During the economic downturn, many companies cut employee training to help control expenses. At the same time, technical and vocational programs were and continue to be cut for a variety of reasons, including providers' budget concerns and low enrollment.

As more commercial buildings are designed with larger open spaces, the beam spans grow longer, and the beams must be bigger and heavier. This requires ever-larger section bending rolls to accommodate this demand. In addition, the trend toward the use of higher strength steels has taxed the capabilities of plate roll bending equipment. These changes and other emerging demands have driven the trend toward the use of CNCs, inline material handling, and larger angle bending rolls.

A South Louisiana fabricator believes success in his fabricating endeavors involves a pride in workmanship, a passion in the craft, and perseverance in being the best. After 11 building expansions, Don Begneaud can say he has found a winning business philosophy.

Editor's Note: This is the fourth episode in a mountaintop dialog that Gerald has been having with a "wise business guru." They have been talking about customers and the time line of money.