Metal fabricators, together again at FABTECH

The North American metal fabrication industry’s main event, FABTECH, returns this week to Chicago. Let the show, and knowledge sharing, begin again.

Last week I spoke to Justin Auciello, the owner of Auciello Ironworks in Agawam, Mass. He represents the third generation of a family fabrication business, with a focus on DOT bridge work, architecturally exposed structural steel, and miscellaneous metals. He told me something refreshing and, alas, far too rare. He had recently hired two young graduates from the local trade school. “And both of them are just great,” he said. “We really hit a home run.”

What made the new hires so great was just how receptive they are. They listen and learn from the shop’s most experienced employees, some of whom have worked in structural metal for decades. They also appreciate new technology, and they’re not afraid of it.

With the adoption of new machines and software, Auciello is on the path toward a new digital era in fabrication. In truth, nearly every competitive fab shop is, though the paths may differ depending on the market niche. Although every fabricator’s path might have their own twists and turns, no one argue that those walking down that path is picking up the pace—big time.

Driving that acceleration is connectivity. When machines communicate and send status reports continuously to software, business models can change. For instance, machines could also be sold as a piece of equipment, but as a service, with the fabricator paying an hourly rate only when the system is in use. Estimating and quoting are becoming automated. Robots are becoming smarter and more flexible. Software is helping to streamline it all. And this year, FABTECH returns to show it all.

These days just about everything is, essentially, a software business, and that includes metal fabrication. The challenge, of course, is finding the people, like those homeruns Auciello recently found, who absorb the craft of the old with the innovation of the new.

Managing through all these changes and challenges is difficult in a vacuum. There’s so much to talk about, from labor issues to unprecedented supply chain challenges. Every FABTECH, I see how fabricators from different corners of this industry converse, compare stories, and learn.

FABTECH proves just how much being in the same place matters. Every show I’m reminded that the industry’s greatest resource is not some machine or software that will solve all problems (spoiler alert: it doesn’t exist). Instead, the industry’s greatest resource is each other. And when we all come together at shows like FABTECH, managing through all the change becomes a lot easier.

Let the show—and the talking, learning, and relationship-building—begin again.