Dusty to Dust-Free: The Inspiring Journey of One Company
“We had huge dust issues. It was an open environment mill, so there were no partition walls in between processes. We had dust from the CNCs ending up on the front end of the factory and created additional clean up hours for departments other than ours.” – Cory Frashefski
The dust migration started to cause tension amongst employees as panel processing caused more clean-up for other facility areas. The panel processing area gained a reputation for their fugitive dust, and a mentality of “keep your dust on your side” began to creep into the work culture.
Air Quality Concerns
The dust that Cory’s panel processing portion generated tended to stay in the air longer than other dust, creating poor air quality. Because the dust had a moisture content of 12% and lower, it was incredibly light. Just like a feather, it falls to the ground far slower than a bowling ball. The working environment was unpleasant and potentially unsafe, with the light, dry dust lingering in the air. To mitigate this, they had to provide respirators for the employees working in panel processing.
After installing SonicAire fans, air quality dramatically improved in the mill. When dust reaches the highvelocity air stream created by SonicAire’s BarrierAire technology, the fans force the dust particles to stick together, become too heavy to float, and fall back to the ground. From there, it’s a simple matter of sweeping up and discarding; no more accumulation and no more migrating to other areas of the mill.
When we spoke with Cory, his face lit up when he talked about how he and his associates no longer had to wear respirators at work. He said, “Before the fans, the guys had to shave daily to wear the respirators. Well, you know how millwrights love their beards. They were so happy when they no longer had to wear the hot, clunky respirators and could breathe easily.”
Working with SonicAire
KATERRA heard of SonicAire through word of mouth. Other mills they’d come across had been clients, and with a quick search, they began their journey to a compliant and safe facility.
Initially, SonicAire’s engineers created a full-coverage design with six fans for KATERRA. However, they began by only installing two. When Cory requested they start with fewer until they had a better proof of concept and their budget freed up, SonicAire’s engineers worked with KATERRA to create a plan that still managed the bulk of their dust. Over time, the company continued working with SonicAire to purchase additional fans and finetune their placement to maximize efficiency.
Cory claims SonicAire’s customer service was responsive and friendly. He said it wasn’t a typical sales interaction where the clients are handed a fan and never hear from the company again. From the beginning of the process to ongoing support, SonicAire genuinely wanted to understand the facility, what they do, what they struggle with, and what their fans would need to accommodate.
“Being a standardized product is great, but there is a lot of information that went into selecting which fans were suitable for our needs.” – Cory Frashefski
Dust is Done.
With SonicAire fans, KATERRA no longer accumulated wood dust in the rafters and can keep the dust contained to the section it belongs to. This containment led to a more amicable employee culture and a better working environment.
The SonicAire solution was clearly the right choice for KATERRA. But convenience doesn’t stop with mere effectiveness. It’s also effortless. When we asked Cory if he’d experienced any maintenance issues or problems with the fans, he claimed he never had any. The fan operation is quiet enough that they’re barely heard, even with all their machinery off.
“That’s how we know that the equipment is effective and doing its job; we forget that it’s there.” – Cory Frashefski
The SonicAire Compliance Guarantee
We’re so confident in our products’ ability to solve your problems that we now offer you the SonicAire Compliance Guarantee*.
As long as SonicAire fans are correctly installed and maintained according to our engineers’ layout/engineering recommendations, they will eliminate the need for housekeeping in hard-to-reach overhead spaces.
And if they don’t, we’ll provide a full refund on the cost of fans or reimburse the cost of any imposed fine, whichever is less.*
*See SonicAire.com/Compliance-Guarantee for full details and terms.
Click the image to download the full case study from SonicAire.
Click the video below to hear more about KATERRA’s Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) structural systems with mass timber.
SonicAire is committed to helping our clients tackle combustible dust in their facilities.
Our team of experts will consult with you to develop a customized, engineered solution with SonicAire fans to reduce the risk of combustible dust and keep your facility compliant with OSHA and NFPA regulations.
Contact us today for information, or request an engineered solution and quote specific to your facility.
Our Team
In order to produce a great product, we employ a great team. We recruit and hire professionals with expertise in engineering, technical support and manufacturing, but most important, we hire people with character, integrity and passion.
We are focused on building a team of people who are passionate about taking care of our clients. Every one of our employees is committed to doing everything we can to help ensure your employees are safe from the dangers of combustible dust.
The SonicAire Mission
Combustible dust can have a huge financial impact on your facility and create real dangers for your employees.
SonicAire® fan systems have changed how industries deal with combustible dust. We are the first-and-only proactive, engineered solution designed to eliminate overhead fugitive dust problems.
Our customized solutions have been tailored to a variety of industries and our clients see immediate benefits to multiple aspects of their business.
Our Core Focus
To show God’s goodness to our partners and communities through proven fugitive dust solutions that create safer, healthier and more efficient work environments.
Our Core Values
- Hungry
- Humble
- People-Smart
- Grateful
Learn More:
Request Your No-Cost Custom Dust Management Plan with ROI Analysis
Contact SonicAire to learn how we can evaluate your facility and use our BarrierAire™ technology to mitigate combustible dust, improve safety and reduce downtime/improve efficiency of your operation.
Our Team
In order to produce a great product, we employ a great team. We recruit and hire professionals with expertise in engineering, technical support and manufacturing, but most important, we hire people with character, integrity and passion.
We are focused on building a team of people who are passionate about taking care of our clients. Every one of our employees is committed to doing everything we can to help ensure your employees are safe from the dangers of combustible dust.
The SonicAire Mission
Combustible dust can have a huge financial impact on your facility and create real dangers for your employees.
SonicAire® fan systems have changed how industries deal with combustible dust. We are the first-and-only proactive, engineered solution designed to eliminate overhead fugitive dust problems.
Our customized solutions have been tailored to a variety of industries and our clients see immediate benefits to multiple aspects of their business.
Our Core Focus
To show God’s goodness to our partners and communities through proven fugitive dust solutions that create safer, healthier and more efficient work environments.
Our Core Values
- Hungry
- Humble
- People-Smart
- Grateful
Learn More:
Request Your No-Cost Custom Dust Management Plan with ROI Analysis
Contact SonicAire to learn how we can evaluate your facility and use our BarrierAire™ technology to mitigate combustible dust, improve safety and reduce downtime/improve efficiency of your operation.