Research & Development
McLanahan's Research and Development Process includes a step-by-step plan to ensure the product is the right fit for customers' needs and to ensure it meets or surpasses industry standards.
McLanahan is a leader in many industries because of the innovative solutions we provide. We design and manufacture machines we know will be of the most value to our customers in the field and will help them achieve their desired production results.
McLanahan's Product Development Team has a vast knowledge and a wealth of expertise developing solutions that will benefit our customers in the best possible way. The team is constantly researching new and inventive solutions to ensure our equipment meets your needs. They look at ways to create safer handling and maintenance practices, simpler operating procedures and machines for increasing efficiency. Each piece of McLanahan equipment is designed to give you peace of mind by requiring minimal maintenance while giving your operation maximum profitability. We want to be sure our products do exactly what we say they will when they get to your operation.
McLanahan Develops Long-Lasting, Maintenance-Friendly Flat-Bottom Roll Segments for Salt Mining Crushers
Project Story
In 2015, one of McLanahan’s customers in the salt industry challenged the company to develop a set of rolls for their Roll Crushers that would allow them to produce a more consistent product size. McLanahan developed flat-bottom roll segments equipped with teeth for better sizing, tighter roll setting and improved maintenance.
McLanahan's Research & Development Process
Prior to being introduced to the industry, McLanahan equipment goes through our research and development process, which includes the following steps:
- Identify the problem
- Determine possible solutions
- Conduct market research, including talk to end users, dealers and representatives
- Complete a project evaluation with specific goals and limits
- Develop engineering designs that meet goals around limits
- Obtain feedback from users
- Revise design based on feedback
- Build prototype(s)
- Test prototype(s) in a controlled setting and in the field
- Revise design based on field testing
- Offer product to market
Part of the research and development process involves conceptualizing standard designs to provide a low-cost, rapidly available option that customers can put to work in their operation right away. Rather than custom engineering a solution, the customer can choose from predesigned configurable designs that they can immediately visualize and that McLanahan can immediately begin to manufacture. They don’t have to wait through a design and approval process, and actual site build time is minimal. This offering allows the customer to receive McLanahan’s industry proven equipment more quickly and see a faster return on investment. It also allows them to receive a lower-cost solution to meet their needs.
Research and development is completed in our research laboratory, which is constantly and extensively updated to test new concepts and future designs. Other research and development has been done in partnership with customers to customize a piece of equipment to optimize their specific application requirements.
McLanahan has been designing and manufacturing industry proven equipment for more than 180 years, and we are always updating our technologies to meet the needs of our customers. If you want to experience how the Product Development Team's well-researched and innovative solutions can benefit your operation, contact McLanahan today.
"They worked with us to adapt their equipment to our needs so that we came up with a system that works really well for us." - Paul Jennette, College of Veterinary Medicine
