Challenge
SWARCO operates a 24/7 facility with one of the most advanced direct melters in the U.S., producing high-specification glass beads used for road safety.
The problem? This unique melter depends on hard-to-source overseas parts. If a critical component fails, it can take up to 6 months to replace.
Downtime isn’t just inconvenient—it’s expensive and can bring production to a standstill.
Key issues SWARCO faced:
- No predictive maintenance in place
- Every asset was critical—failure meant halted production
- Long lead times for replacement parts
- Manual inspections couldn’t keep up with operational risk
If a critical asset fails: $28,000/day in lost production.
Solution
To avoid failures and gain better control over equipment health, SWARCO implemented Tractian Condition Monitoring across 45+ critical assets. These wireless sensors track vibration and temperature in real time, feeding AI-powered diagnostics back to the team.
With Tractian, the team now:
- Receives early warnings about equipment issues
- Pinpoints root causes of failure with automatic diagnostics
- Acts quickly with step-by-step guidance on what to inspect and fix
- Runs condition-based maintenance backed by real data—not guesswork
Impact
Since deployment, SWARCO has been able to prevent multiple potential failures—including a critical unbalance issue on one of its furnaces.
With actionable alerts and faster troubleshooting, SWARCO has shifted from reacting to problems to preventing them altogether.
- 40+ faults detected and diagnosed
- Furnace failure avoided via early vibration alerts
- $420,000 saved, driven by avoided breakdowns and reduced inspection time
- Over 350,000 data samples analyzed to build deeper asset intelligence
What's Next
As their new plant ramps up production, SWARCO is using Tractian to build a more resilient maintenance program from day one.
With fewer surprises and better visibility into asset health, the team is equipped to keep operations running—without delays or downtime.
