The Problem

For years, Cadbury Adams' chewing gum plant was plagued by problems of punctuality. Before Primex, the plant relied on an old master clock system that ran on two generators to synchronize the clocks. Unfortunately, every time the plant was disconnected from Northern Illinois Power grid, the accuracy of the plant’s clocks suffered. Time varied by building, making tardiness and shift discrepancies a rampant problem that affected the productivity of the plant.

The Solution

The plant first looked at isolation transformers as a possible solution, but they were quickly deemed too expensive and “fraught with technical issues” by the plant’s electrical engineer, Robert “Buck” Cowen. It wasn’t until the plant consulted Primex and purchased a GPS clock system that the problem of punctuality was solved.

Cowen has had nothing but praise for Primex since the system was installed. “It’s been a wonderful solution for a system that didn’t work well for years,” Cowen reports. “It’s inexpensive and runs perfectly all the time.” Plus, he continued, “We also invested in the Primex CompuSync software that receives the time synchronization and keeps our data collection in exact time, which is very helpful for tracking events and alarms.”