Your rolls are starting to lose their roundness. Your product is starting to suffer, and customers may soon be complaining about runnability. Where do you turn for roll grinding and maintenance that gets you up and running with expert precision and minimal downtime? If you think the answer is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), think again.

The OEM knows all about designing and assembling equipment, but roll maintenance is a completely different game. You need a specialist with expertise in maintaining – not design or manufacturing – the rolls you require on a daily basis.

There are six undeniable advantages of choosing a dedicated roll maintenance provider over an OEM for servicing your rolls. Here are the first three.

ONE: Technology

Roll grinding is a complex, precision-driven process: The results must be beyond-a-doubt impeccable. Grinds are specified to incredibly tight tolerances, and achieving them requires advanced technology and well-crafted techniques that machine builders simply can’t match.

A machine builder may not have invested in top-of-the-line roll grinding equipment. Why not? Because roll grinding is not its main priority.

Again, designing and covering rolls vs maintaining them are two different playing fields, and while OEMs may rule the roost when it comes to the design, expert roll grinding must be reserved for the specialists: roll maintenance and grinding experts invested in sophisticated equipment for impeccable precision.

TWO: Specialization

Specialization signifies a noble level of expertise, and becoming a true specialist (at any task) requires dedicated focus. The inability of original equipment manufacturers to provide expert roll grinding stems from the lack of focus they place on the task. This isn’t because they can’t apply the necessary focus and work to achieve those specialized skills – it’s that doing so simply isn’t in their best interest or job description.

The OEM is most concerned with building new machines and equipment as well as selling the parts and covers. Roll grinding and roll maintenance are secondary, even tertiary services at most.

The roll grinding and maintenance provider, on the other hand, is dedicated to roll geometry, maintenance and service life. With such specified expertise, these roll servicers are inarguably the most qualified eyes to oversee the repair of your imperfect rolls.

THREE: Roll Longevity

Rolls aren't cheap, and you want a good return on investment. This means they’ve got to last for an extended period of time, with minimal repair along the way. Extending the life of your rolls requires proper, regular maintenance. OEMs may cut corners, like opting not to retrace the grooves on your grooved press rolls. They’re selling the roll covers, after all, so it behooves them to grind off and re-groove the covers.

But a dedicated roll grinding service specializes in the roll: regrinding and retracing the grooves to keep your rolls operational for the long run.

Stay tuned for our next post on three more big-ticket benefits of leaving roll maintenance to the roll grinding specialists.