Helping Bucher Municipal Cut Water Manifold Costs by 27%
A new water manifold design cuts costs by 27% for Bucher Municipal
Bucher Municipal’s road sweepers keep roads and public spaces all over the world clean and safe.
Inside every truck-mounted sweeper, small jets of water help to catch the dirt and debris kicked up by the sweeper’s brush – ensuring that the street sweeper doesn’t leave a dust cloud behind it.
IMI Norgren water manifolds are an essential part of this process, ensuring that the street sweeper can accurately and reliably direct water to the right place at the right time.
We’ve partnered with Bucher Municipal for more than 20 years; and the company depends on us for reliable, durable, precise solutions.
But their team was facing a new challenge: Rising cost pressures meant Bucher Municipal needed to reduce their total cost of ownership.
So the team reached out to us with a question: Could we find a way to reduce the cost of their water manifolds without sacrificing performance?
Inside every truck-mounted sweeper, small jets of water help to catch the dirt and debris kicked up by the sweeper’s brush – ensuring that the street sweeper doesn’t leave a dust cloud behind it.
IMI Norgren water manifolds are an essential part of this process, ensuring that the street sweeper can accurately and reliably direct water to the right place at the right time.
We’ve partnered with Bucher Municipal for more than 20 years; and the company depends on us for reliable, durable, precise solutions.
But their team was facing a new challenge: Rising cost pressures meant Bucher Municipal needed to reduce their total cost of ownership.
So the team reached out to us with a question: Could we find a way to reduce the cost of their water manifolds without sacrificing performance?
Leaving brass behind for an innovative new solution
The original manifolds were based on a brass body – an expensive component of the manifold.
In the past, using a brass housing was the best way to ensure the water manifold wasn’t damaged by the dust or debris that sometimes makes its way inside a street sweeper.
Switching the brass body for a more affordable material would certainly bring down costs. But we weren’t prepared to sacrifice the solution’s durability – so we needed to find a solution that would be just as resilient.
After extensive testing, we created a new design – one that we were confident would help Bucher Municipal bring down costs but still deliver the performance they’d come to expect from us.
Lighter, more cost-effective – and just as high performing as ever
The new water manifold uses a polymer body with stainless steel inserts, which means that in addition to being more cost-effective it’s also 54% lighter.
The design is now used in 25% of Bucher Municipal’s street sweepers, and by early 2025 all truck mounted sweepers will use the new polymer bodied water manifold. And, after more than two years of testing in the field, these water manifolds are still delivering the same outstanding performance as the previous model.
The new design is even compatible with Bucher Municipal’s existing valves, making installation simpler and lowering the cost of implementation even further.
By working with us to refine their design, Bucher Municipal reduced their costs by 27%.
It’s the kind of ambitious, customised design that made them happy to partner with us for more than 20 years – and keep working with us well into the future.
Get in touch today to find out how we can help you.