examples are old recirculating dye delivery systems that use batch diluted dyes. Color changes take farrrrrrrr too long with these systems, the dye makedown area and equipment are a nightmare, and the pumps and auxiliary equipment use way too much precious energy. Other mills have ancient dye pump systems for neat dyes. Move to neat dyes delivered with peristaltic pumps. Place the neat dye system VERY close to the injection point of the dye in the process, and watch grade change time drop tremendously!

>Winders & packaging

Finally, we asked, "What is the excuse for not replacing it?"

Responses:

>no one will make the decision

>Often, I don't think that they know what it's costing them. Maybe they do not realize that there are ready made solutions from suppliers who WANT to see the mills keep running and doing so efficiently. I know the go-to guys for these systems.

>Cost & downtime required

You may take this week's quiz here.