Customer Story
One of Europe's leading zinc smelters deployed SAM4 across critical assets and shifted from urgent nighttime repairs to controlled, scheduled interventions — delivering 800% return on investment within the first year.
Overview
Nyrstar refines over 300,000 tons of high-purity zinc annually. The smelter operates continuously — furnaces can't be stopped without massive production losses. SAM4 was deployed to provide early fault detection across critical rotating equipment.
By shifting from reactive to planned maintenance, Nyrstar achieved exceptional ROI while maintaining the operational resilience required for 24/7 production.
The Challenge
Despite established maintenance routines, Nyrstar suffered recurring unplanned failures. Conveyor stalls and pump seizures caused furnaces to cool, triggering logistics delays and production losses. Maintenance teams were frequently called out for emergency nighttime repairs.
The site needed a way to detect developing faults before they caused shutdowns. Unplanned downtime in continuous processing operations translates directly to lost revenue and logistical complications for downstream customers.
The Solution
SAM4 was installed across critical motors. Within just 1.5 months, the system detected belt misalignment in a pump's transmission — allowing the team to schedule replacement during a planned stop instead of a production-halting breakdown.
Inspection confirmed the belt had slipped and both pulleys were worn. This pattern of early detection continued, enabling the shift from reactive to planned maintenance. By catching issues before they escalate, Nyrstar transformed maintenance from a cost center responding to crises into a strategic function that protects uptime.
The Results
Achieved within the first 11 months of deployment by preventing costly unplanned downtime events.
Shifted from urgent nighttime repairs to controlled, scheduled interventions during production windows.
Belt misalignment identified in 1.5 months and confirmed by inspection — enabling preventive action.
Being able to catch issues early has helped us shift from reactive firefighting to planned, efficient maintenance that secures uptime and safeguards production.
Shift from reactive firefighting to planned, efficient maintenance that protects uptime and drives ROI.
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