How a 24-Hour Gearmotor Repair Prevented £6.77 Million in Downtime

The Challenge

A food and beverage manufacturer faced a major production stoppage when a phase failure occurred on a critical gearmotor at 10pm. The motor had been manufactured in the USA with a non-standard imperial output shaft, making a like-for-like replacement difficult to source.

The site’s Engineering Manager contacted ACORN MRO Sales Specialist, Jack Burge, for support. After assessing the situation, it became clear that a replacement from the original manufacturer would take a minimum of four weeks to arrive. With production losses estimated at £12,280 per hour, waiting for a new unit could have cost the business almost £6.8 million.

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The Solution

Understanding the urgency, Jack immediately coordination a repair solution. Within an hour, he had collected the gearmotor and arrange for it to be transported to one of ACORN’s trusted repair partners.

The repair team quickly diagnosed the fault and completed a full repair, including an eight-hour motor rewind. The gearmotor was then shipped directly back to the customer’s site in less than 24 hours, allowing production to resume with minimal disruption.

The Outcome

By combining rapid response with technical expertise and a trusted repair network, ACORN helped the customer avoid four weeks of unplanned downtime.

The complete repair cost £3,000, compared with an estimated £6.8 million in potential lost production. In total, the customer avoided around £6.77 million in downtime costs while returning their operation to service with 24 hours.

When production stops, having the right technical partner can make all the difference. ACORN works quickly to identify practical solutions that keep customers operational and minimise the impact of unexpected breakdowns.