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Sinking deep into metal manufacturing

Custom sink designer dives head-first into fabrication

Tony Davis lays a bead on a copper sink. Davis, also an instructor for Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 15, has years of experience on jobs across Florida.

Dino Rachiele knows the kitchen and bath industry; over 20 years the entrepreneur has carved a successful niche in custom sinks of stainless steel and, especially, copper. But he’s the first to admit that he doesn’t know much about metal fabrication, though he knows good work when he sees it. And yet in 2016 his small company, Rachiele LLC in Apopka, Fla., successfully launched a sheet metal fabrication operation from scratch in a matter of weeks.

What makes the story unusual is the experience he had with a sheet metal worker’s union representative, who showed up at the new shop to finalize agreements with his new shop manager, Ray Uvalle, and three employees.

As Uvalle recalled, “He said, ‘My God, I’ve never seen the four of you in the same room together. Ray, you just hired the best people in the union.’”

A little before this, Uvalle approached Dino. “I don’t want to put pressure on you, but you do know that their lives and paychecks are counting on you.”

Dino shot back, “And they’re my whole future.”

In a Pinch

Dino holds several patents on his high-end sink designs, which have special aprons that hang down over the counter in front and ledges within the sink that can hold accessories like cutting boards.

Before joining Rachiele last year, Uvalle already knew the company’s products well. Except for the final patina, Rachiele had previously outsourced all of its sheet metal work to another fabricator, where Uvalle had worked for 15 years and managed the sink’s fabrication process. He even inspired his son to join the fab shop.

Then the fab shop’s management changed, quality problems ensued, relationships soured, and Uvalle was let go. Soon after Uvalle got a call from Rachiele’s patina artist, who was noticing that sinks were not up to standard; she had a difficult time getting the patina to stick to them. Of course, Uvalle had already left the company, so there wasn’t much he could do. Dino also learned that the fab shop was planning to make their own sinks to compete with Rachiele—sinks that looked strikingly similar to Rachiele’s own (a fact Dino isn’t secretive about; he’s posted the story on his website).

The relationship between the fabricator and Rachiele ended in a hurry, and the sink company was left hanging without a means to make sinks. So Dino reached out to Uvalle and asked him if he could recommend other custom fabricators in the area. Uvalle listened, then said, “I could make them for you. I’ve been doing it for years.”

Dino had customers waiting. Could Uvalle launch a fabrication shop from scratch in less than two months? Not a small garage shop, but an entire facility ready to fabricate make-to-order sinks to exacting standards?

Rachiele launched its in-house fabrication operation in less than two months, renting a facility, purchasing machines, and hiring fabrication talent.

Uvalle replied in his soft-spoken way. “Yes, sir, I can.”

Quick Ramp-up

The next day Uvalle visited Dino in his office, who then drove him to a warehouse five miles away. “[Dino] told me, ‘If this works for you, I’ll rent this for you tomorrow.’”

The place would work. Rachiele signed the lease the next day, and Uvalle reached out to a carpenter and an electrician to get the shop ready to accept machinery. Less than 72 hours after that first phone call between Rachiele and Uvalle, the company was buying equipment, including a shear, turret punch press, a hand brake, a press brake, a folding machine, and welding and grinding equipment. Save for the turret punch, every machine was purchased new.

Rachiele’s banker couldn’t believe that the company could be up and running so quickly. Three weeks after the company signed the lease for the warehouse, the banker visited as machinery started to arrive. Uvalle turned to her and said, “‘Give me four weeks, and I’ll give you a tour. We’ll be fabricating.’ She said that was impossible. Sure enough, several weeks later I called, and she came to see us in production.”

Rachiele’s fabrication operation produced its first sink June 10, 2016, and as of earlier this year, Uvalle and his staff of three were well on their way to producing more than 300 units.

“The first sink went out the door less than 60 days after I found out that I needed to [bring fabrication in-house],” Dino recalled. “It was unbelievable.”

Four Friends

Every day Dino arrives at the shop and drops off drawings. The company has digital drawing files, but meeting with Uvalle with paper drawings in hand helps the two clarify any fabrication issues. Dino then loads finished sinks into his truck and drives them back to the main office for patina application, packaging, and shipping.

When the sinks arrive, the customer can see all four fab shop employees’ signatures on the underside of every sink. “People love it,” Uvalle said. “It’s funny, because they won’t see the signatures again once the sinks are installed. But if we forget to sign it, customers let us know.”

Uvalle brought his son Rey (same-sounding name, different spelling) onboard with his friend, Roy Cazares, whom he had known since childhood. Both now work in CAD/CAM; nest parts; program the turret, press brake, and folder; and perform finishing work. Uvalle then brought in an expert gas tungsten arc (TIG) welder whom he’d known for more than 25 years. It was a critical position to fill, considering most of the welds made are cosmetic. All four worked together previously, and all are members of Sheet Metal Workers’ International Local 15.

Rachiele’s welder, Tony Davis, also serves as the local’s primary welding instructor and has experience on the Cape, laying down welds on the Space Shuttle launch pad.

Rachiele’s turret punch press cuts the flat profile of a copper sheet that will be formed into a custom sink.

You’ll see no large stamping press or dies in the 5,000-square-foot shop, only a few presses used to form the sinks’ drain components. Rachiele produces custom, high-end products—no long runs here.

“These sinks have to be perfect,” Uvalle said. “We offer a 100 percent money-back guarantee for life. Nobody in the market does that.” The owner also believes in sourcing all components domestically, including the raw stainless and copper stock. “It’s 100 percent U.S.-made,” Uvalle said. “The material has the paperwork to prove it.”

Recently the fab shop had a visitor, a friend of Dino’s who works at a 100,000-sq.-ft. fabricator in Atlanta that does high-end defense and aerospace work. He looked at Tony’s welding.

As Dino recalled, “Had I not known better, I would have told you that weld was done by a machine. I’ve never seen welding like this done by hand.” Not hearing the conversation, Davis walked by, then saw Dino’s friend looking at the weld, and explained, almost apologetically, that it really wasn’t his best work. “He told him, ‘That’s not very good, but that weld isn’t showing. I try to do better when the weld shows.’”

Dino laughed and just shook his head.

Getting Creative

Aside from stainless, the company uses a cold-rolled copper grade that bends quite readily. Everyone needs to plan ahead, considering the material expense. “If anything goes wrong,” Uvalle said, “we’ve thrown away an $800 sheet of copper.”

Many bends require some serious creativity. For some aprons (the metal that drapes down in front of the sink bowl), Uvalle’s team developed a custom hand brake tool that can bend the inside radii of the bends that are in a space too long and narrow for conventional press brake tools to form successfully.

Some pieces literally are formed by hand. For instance, the curves of custom molding a customer recently requested were made by pressing the metal against a round edge of a tabletop, effectively “sculpting” the sheet into the desired shape.

Uvalle chuckled. “When we got that table, I looked at the round edge, and I said, ‘Well, look at that. That’s our new tool!’”

Uvalle paused, reflecting. “The man [Dino Rachiele] is very picky, and I’m a picky fabricator, so we make a good team.”

From left, Tony Davis, Rey Uvalle, Roy Cazares, and Ray Uvalle are the inaugural members of Rachiele’s fabrication team.

The nature of the work is very much like other custom fabrication niches, including architectural and ornamental metal fabrication for commercial construction. Uvalle has experience supplying Disney and other park operators with one-off or low-volume sheet metal creations. It’s a market the company intends to expand into within the next year or so.

New Challenges

So has the company had any growing pains? According to Uvalle, not really. His handpicked staff inspects all parts during fabrication, and Uvalle personally inspects every sink that leaves the shop. In fact, the only significant problems have dealt with products being damaged during shipment to customers across the U.S. and overseas. The sink must be held securely enough to remain undamaged when dropped, but gently enough so that packaging inserts don’t damage the patina.

But when it comes to the actual fabrication, Uvalle recalled no problems, and he attributed much of that to the trio of workers he hired. “I’ve worked and trained all of them over the years. We work very well together.”

There’s a true camaraderie, and it’s why some like working in small, custom shops. It’s how people who are good enough to weld on the Space Shuttle launch pad end up working at a small custom sink manufacturer north of Orlando. Every day is different from the next, but a common thread remains: A handful of people work together to make something as perfect as they can.

Photos provided by Rachiele, 407-880-6903, www.rachiele.com.

About the Author
The Fabricator

Tim Heston

Senior Editor

2135 Point Blvd

Elgin, IL 60123

815-381-1314

Tim Heston, The Fabricator's senior editor, has covered the metal fabrication industry since 1998, starting his career at the American Welding Society's Welding Journal. Since then he has covered the full range of metal fabrication processes, from stamping, bending, and cutting to grinding and polishing. He joined The Fabricator's staff in October 2007.