Wharton Associates was founded over twenty years ago as an alternative to the OEM suppliers for replacement parts for *Townsend Engineering and HITEC linking equipment. We started by rebuilding and refurbishing old linking chains we acquired from various meat processing facilities throughout the country. With that experience in hand, we decided the next logical step was to manufacture our own linking chains using all new materials. Adding a full line of replacement parts was not far behind.
Have an idea or solution to a problem but just don’t know where to start? With an extensive background in engineering, tooling design and machining, we are able to fabricate any special order products you may require with a drawing or sample part.
Wharton Associates starts with high quality Tsubaki stainless steel attachment roller chain. We chose Tsubaki for its load handling ability and overall quality. Tsubaki has its own manufacturing facilities unlike some of its competitors and are able to better monitor product quality. We offer two styles of chain. An ANSI AS35 style chain is used on older *Townsend Engineering and HITEC linking equipment. The second is a British Standard/DIN RF06B or *TECO style chain used by *Townsend Engineering on its newer linking equipment.
For our lug and pincher blanks we use a single cavity stamping process that allows us to hold our tolerances to .005 of an inch, roughly the thickness of a dollar bill. After forming, the parts are deburred using a high energy finishing system. This two step process removes all the sharp edges left by the blanking process and polishes the parts to a high luster. The resulting part has smooth edges that are less likely to damage the thin casings used in today’s production environments. Less casing damage can lead to more run time for your linking machines. Higher run time can yield more profit for your company.
Final assembly is the next step in our process. We compress stainless steel rivets to attach the polished lugs and pinchers to the chain, secure the chain ends together with a pin and cotter key, box, label and ship it to you.
All Wharton Associates products are guaranteed for defects in materials and workmanship. In the event you have a problem with any of our products, simply return it to us for repair, replacement or refund.
*TECO and *Townsend are registered trademarks of Marel Meat Processing Inc. Wharton Associates does not manufacture or sell authentic *TECO* or *Townsend* products. Wharton Associates is not affiliated with, sponsored by or licensed by any other company, manufacturer, OEM, fabricator or brand name.