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| Fall 2014 |
| CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT |
| LEGEND RUBBER HELPS COWS GETS COMFORTABLE A seemingly endless supply of milk flows from a holding tank into a large truck on its way to a milk processing plant. The milk is the product of dozens of cows, which stand for hours in a long barn waiting to be milked. Many cows stand directly on concrete, but not these. These cows stand on a specially designed rubber surface that helps cushion their legs. While rubber mats for cows might seem a little overindulgent, for dairy farmers its serious business. At any given time nearly a third of their herd is lame, a condition that makes it difficult and painful for the cows to walk. This in turn leads to high veterinary bills and impacts milk production, both of which cut into a farmer’s profits. Some might accept this as just a fact of dairy farming; but not Ross Graham and his brother. Instead they saw opportunity. After setting their sights on North America and its thriving dairy industry, the brothers emigrated from England, arriving in 2004 and founding a new company they called Legend Rubber. “Cows were not created to walk on concrete. It is very hard on them. Our products protect cows from the muck, and dirt, and the manure as well,” explains Ross Graham. Ten years later, rave reviews are making their way back to Legend Rubber from satisfied customers in all corners of the globe. The mats not only keep the cows clean, but safer and more comfortable. Farmers and cows no longer have to worry about slipping on a slick, barn floor. The cows are happier and healthier. The rubber provides the cushioning the cows need for their legs leading to an increase in milk production and herd value.  The brothers set up shop in Ontario, Canada, a little ways north of Lake Erie. At first, the rubber was painstakingly cut by hand, using just a template and knife. Today operations at the company are much more automated with orders shipping around the world. The company actually makes its own rubber using a closely guarded formula Graham says produces high quality rubber up to three times stronger than competitive products. Once the rubber is ready, large slabs, which might measure up to an inch in thickness, move to a cutting station where a waterjet system precisely cuts the raw rubber into smaller, interlocking pieces. Legend Rubber began using a system from WARDJet, an Ohio-based system manufacturer, in 2008. “We design and build machines for almost any automation need and like Legend Rubber, do all of our manufacturing in-house. This ensures our strict tolerance and quality control requirements are met and allows us to build a system to a customer’s exact specifications,” said WARDJet’s Jeff Day. The company originally started out with one of WARDJet’s smaller systems. “The waterjet gave us a massive advantage because we could cut custom mats to match a barn floor. This saved a lot of time and headaches for the installer. It definitely has given us an advantage over our competitors,” said Graham. By 2011, Legend had outgrown its original system and was shopping for a new one. “We looked at every waterjet manufacturer in the market. WARDJet was brilliant right from the start.” Legend was not only impressed by the company’s product offerings and value proposition, but also by the support WARDJet offers to all its customers. The company is so confident in the quality and performance of its products that it offers free lifetime phone and internet support of any WARDJet system. “Our systems are easy to maintain, reliable, and boast a lower total cost of ownership than any other waterjet system available today,” explains Day. With WARDJet’s help, Legend was able to sell its older system and upgrade to a Z-2543, a highly versatile system capable of cutting 12 inch thick material. A modular design accommodates future growth while heavy duty crossbeams handle 5-axis cutting, drilling, tapping, and more.  “We wanted 5-axis cutting to get the angles we needed for the tongue and groove joints that interlock our mats,” said Graham. “In terms of the accuracy and neatness, absolutely nothing can compare to the waterjet, but now the cutting speed is twice as fast, compared to what we used to do.” The new system is powered by a 50 horsepower Hypertherm waterjet system, well-suited to both pure water and abrasive cutting. It comes with two cutting heads. This gives Legend Rubber versatility to meet future business needs. Since Legend is mainly cutting rubber, 90 percent of its cutting is done using a pure water cutting head. However, a second abrasive cutting head is always at the ready to cut items like aluminum, steel, and wood when needed. In addition to its agricultural products, Legend Rubber also serves the transportation sector. In an industry concerned with fuel costs, rubber is the perfect choice for large van fleets because it is so light weight. The mats and liners protect the vehicle from damage, help hold cargo in place, and provide cushion to reduce the risk of employee injury. Using its waterjet system, the company is able to custom cut floor mats and cargo liners for any year, make, and model van. Because the mats are cut with waterjet, the cut and fit is perfect every time. Not having to worry about the quality of its product or meeting demand allows the Graham brothers to focus on the future, which in the near term includes the opening of a larger facility next spring. This is Legend Rubber’s second move since opening its doors and likely is not the last as word of the company’s products spread among the dairy and fleet industries. |
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21 Great Hollow Rd, PO Box 5010, Hanover, NH 03755 USA
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