A needed change
Muscle Car Restorations, Inc., a premiere restoration company located in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, specializes in restoring some of the rarest and most valuable muscle cars. With over 30 years in the industry, Muscle Car Restorations works to restore the beauty and uniqueness of each car that enters their shop.
Muscle Car Restorations employees work on cars that have been chemically stripped and most of the time, the metal is left untreated. In order to prevent flash rust from occurring, the shop is fully enclosed and air conditioned. However, welding in this enclosed environment results in a higher accumulation of weld fume throughout the shop. Ben Peotter, Executive Vice President of Muscle Car Restorations, explained that his employees needed a better solution to decrease the amount of weld fume produced within their shop, and that capturing fume effectively was their biggest challenge they faced on a daily basis.
“When you’re cutting or welding on vehicles, whether they’ve been painted or have primers on the backside, this creates a lot of fumes. And there’s a lot of times where we are not only welding but cutting or heating a part of the vehicle to get it loose and the residual oil and/or old paint can produce a lot of fumes within the shop.”
“We needed to make a change. So, I began looking at options,” said Peotter. He was aware that Miller had a line of fume extraction equipment and that their industrial products were highly recognized. He decided to do his research to learn more about the product offerings that Miller had along with other options available on the market. By reviewing the Miller product page and spec sheets, and then comparing them against other fume extraction equipment, Peotter was able to clearly identify the best option for his workplace – Miller FILTAIR MWX Mobile Fume Extraction System with the 12-foot extraction arm.
What sold us
Price point is a big factor for most companies. When searching for equipment, products need to fall within budget. With price in mind, Miller FILTAIR MWX had major benefits that would be beneficial to Muscle Car Restorations. The biggest advantage was portability. “We wanted something that was highly portable to share amongst our 3-4 technicians so they could move it around when needed,” stated Peotter. With the MWX being a mobile fume extractor, employees can easily pull this system out for use and quickly store it away from other equipment when it’s not in use.
The sound rating was another major benefit along with the high airflow rate. Peotter said, “We’ve been using the MWX for several months now. Employees are not disturbed by the sound, and you can hardly notice it’s there while in use.”
“It was a pretty easy choice,” added Peotter. The portability of this unit, 12-foot long arm, and high airflow rate was everything Peotter was looking for all within budget. “Miller’s reputation, resources, and availability made the purchase seamless,” replied Peotter.