MN100: Thrustmaster of Texas, Inc.
The Company:
Thrustmaster builds a complete line of Z-Drive azimuthing thrusters from 500 HP to 4,000 HP for the inland towboat industry specifically designed to endure the demanding conditions when operating in brown water. Using Z-Drives on towboats results in substantially improved fuel efficiency, shorter trip times, decreased maintenance downtime and higher customer satisfaction when compared to traditional shaft and rudder installations. All thrusters are developed in-house by a complete engineering department for mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronic design. Tooling includes machining and measuring equipment, CAD, vessel resistance and propulsion, 3D modeling and ANSYS Finite Element Analysis. The application of modal analysis, stress and strain analysis as well as rotor dynamic analysis of drive trains and transmissions are fundamentals towards the reliability and quality of Thrustmaster’s products.
The Case:
Thrustmaster’s products are built in the United States. A total of 289 employees produce results for customers in a facility that spans 200,000 square feet. This year’s highlights include Thrustmaster’s announcement that they had signed a service agreement with McGinnis Inc. – National Maintenance & Repair. This agreement extends Thrustmaster’s service centers to six locations in the U.S. Thrustmaster of Texas, Inc. Service Locations now include South Point, Ohio, Paducah, Kentucky, Hartford, Illinois, Harahan, Louisiana, Houma, Louisiana and Houston, Texas. Thrustmaster’s new capacities enables the firm to provide a new level of service, with even faster response times to customer requests. With Thrustmaster’s new service sites and 24/7 service hotlines we are available for our customers anytime and anywhere.