Example Cost Savings

U.S. Sportboat manufactures 30 boats a day at one of its plants. Imperfections in the gel coat are commonplace after removal of hulls and decks from molds. Repairs to obvious imperfections such as porosity and scratches are performed prior to installation of the deck. All other gel coat repairs are performed just prior to shipping. In each repair operation, gel coat is hand mixed with MEKP in a paper cup and then applied using an air brush.

Assume that

  • 300 milliliters (about 10 ounces) of gel coat are prepared for each repair operation.
  • There are three gel coat repair operations; hull, deck, and final finish.
  • Only half of the gel coat prepared for any operation is used.
  • The savings in gel coat per repair operation is 150 milliliters.
  • The cost of gel coat is $1,500 for a 55 gallon drum.
  • The cost of MEKP is $37.95 for a 1 gallon bottle.

For a discussion of factors contributing to the volume of gel coat consumed, click here.

Because the Liquid Logic MEKP Dispenser totally automates the measurement and dispensing of catalyst for any amount of gel coat placed in the dispenser, a technician need only prepare the amount of gel coat actually needed for the repair.

 

The amount of gel coat saved in a year is:

150 milliliters/operation x 3 operations/boat x 30 boats/day x 5 days/week x 50 weeks/year or,

3,375,000 milliliters of gel coat.

 

If the gel coat is catalyzed with 2 volume percent MEKP, the savings in MEKP is:

.02 x 3,375,000 milliliters = 67,500 milliliters of MEKP.

 

There are 3,784 milliliters in a gallon. The savings in gallons are therefore:

3,375,000 milliliters / 3.785.4 (milliliters/gallon) = 891.6 gallons of Gel Coat

67,500 milliliters / 3.785.4 (milliliters/gallon) = 17.8 gallons of MEKP

 

Standard industrial drums contain 55 gallons. The savings of gel coat in drums is:

891.6 gallons / 55 (gallons/drum) = 16.2 drums of gel coat

 

The actual cost savings are:

16.2 drums x $1,500 / drum = $24,300 in gel coat

17.8 gallons x $ / gallon = $675 in MEKP

 

The total annual savings in materials is $24,975.

Need more examples of savings? Click here.

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