An installation of Filtermist oil mist collectors for one of the World’s largest dental implant manufacturers, Osstem Implants, has improved the air quality in its production facilities to such an extent that the South Korean Filtermist distributor has received enquiries from other customers as a direct result.
140 of Filtermist’s World leading centrifugal oil mist extraction units were installed on CNC Swiss type machines at the company’s three production facilities in Seoul, South Korea, following a direct approach from local Filtermist distributor, Mato Korea.
Inseop Chon, Mato Korea’s President, takes up the story, “We had previously visited Osstems’ production line and noted that the company was using a media filter to separate and collect oil mist generated in the manufacturing process used to make the dental implants.
“The customer was already familiar with Filtermist as it had seen our stand at one of the many local machine tool fairs we exhibit at, so when we explained how Filtermist’s centrifugal action compared to traditional filter media in terms of performance and expected life-span of the product, Osstem Implants agreed to a trial.”
Osstem Implants is the largest dental implant manufacturer in Korea, and sixth biggest in the world, exporting to more than 60 countries worldwide. The company manufactures a range of products from titanium, a metal which is light-weight, resistant to corrosion and offers the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metallic element. Titanium is also renowned for not conducting heat or electricity – making it ideal for use in the mouth.
The strength of the metal means it must be machined using large volumes of neat oil, resulting in significant amounts of oil mist in the atmosphere if not properly extracted.
Filtermist units are particularly efficient in precision engineering processes used to produce complex components, such as dental implants and other medical devices. The units can also be fitted with an afterfilter which provides an additional level of filtration, ensuring any submicron particles that may have passed through the Filtermist are collected and returned to the machine tool, whilst clean air is returned to the workplace.
Hwikyeong Seo, Manager at Osstem, says, “We are very pleased with the Filtermist units – we no longer see oil mist coming out of the machines and our factories are clean. Our workers are much happier now the air is cleaner!”
Inseop Chon continues, “The installation has been very successful and we are now talking to a number of other customers who have seen the difference the Filtermist units have made in Osstem’s production facility.”
Osstem Implants has ambitious growth plans – turnover in 2013 grew by 7.5% compared with 2012 and the company aims to become the world’s leading implant manufacturer by 2023. This ambition, and the opportunities afforded to the wider supply chain, is mirrored in other segments of medical device manufacturing, particularly in China.
Filtermist Managing Director, James Stansfield, says, “Global demand for precision engineered medical devices is growing at an enormous pace thanks to ageing populations and advances in technology.
“This, coupled with an increasing awareness of the importance of protecting both workers and industrial workplaces from the hazards posed by oil mist in the atmosphere, have resulted in opportunities for a number of our distributors in markets as far afield as China, South Korea, the USA and Ireland.”
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