Philadelphia Gear Corp. announced that its Birmingham Regional Service Center installed a 1.5 meter Höfler grinder.  Birmingham is the fifth Philadelphia Gear Company site to obtain such operational gear cutting capability.

The grinder is typically used as reserve capacity for rapid turnaround to support the company’s aftermarket value proposition of helping its customers minimize downtime. As such, Philadelphia Gear can turn and grind entire gear-sets without interrupting a normal production schedule.

Originally purchased on the used equipment market, the Höfler grinder went through several overhauls, the most substantial of which was the complete replacement of all of the electronics and installation of a PLC control system. According to Philadelphia Gear's press release, though not fully CNC, the completely refurbished Höfler grinder performs better than its purely mechanical counterparts.

“This piece of equipment gives us a tremendous competitive advantage,” said Mike Bashour, the Birmingham RSC’s general manager. “It allows us to be more responsive to new customers, and to better service existing customers throughout the region.”