In the realm of exceptional extruder performance, it’s hard to beat the track record of a legendary Davis-Standard extruder being used at Southwire Company’s Carrollton, Georgia Building Wire Plant. The extruder is better known or identified as 0750-02 in the plant, and, with a few exceptions through the years it has been running virtually nonstop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week since 1966. Southwire purchased this particular extruder “used” in the market and it was one of the first extruders installed in the Carrollton Building Wire Plant. Based on Davis Standard records, this extruder was purchased new by a Southwire competitor at that time where it had run nonstop six years prior, making this hard-working machine more than 50 years old.

Since 1966, Southwire’s “IRON HORSE” Davis- Standard extruder has processed approximately 20 billion feet of 2-Conductor NMB wire that has a market value of over $5 billion based on today’s NMB prices. According to Scotty Ledbetter, Process Engineering Support Manager at Southwire, this extruder performs as well as the newest machine in the building in terms of efficiency and production.

“This extruder is an iron horse; there’s no other way to describe it,” said Ledbetter. “The only thing it has required is barrel and feed screw replacement several times throughout the years. We have never rebuilt or replaced the gearbox, which is rare. It is one of two machines in Southwire’s Carrollton Building Wire Plant with the old-style, round-top gearbox. We have one employee (Patsy Lambert) working in the Plant that was employed at Southwire in 1966 when the extruder was installed and commissioned.”

Southwire’s appreciation of Davis-Standard’s commitment to quality equipment and service is evident by the number of Davis-Standard extruders lining the company’s production facilities. Within Ledbetter’s group, there are approximately 130 Davis-Standard extruders that the group monitors. Within Southwire as a whole, Ledbetter estimates about 90 percent of all extrusion equipment is Davis-Standard. Just how much wire are these extruders processing each day? According to Ledbetter, the company ships multiple tractor-trailer loads of finished product daily, which is destined for big box retailers and other Southwire customers throughout the United States.

“Davis-Standard has played an integral role in our success,’’ says Ledbetter. We like that they consistently make great equipment that we’ve relied on to grow our business over the past four decades. It’s heavy-duty,

reliable and built to last. It has enabled us to supply our customers with superior quality and value,” he said. “I have never heard of anyone else possessing an extruder that has a record like this machine’s. This extruder exemplifies all the reasons we like working with Davis-Standard.”

For more information about Southwire Company, visit www.southwire.com. For more information about Davis-Standard’s extensive wire and cable systems which are engineered and built to make manufacturers more competitive, contact info@davis-standard.com or visit www.davis-standard.com.