The winter of 2009 will certainly be one for the history books — from Barack to bailouts, and in a good part of the country, blizzards dominated the headlines.  While Americans rejoiced in a new presidential legacy and suffered through financial scandal, those in ski country celebrated an abundance of snowy white powder.

In an otherwise gloomy economic picture, plentiful snow in the Northeast and Midwest meant increased attendance at ski resorts, and the need for enhanced trail grooming. And CJ Composite Bearings were aboard many of those trail-grooming machines, helping to maintain the moguls from the bunny slope on up to the black diamond trails.

Snow grooming and more

Our client, a leader in the design and manufacture of snow machines, needed a tough bearing for the oscillating points located in the wheels of their grooming machines.  The wheels are located inside the machines’ rubber tracks, and enable the groomer to move easily along frozen terrain. They found that the bronze bushings they were using had a short lifespan and needed to be replaced each season.  The bushings also required regular greasing and other labor-intensive and expensive maintenance.

Lifespan x 4

We are happy to report that our CJ Composite Bearings met — and exceeded — our client’s need. Once the client made the switch from bronze to CJ’s, the wheel bearings have been in constant use, and have not required changing for an average of four seasons.  This represents an increase of roughly four times the lifespan of the bronze bushings. 

With a high load capacity and self-lubricating feature, CJ Composite Bearings excel in this harsh winter environment with very little maintenance. They thrive where long wear and low maintenance matter most—including the agriculture, construction, marine, and railway environments.  We invite you to peruse our CJ bearing size chart to ensure you get just the bearing for your application.

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