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Results: 50
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Finding lean in simple inspirations
No facet of a metal fabricating operation is too insignificant for lean improvement. If you’re looking for ideas on areas to tackle, this article will help.
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Why do customers buy from you?
If you don't know the answer to that question, you aren't listening to your customers closely enough. And that puts the entire organization at risk.
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The vital role of the CEO
If a metal fabricating company's CEO is running the plant or acting as
a salesperson, who is guiding the business? For such companies,
operating without a CEO can be a very dangerous situation.
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The glue that holds company valuation together
A company structure can be an attractive size and shape, with a
seemingly strong foundation--but still be a house of cards. Therefore,
it’s important to test the robustness of a company’s structure to
determine whether it is what it appears to...
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How trust drives business
At The FABRICATOR's Leadership Summit in February, speaker
Tom Ziglar used a bicycle as a metaphor for how people drive
business success.
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More than numbers drive valuation -- much more
Various factors drive company valuation, and one of the most
significant is the market characteristics--that is, a company’s sources
of revenue and the total available revenue within the company’s reach.
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The chaplain and the press brake technician
Everyone has personal problems at some point of their lives, and
those problems can affect productivity at work. In this sensitive area,
workplace chaplains may be able to help.
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Job shop estimating: Compatibility issues
In this third installment of Columnist Gerald Davis' series on job estimating, he describes why an estimator cares how well a project fits the capabilities of the shop.
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Basics on the financials for metal fabricators
Generally, five categories are examined to determine company
valuation. All are important in assessing risk-adjusted valuation, but
the one that gets the most immediate attention, rightfully, is the
financials.
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Developing shop employees for the field
Companies involved in heavy-duty metal fabricating and fieldwork discuss the traits they want to develop in their own workforces.
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Tube producer knocked down, but not out
When one of its facilities was struck by an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011, Independence Tube Corp. vowed to rebuild the facility. The reconstruction, which was aided by its staff, its customers, and its suppliers, was a Herculean effort that...
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What is your company worth?
Columnist Dick Kallage explains why a private company should be interested in establishing its market value even if it isn't for sale.
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More exhibitors, more attendees, more FABTECH
More than 26,000 people affiliated with the metal fabricating industry
showed up at FABTECH® 2012 in Las Vegas in mid-November not
to lose money, but to learn about new technologies and processes that
could help them reduce production costs and...
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Job shop estimating: A business process examined in 12 steps
Columnist Gerald Davis begins a series of columns that address one of the most important activities related to shop profitability: job estimating. In this first installment, he describes how an estimator needs to understand what processes are...
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Time to outsource inventory management?
When a fabricator doesn't have money tied up in raw material just sitting around, that cash can be invested elsewhere to help the business. Unfortunately, many shops don't recognize that. That's where leaning on service centers can help.
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Taxes, skilled workers, and certainty
Will a new employee perform well? What will the new tax
environment be? These challenges and more create levels of
uncertainty that drive business decisions.
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The evolution of nickel alloys and welding materials
Since he first heard his uncles discuss the nickel-plated bumpers and hubcaps on their 1937 Plymouths, welding expert Carl Smith has witnessed the use of nickel and its alloys evolve. Long used in the energy sector, the materials have seen an...
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2013 Forecast: Rosy for some, sterling mediocrity for others
Consumer spending is up. Even housing is up. Yes, pundits preach global uncertainty, even gloom and doom. But as owners of small or medium-sized businesses, metal fabricators have orders to fill, and next year many expect the volume of orders to...
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A matter of trust
Trust is something that’s earned not only through hard work, but also by treating employees not as “direct labor hours,” but as, well, people.
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Taxes and the deficit: The perils of oversimplification
Chris Kuehl, economic analyst for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association and managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence, Lawrence, Kan., offers a reasonable look at taxes and what they mean to business planners.
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Capital spending forecast up again
According to the 2013 Capital Spending Forecast, to published by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, projected spending for U.S. metal fabricators climbed 4 percent over last year. The total amount is just shy of readers' projected...
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How a fabricator can stand out to customers
The best metal fabricating partner in a supply chain is the one that not only provides on-time delivery of quality products, but also provides complete and open communication. Today the only means to do that is by opening up information technology...
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Beyond mere convenience
As this Q&A with Plante Moran's Jeff Mengel reveals, an innovative approach to a customer relationship can lead to a very successful supply chain partnership.
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Growth opportunities worth trumpeting in manufacturing
The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association 2012 Salary/Wage & Benefit Survey is out, and it proves a lucrative career awaits those fabricators willing to put in the work to hone their skills.
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Industrial espionage?
Exactly what falls under the umbrella of industrial espionage? Do you think it’s possible for another company to steal your product design and processes? Learn from one fabricator’s experience.
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The decision of a lifetime
There are elections, and then there are watershed elections, such as those in the U.S. in 1800, 1860, and 1932. Voracious student of history and longtime engineer Jim O’Leary believes the 2012 election falls into this category, as "unrest with...
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How to develop the next-generation leader
Preparing a plan to develop the next-generation leader requires a comprehensive, objective analysis. It should cover where the business should go over the next several years, and what skills the next leader will need to take the company in that...
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The rebirth of a metal fabrication business
In September 2011, thanks to changing weather patterns and unintended consequences of water management, GT Fabrication was flooded yet again. The family business has been through this before. Why stay in the game? Because the metal fabrication...
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Metal fab heads west
Previewing FABTECH® 2012 in Las Vegas.
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The incredible economic power of manufacturing
It’s no secret that the U.S. economy is in a precarious state. How did we get where we are, and what can be done to improve conditions? Longtime industry professional Jim O’Leary believes the answer lies in encouraging manufacturing and the...
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How do welding emissions fit into your emissions inventory?
Most EPA inspectors used to pay scant attention to welding fumes; these days they warrant much more attention. Regrettably the EPA relies on AP-42, a document that is thorough in some areas but not too detailed in welding processes. This means an...
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3-D CAD: Setting up a costing tool
Cost analysis within 3-D modeling software won't replace cost estimating, but it still can be a helpful tool.
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Balancing sales forecasts with reality
How can a fab shop use customers' sales forecasts effectively for in-house production planning, but at the same time not rely on them too much? It's a balancing act, but if done effectively, it can prove to be highly beneficial for a fabricator.
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The financial benchmark for metal fabricators: Survival of the fastest
The results are in from FMA's 2012 Financial Ratios & Operational Benchmarking Survey and the message is clear: Raw material and work-in-process inventory eats cash. Successful fabricating shops have figured out a way to avoid excess inventory...
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A moral argument for manufacturing
Despite media coverage and political candidates’ speeches about the importance of manufacturing to the U.S. economy, the sector continues to struggle. Why? What will it take to address the various problems plaguing manufacturing? A longtime...
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Staying safe shipping metal products
The days of a trailer being loaded with metal products before it leaves the shipping deck are over. Because customers want their parts delivered as soon as possible, lighter-than-truckload shipments are a normal part of shipping operations. This,...
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Fabricating the American Dream
What’s the current state of the American dream? So many seem to work hard and do everything right--but just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
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The vitality of purposeful work
The median age of the Vita Needle emloyee is 73. The company
practices what one anthropologist calls eldersourcing. Considering the
knowledge they've gained over the years, the elderly may become one
of metal fabrication's greatest assets.
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Update from Germany
Interviews with several TUBE exhibitors revealed that the energy industry remains the biggest driver in the tube and pipe industry. The opportunities aren’t just in oil and gas, but also wind and even nuclear, despite the Fukushima incident....
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How CRM can help— and not hinder—the sales rep
Customer relationship management, or CRM, software has a bad reputation. Many consider CRM to be simply a burden on salespeople. Nex Solutions’ CRM doesn’t fit the software implementation stereotype. The platform isn’t all-encompassing; for...
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The new shop on the block
Rob Howell, a 38-year-old fabricating veteran in Phoenix, Ariz., opened his fab shop more
than a year ago and has experienced a lifetime's worth of lessons in the months since. The biggest lesson: Just because you own a business doesn't mean you...
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Delivering orders on time, every time
Considering the demands from OEMs, stellar on-time delivery now is
just as important as quality, and manufacturing cells may help a
fabricator attain that stellar on-time delivery.
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A (re)moving story: Eliminating condensation
Air movement is a cost-effective way to reduce condensation, create a more uniform temperature from floor to ceiling, and increase employee comfort and productivity. Large-diameter, low-speed fans, up to 24 feet in diameter, provide efficient air...
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5 tips for a less stressful ERP migration
A migration from an older software package to a new enterprise resource planning software system is almost assured to test even the most forward-thinking metal fabricating organization. Every part of the organization is touched in this move, and...
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The subtle landscape of U.S. manufacturing
Manufacturing companies aren’t all the same, and neither is worker pay. Reality is subtler than that. Despite all the complexities, though, the massive U.S. contract manufacturing base can’t grow if multinationals continually choose to build...
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Navigating the EPA's NESHAP Rule 6X
The EPAís NESHAP Rule 6X went into effect on July 25, 2011. Find out if this regulation applies to you; what steps are required if it does; and what equipment is out there to help keep your employees safe and the EPA happy.
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Integrating nesting software into MRP systems
Everyone knows that dynamic nesting by itself can translate into improved material utilization. What happens when the nesting software is fully integrated with an organization's material resource planning software? The metal fabricator can take...
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Quick response ushers in triple-digit growth
Between 2007 and 2011 sales at Eugene, Ore.-based Mohawk Metal
Co. grew 700 percent. During normal times such growth would be
seen as uncontrollable, but the past few years haven’t been normal
times.
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What's driving the tube/pipe industry?
Interviews with several TUBE expo exhibitors reveal that two booming industries throughout the world are energy extraction and automobile production. Although some industries are expected to lag in 2012, notably the U.S. housing construction...
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More than a metal fabricator - a problem solver
The management team at Airtronics, San Jose, Calif., has seen the manufacturing landscape change greatly over the last 25 years. Plenty of computer and seminconductor work has gone overseas, and the fabrication work that remains is much lower in...
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