CASE STUDY: How One Farmer Stopped Annual Chain Breakages for Good
A local independent farmer visited the Deeside branch with a familiar frustration: the chain on his machine kept breaking, and he found himself replacing it every year. The repeated failures were costing money, but just as importantly they were causing excessive downtime time. To cope, he had started leaving the chain cover open so he could access it quickly when it broke. While understandable, the workaround was quietly making the situation worse, exposing the chain to mud and debris and accelerating wear.
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Branch Manager, Janet English, talked through what was happening and explained that running with the cover open increases contamination and shortens chain life. To address the root cause, she recommended switching from the chain brand he’d been using to a superior quality chain. ACORN supplied and fitted the replacement, ensuring he had a setup designed to handle the working conditions without the cycle of failure and replacement.
The impact has been significant. Since moving to the new chain, the farmer has had six years of smooth running and counting without the annual breakdown-and-replace routine. Financially, that has meant a clear saving of around £830 compared with buying a new chain each year. Just as valuable has been the reduction in downtime: fewer unexpected stoppages, fewer urgent repairs, and less disruption during busy periods. For an independent farmer, where margins and time are both tight, that saving and reliability is a major win.
The farmer has been delighted with the result and regularly recommends ACORN to others in the local farming community. ACORN’s local branch network is perfectly situated to service local farmers with a range of replacement parts without the cost.
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