When Brent Carr joined US Farathane as Director of Maintenance and Reliability, he saw an organization with talented people but a maintenance strategy that was largely reactive. Significant equipment failures often triggered emergency responses, pulling teams away from planned work and creating costly downtime.
The opportunity for improvement was clear.
“I spent a lot of time really across the enterprise responding to major failures, significant downtime events.
The opportunity was really evident.”Brent Carr
Director of Maintenance and Reliability
US Farathane
Recognizing the need for a more proactive approach, Carr led the deployment of KCF Technologies’ SMARTdiagnostics platform across US Farathane’s injection molding facilities. The initiative has since transformed how the company manages equipment health, develops maintenance talent, and drives operational efficiency.
For Anthony Saldana, Maintenance Manager at the Georgetown, Texas facility, the impact of unexpected equipment failures extends far beyond a single machine.
When critical assets go down, production may need to be shifted to sister facilities, creating logistical challenges, increased costs, and additional pressure on operations teams. Downtime also affects labor efficiency, forcing technicians to abandon planned work while operators remain idle and other equipment goes unattended.
The team realized that improving performance was not about working harder. It was about identifying problems before they became failures.
Traditionally, maintenance teams rely on experience and observation to detect developing issues. While those skills remain valuable, they are inherently limited by what technicians can hear, feel, or observe during inspections.
By continuously monitoring machine vibration and operating conditions, SMARTdiagnostics identifies developing faults weeks or even months before failure. This early warning capability is especially valuable when replacement parts have extended lead times, giving maintenance teams the time needed to plan repairs and avoid disruption.
The platform’s AI-powered analysis also helps accelerate workforce development. Less experienced technicians gain access to the same actionable insights that seasoned reliability professionals use, allowing teams to make more informed maintenance decisions across the organization.
One of the most significant outcomes has been a shift in maintenance culture.
Instead of spending their days responding to emergencies, technicians are increasingly focused on diagnosing root causes, planning corrective actions, and improving asset reliability. The result is a more proactive workforce that contributes strategically to operational performance.
As the program matured, maintenance teams began to see themselves differently.
“There’s a stigma that maintenance technicians are just parts changers,
wrench turners. Having KCF in our building has transitioned them into strategic problem solvers.”Anthony Saldana
Maintenance Manager
US Farathane Georgetown Facility
The move away from reactive maintenance has also strengthened safety. Planned repairs reduce the urgency and risk associated with emergency work, helping ensure employees can complete their tasks safely and efficiently.
Greater visibility into equipment health has created a more predictable work environment as well. Teams can focus on scheduled priorities instead of constantly reacting to unexpected failures, improving both morale and productivity.
US Farathane went live with KCF Technologies in 2025 and quickly began identifying reliability opportunities across its operations.
By Q1 2026, the company’s enterprise-wide gains were approximately three times greater than those achieved during the second half of 2025, as issues identified during the initial deployment were resolved and the resulting value was realized.
Key performance indicators, including unplanned downtime, time between failures (TBF), and cost avoidance, continue to trend in the right direction as the program matures.
For US Farathane, predictive maintenance has become more than a reliability initiative. It has evolved into a competitive advantage, helping the company improve uptime, empower its workforce, and create a more proactive, resilient operation.