Johns Manville runs same UniTrak TipTrak™ since 1968

As a part of our 45th Anniversary celebrations, we wanted to reach out to existing customers to get their take on how our products have stood the test of time over the years. We approached our long time customer,Johns Manville, who produce among other things fiber glass roof insulation, to chat with us about the three TipTrak™ bucket conveyors they purchased in 1968. The plant, located in Defiance Ohio, had the two employees who are most familiar with the TipTrak™, Randy Bernard & Ron Pierce, talked to us by telephone.

Both Randy and Ron have worked at Johns Manville for well over 40 years as plant mechanics and have been maintaining the TipTrak™ bucket conveyors for over 35 years. That’s a long time for any piece of machinery to be operating without an update or change. Randy explained that the TipTrak™ elevates glass marbles that are eventually fed into a melting pot which fires up to 1800°F.  The molten glass separates into fibers, making fiber glass insulation. The TipTrak™ has handled the same product for its entire lifespan, and it operates every day when product is called for by different hopper units.

When asked about what they liked about the TipTrak™ bucket conveyor, Randy highlighted one overwhelming reason, ‘it’s virtually maintenance-free’. As one of the people in charge of the unit’s maintenance, this makes his life much easier.

In 1972, UniTrak made an update to the overall design of their TipTrak™ bucket conveyors to eliminate the exterior side wheels, and a retrofit was offered to all companies that had that existing model. At the time, Johns Manville declined the offer of an upgrade. When we mentioned this to Randy, his first response was, ‘Why mess with something that runs great?’

At UniTrak, we pride ourselves on being able to provide all existing customers with spares and replacements for the entire lifespan of that product. We never discontinue a part. Our customers rely on us to provide them with options that are best suited to their products. We would like to thank Johns Manville for their loyalty as we look forward to continuing our partnership for the next 45 years.