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FABTECH® 2016 Highlights—Day 1

As I mentioned in my preshow post, FABTECH® is huge. Today alone, I put in five miles walking from appointment to appointment at the show. My feet are reminding me of that as I sit in my hotel room, shoes off, writing this post.

Today was opening day at FABTECH® 2016 in Las Vegas. What better way to open the show than with a keynote speech by boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. Speaking to a standing-room only crowd of show attendees, Leonard shared his plan for achieving greatness through POWER—prepare, overcome, and win every round.

He recalled his epic, controversial win over Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1987 to become the 10th man to win world titles at three different weights. Leonard, the former welterweight and light-middleweight (WBA) champion, ended Hagler’s seven-year spell at the top of the middleweight division with a bitterly disputed split decision win in front of a capacity 15,000 crowd in Las Vegas’ Caesars Stadium and an estimated worldwide TV audience of around 300 million.

Leonard described the preparation that enabled him to win and related how his strategy can work in any competitive situation, such as those fabricators face every day.

Next up on my schedule was a meeting that I found as inspirational, if not more so. I met with Hernán Luis y Prado, the founder of San Diego-based Workshops for Warriors, an organization that provides veterans with quality hands-on training, accredited STEM educational programs, and opportunities to earn third-party, nationally recognized credentials in machining and welding. Besides giving veterans the training to transition successfully from military service into industry, the organizations goal is to rebuild America’s advanced manufacturing force.

I met instructors, including a former veteran/student turned instructor. I also saw some of the most touching videos regarding the program and those it helps. All graduates are placed in manufacturing jobs and the program has an impressive 94 percent job retention rate.

The nonprofit organization has plans for major growth throughout the country. To achieve this growth, it needs more funding. Anyone who wishes to donate can do so at www.wfwusa.org/donate.

Be watching for more about Workshops for Warriors on thefabricator.com in coming months.

Among the new products I saw today was Norton’s Red Heat line of belts and discs that combine premium regular and premium ceramic abrasives with a tougher, stronger backing that lasts longer. This is an upgrade to the company’s “best” quality products.

Weiler is showcasing its new Tiger® angled flap discs designed to offer flexibility for grinding hard-to-reach places. The company currently is working on a model for grinding aluminum that is expected to be released in 2017.

Weiler also has a great “visual” showing how its cleaning discs perform relative to competing models. And I learned a lot about the intricate design of the company’s stringer bead wheels.

On a side note, Weiler has a close relationship with Workshops for Warriors, providing products for use in its training programs.

Each year, the editors listen closely for “themes” that show up in discussions with exhibitors. Automation is shaping up to be a theme this year. Bystronic, which has been focused on automation for years, has expanded its offering to include automation for its ByStar 10 kW fiber laser. Introduced in June, the system is fully automated with the ByTrans system. As the presenter said today, the best and worst thing about a fiber laser is that it’s fast. Because the ByStar reportedly cuts five times faster than a CO2, it has to be loaded and unloaded five times faster. Automation makes this possible and is key to running consistently and with lights out.

Automation also is a focus in the Behringer booth. Among the products on display is an automated system for sawing structural steel. I heard a tale of two companies, one that cuts structural steel the way it has for 30 years. It has worked up to cutting 60,000 tons a year through the efforts of 18 workers. A new company has exceeded this output with two guys doing the work of 18 and cutting on the night shift only using the new automated system.

Tomorrow is another day, and I’m wearing shoes made especially for walking. Those or my flowered bedroom slippers.