The Challenge

When Food Machinery Services started working with Harrington’s quite a few years back, they were being plagued by regular breakdowns and interruptions on their production line. We were originally brought in for urgent callouts and repair work to get them producing again. However, repair call outs often identified general wear and tear on the machinery.

Preventative Maintenance Improves Productivity

Over time, together we developed a regular maintenance and servicing programme and bought the Harington’s machinery back to consistent and reliable production levels. This was achieved by and is now delivered with a Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programme.

“In the beginning every time we took a cover off to service something we would find more problems, faulty gear, general wear and tear. Over the first year we chipped away at the problems progressively and brought the machines back to a good reliable base level. Now the PPM programme keeps them there, running smoothly and reliably. Our programme is now focused more on driving performance improvements rather than fixing breakdowns,” – Chris Molenaar, FMS Managing Director.

From Getting by to Getting Ahead

Specialist projects have also been undertaken for Harrington’s including, customised fabrication to improve the way they work, such as fabricating gratings for their floor, and repairing panelling. Stainless steel protective barriers were also made and installed around the refrigeration walls to prevent trolleys from damaging the surfaces and creating hygiene issues. FMS have also installed and run new lines for new machinery as required.

FMS have helped Harrington’s find new parts and consumables. Because we service a wide range of food and beverage manufacturers throughout the greater Wellington region, we often know where to find whatever is required.

“When it comes to the food and beverage manufacturing business, it is important to be aware of the benefits of investing in maintenance of your machinery to optimise production. Companies like Harrington’s are great to work with because they understand this. They are prudent with their budgets, but they appreciate that the investment they put into their machinery is going to ensure they keep working and producing. By regularly maintaining machinery, this keeps it performing at its optimal level. Some try to get away with no maintenance and in the long term this catches up with them and they are up for large unexpected bills. Our job is to prevent this from happening.” – Chris Molenaar, FMS Managing Director.

The Outcome, in the Client’s Words

“When we met FMS (Food Machinery Services) we were a growing manufacturing business moving from ad hoc repairs to a structured service and maintenance programme. It took about 8 – 12 months to get ahead of the game, and then it was smooth sailing. They come through every three months and service each machine. The result is: our expenses are reduced and our machinery keeps working – it is as simple as that!”

– Angus Black, Harrington’s Smallgoods.