Sun Centre USA’s continued investment in machining operations has helped the company reduce part costs and lead times for all makes of pouch-making machines. But that’s just the start of what’s to come.
Any pouch-making machine can have dozens, if not hundreds, of moving parts that face continual wear and eventually replacement over the life of the machine. That’s not uncommon for sophisticated machinery of this kind. The big challenge comes when parts are needed and the machine OEM is located overseas. With the current supply chain bottleneck facing many U.S. companies, this can result in even more weeks of delay or, at the very least, excessive costs for speedy shipping with international couriers.
Most pouch-making machines in North American today are made overseas, including those from Sun Centre USA, an Illinois-based firm providing pouch-making equipment to customers throughout the world. Founded in 2015, providing the highest quality machinery and service support has been a driving force in the growth of this innovative company.
For Sun Centre USA president and CEO Jim Pease, this meant providing faster access to machine parts so customers would not face unnecessary costs or downtime. According to Pease, “The best way to achieve this goal was to start machining parts ourselves. So, in 2018 we invested in the CNC machines and the machinists to literally produce any part for any make or model of pouch-making machine. We can even reverse engineer parts from a single sample.”
Pease adds, “All part specifications are computer cataloged to facilitate shipping, billing, and potential repeat orders. To date, Sun Centre USA has produced parts for a half dozen different OEM machines, shipping to customers on four different continents.”
In 2021 Sun Centre USA added a new Haas CNC horizontal milling center along with adding more space to its machining operations. Now with five CNC machines, Sun Centre is looking to expand this side of its operation in a big way. The company will soon acquire a much larger space for expanded parts manufacturing, and for producing and assembling complete pouch-making machines.
According to Pease, with pouch machines made entirely in the U.S., Sun Centre’s manufacturing operation will significantly reduce the typical lengthy times between machine order and delivery. It will eliminate shipping costs. And it will integrate other American-made components that will also be more readily available when needed.
