moveero, the market-leading US-based off-highway solutions provider, has reached a major milestone in its latest hubs and spindles manufacturing investment program, with the second of the project’s four phases now complete.
Along with state-of-the-art testing and manufacturing capabilities, and a wealth of expertise rooted in the USA, moveero’s manufacturing plant and customer support team are based in Armstrong, Iowa. The plant works closely with the company’s North American R&D centre, which includes a hub test stand capable of testing high capacity agricultural and construction hubs in-house.
moveero offers an extensive range of customisable hub systems for off-highway machinery, with capacities ranging from 500 lbs (227 kg) right up to 60,000 lbs (27,200 kg). The largest capacity hub system, which is unique to moveero, is ideal for single-axle vehicles carrying out heavy duty processes – for example, grain carts, slurry wagons and towed scrapers. The hub can also be fully customised, with an option to include disc brake components if required.
Building on the success of its proven product range, moveero has begun a two to three year Continuous Improvement and Investment program which started in 2023. The first phase, completed at the end of 2023, was largely a preparatory one, introducing a new, lean and improved workflow through the plant, and seeing the assembly area moved to a more efficient location. Phase 2 of the program has seen a new twin spindle Kitako lathe installed. Using state-of-the-art machining, the lathe is now in place and producing machined hub castings.
Brian Craig, Operations Manager at moveero’s Armstrong facility, said: “We have been working on the design of this new cell for a couple years, collaborating with different equipment manufacturers to come up with the most capable process and equipment on the market today.
“Essentially this new machine represents an upgrade of our existing equipment, with the introduction of the very latest technology bringing even tighter tolerances and improved efficiency to our products, reflecting our commitment to constantly evolve and continually improve.
With a long and proud tradition of manufacturing hubs and spindles in the USA, investment programs like this enable us to carry on providing customers with high-quality, high-performance solutions.”
Phase 3 of this project due Q1 2025, will see a new fully automated cell installed enabling all lathe and machining operations to be completed automatically, ready for final assembly. As the first fully automated cell in our hubs and spindles plant, this investment in advancement and commitment to deploying the latest technology represents a real step change in manufacturing processes.
Aaron Dahl, Chief Engineer North America for moveero, explained: “In simple terms, a raw casting will go into the new automated cell and the hub will come out of it, ready to go straight to the new assembly area. Our experienced installation and commissioning team are working through the test and validation stages ready to bring this new equipment fully on line in the 1st quarter of 2025.”
Mark Heitman, moveero’s Hubs & Spindles Product Manager for North America, summed up: “With a long-standing reputation in the North American off-highway market for Hubs & Spindle assemblies, we developed and manufactures our patented Profi-Hub system. Designed to meet the demands of more powerful, higher-capacity machinery, it delivers increased carrying capacity together with significantly longer service life, improved performance and simpler servicing.
“An extensive testing program demonstrated a remarkable two and a half times bearing life improvement, designed for a minimum of 20,000 miles service at 20 miles per hour. The re-design has also enabled the system’s casting weight to be reduced by 15 lbs, whilst retaining strength and durability.”
For more details, visit www.moveero.com.
