The finishing department, where parts move from welding, is another area where the operations team will be working to streamline product flow. The global metal fabrication market was valued at USD $16.35 billion in 2015. Now a part can be put in the fixture, and it’s ready for the robot. The clutch plate is an essential item in the automobile industry. That’s where Amerequip now finds itself. That accuracy, along with the precise cuts delivered by the laser, has allowed many parts to bypass the machine shop, which was not the case about three years ago. Abfall said that the company’s design engineering, fabricating, assembling, painting, and testing capabilities have proven to be a winning combination, enticing its long-term customers to throw more work their way. Again, the goal is to have the right amount of purchased parts at the right time. Professional Welding Workshop. And that goes for the metal fabricating companies looking to hire a salesperson or just looking to modernize their sales approach. An electric voltage is applied to the part, causing the paint emulsion to adhere to the part.). Most companies in the metal fabrication business work primarily to fortify their organization’s strategy in a manner that can best help them make it through changes in the global economy. There’s no guarantee that these and other improvements will get Amerequip to its goal of $150 million in sales by 2023, but all of these recent changes create a solid foundation from which to make a solid go of it. The company offers apprenticeships, so that students can attend classes at the technical school while simultaneously learning on the job—and getting paid for it. Green means the machines are doing their jobs. Creating a First-Rate Steel Fabrication Company Business Plan It's virtually impossible for your steel fabrication business to succeed without an effective business plan. The fabricator is growing because it has figured out what makes it special and how to maintain that with expansion and new blood entering the organization. A Metal Fabrication Shop. Sheet thickness can run anywhere from 20 gauge to 1 inch, but a majority of the steel being processed through the laser system is 0.375 to 0.25 in. Heus added that the CO2 laser technology really makes sense for the material mix that Amerequip cuts on a regular basis. It's foolish to make important metal fabrication services business decisions without carefully assessing the risks associated with each option. The company had followed this approach for almost the last four years. We learned the importance of “partnering” early on. Generating new business by growing your customer base is important to your business success. SafanDarley R-Brake 130T – the flexible bending cell, Steel Hedging 101: Introduction to Managing Price Risk, Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals. However, it can sometimes be very challenging. Abfall said that, in combination with finding nearby partner companies that can assist with fabricating, welding, and finishing tasks when job orders exceed capacity, stabilizing the employee turnover has proven beneficial in allowing the company to focus on internal improvements, which ultimately leads to more efficiency on the shop floor. In addition to the 71,000-square-foot welding shop expansion in 2014, Amerequip added an 83,000-sq.-ft. addition in 2016 to house its laser cutting and bending operations. It’s also giving thought to how might be the best way to stage product for shipping to customers. Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator en Español. The exercise is bearing some fruit after only a few months. This kind of consolidation helped Continental Steel’s Don Ascione grow his business in a way he didn’t plan for — but was able to recognize and capitalize on as a metal specialist with a world-class network. “People want time, and it’s even more so now than it was 15 years ago. They joined the company’s two hydraulic press brakes. The automobile designed for snow was discontinued in 1939, but not before Admiral Richard E. Byrd took a couple with him on his early Antarctic expeditions. The acid bath removes the oxidized edges and slag from the laser-cut parts. When it comes to the metal fabrication sector, the good news is that things are currently experiencing a growth spurt. It needs to find more painting capacity. “We want to do more for less,” he said. I need a partner to setup a welding & steel fabrication business. It had just completed a major expansion of its welding and fabricating areas at its main manufacturing facility in Kiel, Wis., in 2017 and boosted its laser cutting capacity with a major investment in cutting machines and a huge 15-tower, 200-shelf automated raw material storage and retrieval system, but it was still having trouble handling all of the new opportunities from its customers. “Within the last year, we have become more proactive versus reactive. (A monorail runs the entire length of the system to insert and retrieve “cartridges” of raw material.) “But it’s really changed. “All of this growth has been organic. With a little planning and innovation, you can drive growth and expand fabrication operations. For instance, if an assembly cell requires 100 parts per day, six totes with 25 parts in each might be staged nearby, providing the cell with a day and a half of product. Amerequip struggled to keep up with work, and if it were to continue its successful pattern of year-over-year growth, it needed to reduce employee turnover and straighten out some of its processes. Growing company supplies steel and metal products to a wide variety of customers, both do-it-yourselfers as well as major construction companies. New online metal fabrication services business owners often find that running an online business is more labor-intensive than they expected. Before coming to The FABRICATOR he has covered appliance manufacturing, the finishing industry, and manufacturing and business software development. Here are some practical tips to help you grow your customer base. Around the same time the laser cutting system was being installed, the fabricator also upgraded its bending capabilities with two SafanDarley servo-electric E Brakes, one that is 40 tons and the other which is 120 tons. If Amerequip wanted to keep growing, it had to make some changes. Amerequip has the pretreatment bath; an e-coat tank; two paint-application booths with automated, reciprocating guns; and manual touchup areas for complex parts that didn’t receive complete paint coverage in the automated booths. 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Right now the welding department is at about 50 to 60 percent utilization, according to Abfall. It calls for sheet metal fabrication, product design expertise, as well as business contacts in the fast-growing niche of commercial touchscreen displays. A Quick Guide to Building a Successful Metal Fabricating Business. Purchasing machines that are not yet cost-efficient or enlarging facilities … It’s a constant push to serve customers better, and if a fabricator does it well, often more opportunities arise. The company raised its starting wage to more than $15 per hour. Expanding your shop may not be easy, but it’ll be well worthwhile for you and your employees committed to its growth. The idea came from the welding department, he said. The cylinders are made at the company’s New Holstein, Wis., facility. Another aspect of this process is to investigate more cost-efficient ways to fabricate parts for customers—even if the part is not being welded by Amerequip. 2135 Point Blvd., Elgin, IL 60123 (815) 399-8700. Like many other metal fabricating operations, Amerequip would like to get more productivity out of its welding department. Although fiber laser technology is not part of the mix right now, Abfall said that they are keeping an eye on it if the need is there for further expansion of the laser cutting system. In the metal fabrication business, everyone would rather be busy than slow, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Amerequip Corp., Kiel, Wis., wants to keep growing its business with a handful of key OEM customers. Inquire today about this profitable and growing steel fabrication business for sale! “Those companies that are promoting their business, following the sales plan, and keeping track of where they are, are growing,” he said. less than the original fabricated and welded predecessor. It added a weekend shift at the Kiel facility, something that Abfall said he had never done before. With its capital equipment investments over the last couple of years, the company won’t have to worry about laser cutting or bending being its bottleneck. Too many entrepreneurs forego this fundamental step. The challenge was a culture of always trying to fulfill customers’ wishes. When they are empty, they go back to fabrication to be filled—fabrication to welding to painting to assembly. The absolute first thing you should do is create a metal fabrication business plan. No lift trucks are used to move material. A relationship with another custom finisher in Wisconsin has helped to take some pressure off the finishing department and ease the bottleneck, but company leadership is considering expansion of the paint department or acquiring capacity to provide a more permanent solution. The goal is to grow the business. With the labor situation somewhat settled, attention is now being turned to optimizing the robotic welding effort. In 2018 Abfall said he knew something had to change. In 2012, 125 people worked for Amerequip; by mid-2017 that number had grown to 300. It is a fact that you cannot successfully run any business in the United States without the proper documentations. The press brakes are able to hold angle tolerances of 0.5 degree. In this process a metal part is dipped into a tank containing a water-based solution mixed with a paint emulsion. One of the first steps Amerequip took was to renegotiate the contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represented its employees. The key is to keep production going to meet demand, but not building too much. As robotics technology continues to improve, automation is one of the trends that businesses in the metal fabrication industry are set to embrace in the coming years. But it's important to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of buying a business before you decide on either an acquisition or startup approach. To do that, it can’t afford to supply assemblies and end products that don’t meet customer expectations. It enables the rotary … “It’s a truer sense of what needs to be done instead of having the MRP system pushing the schedule,” Abfall said. But the metal fabricating industry is not dominated by companies that take it easy. It even builds complete end products, such as commercial mowers. We at SW plan to serve the metal fabrication market segment. You can proceed using the following steps: Create a Business Plan: It is impossible for your metal fabrication unit to succeed without a business plan. Meanwhile, everyone is working to find the best and most cost-effective ways to build parts and end products for customers. The fabricator couldn’t find enough workers, and retention was becoming more of an issue as some employees took advantage of the robust manufacturing economy in Wisconsin, finding other employment that may have offered more money or was closer to their homes. They didn’t want as much free time,” Abfall said. A recent award-winning cast part is a good example of this type of cost-saving conversation. You probably already have an idea of what type of business you want to open and how you want to incorporate. He lives with his wife and two children in Crystal Lake, Ill. Sign up and be the first to know about the latest industry news, products, and events! Voice of the Customer – Know the Customers to Grow Your Metal Fabrication Business. After almost a year of back and forth and finally testing, a new casting will make its debut in a 2020 backhoe product. Financial Performance. “We want to grow our customers.”. His next project is looking for existing parts that are good candidates to be moved to the robotic welding cell. Here is a sample business plan for starting an iron and metal fabrication company. A mistake made by many new business owners is attempting to do too much at one time. Amerequip is taking the same approach with its vendors, encouraging them to more actively manage their delivery of products. It’s evolved.”. TTM May 2018 SDE. Promote Your Drawing Service ; Does your company offer a Tekla drawing service, if yes, promoting it will help you to get an edge over your competition. Abfall said another project is investigating ways to add capacity. … These changes enable us to make sure we can meet the demand versus running into a wall and falling behind,” Heus said. MC Machinery Systems supplied the laser cutting machines and the material handling system. Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The WELDER. Preliminary Steps to Start a Metal Fabrication Business. I'm Interested! Amerequip worked with Neenah Foundry, Neenah, Wis., starting in April 2018. 2021 metal fabrication forecast: The road to recovery continues, Die Science: Finding the root cause of stamping failures, Ask the Stamping Expert: How to start using tool coatings, Engineering Angle: Draw bead restraining forces in sheet metal drawing operations, Stamping in an EV World: Gestamp’s innovative approaches to forming EV components, Aluminum Etc. Based on product volume, the number of pallets and totes that feed assembly varies. Fabrication works businesses deal with using various metals such as iron, steel, and even aluminum for the creation of doors, windows, staircases, roofing structures, and other items for homes, office complexes, etc. It's just as easy to get a first-rate piece of business as a second-rate one. That business model still exists today as it builds familiar items, such as backhoes, and newer products such as mower decks and snow blowers for skid steers. To fill up the talent pipeline, the fabricator is looking to strengthen its partnerships with local high schools and technical schools. The rise of automationhas no doubt changed the nature of many industries including metal fabrication. $1,151,279. When one is emptied, the accompanying router card and pallet/tote goes all the way back to the front of the system, the fabrication department, and a production order is triggered. Understand your customer's needs and develop products and services that meet those needs. 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