Manufacturing a Stronger Standard: Nordson Customer Success with LestaUSA Technology

Derek DeGeest was back at FABTECH 2021 for another Manufacturing a Stronger Standard conversation. He spoke with Frank Mohar, Regional Sales Manager at Nordson, about the partnership between the companies and the future of finishing automation. Nordson is an Authorized Equipment Partner of LestaUSA.

Mohar recalled that at the 2019 FABTECH was the introduction between companies. “That was the first time I’d hear of you, and we weren’t sure it was real. But we soon learned that it was and began working with you.”

Since that time, the two companies worked at LestaUSA’s test lab to develop pre-packaged options that combine the equipment for powder-coating with robotics.

Doing this helped Mohar respond to common customer objections about programming.

“They would say we have a thousand parts, and it’s too cumbersome to program. But because you can move the Lesta robot where you want it to go was a game changer. It’s not a whole sequence or button-pushing,” Mohar explained.

This technology means that finishing doesn’t have to be the bottleneck, which is often the case in manual workflows. “They can’t keep up with just manual guys spraying,” Mohar noted.

Working on easy user interfaces was a must, so companies didn’t feel they needed a robotics expert to handle them. “The communication between our equipment and the Lesta robotics is great. It’s very simple for us. The Lesta robot and the gun work together seamlessly,” Mohar said.

That ease of implementation and flexibility is helping Mohar’s customers fill gaps in employment. “It’s hard for them to get employees and see them go. They are ready to automate.”