GOING THE DISTANCE

Established in 1988 by Robert Weser, Contracting Engineering Consultants, Inc. (CEC; Maidsville, WV) fabricates structural steel and other metal products for the construction industry. The company ? which is certified as meeting the requirements of the Steel Building Structures category by the American Institute of Steel Construction ? supplies general contractors with various architectural specialty products, including structural steel, stairs and handrails.

CEC?s steel products primarily are used in schools and universities, commercial buildings, churches and coal mines. The company has designed steel building components for many well-known organizations, including the Smithsonian?s National Museum of American History ? a project that entailed more than 220 tons of steel used in an extensive interior renovation, including structural steel framing for a new central atrium skylight and gallery, as well as reconfigured elevator shafts and reinforcement of existing steel structures. Another major client is West Virginia University, whose sports stadium features a structural steel shell and a large, cantilevered seating area designed and produced by CEC.

Through the years, CEC has expanded its capabilities, first adding a 9,240 sq ft structural steel and miscellaneous metals shop in 1997. A few years later, the company finished construction of a 6,000 sq ft building to house a state-of-the-art automated beam line machine that handles and drills steel beams. Today, the company?s 18 metalworking professionals use the most advanced technology available, including steel detailing software integrated with cutting-edge steel production and business management software. This technology produces a level of quality that is difficult to find in the steel industry, according to Chad McDonald, shop foreman.

?Our company mission is to produce an error-free product, and we stand behind that ideal,? he said. ?We won?t ship anything that?s even slightly defective. Our employees are trained to make sure materials that fail to meet our quality standards don?t leave our shop until they?re absolutely correct and measure up to the job specifications. We have stringent procedures the entire team follows to make sure we are meeting this goal with each project.?

Naturally, this demand for quality extends to the handheld power tools used on the shop floor. Like most steel shops, CEC?s metalworking professionals use compact angle grinders all day, every day for various tasks that includes everything from grinding welds, cutting and polishing, to cleaning plate.

?Our grinders ? all of our tools, really ? are put through some pretty punishing use. It?s important that they are comfortable to operate, and they also need to be able to stand up to a certain amount of abuse,? McDonald said. ?We were going through grinders a lot quicker than I would have expected. In fact, some of them were burning out just a few weeks from when we originally purchased them. The bushings would give out really quickly, like they had been cheaply made. It was getting to be an expensive and irritating problem.?

In an attempt to solve the breakdown issue, CEC decided to try some new WS 14 angle grinders from Fein Power Tools, Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA).

When it comes to any power tool, there are two factors that enter into consideration, according to McDonald. First, does it hold up? Then, does it make the worker?s job easier? So far, the new angle grinders CEC bought a few months ago deliver on both counts. ?They are comfortable to use all day, and they don?t bog down under heavy grinding,? he said. ?So far we haven?t had any trouble at all with them.?

With no traditional switch to get the tool started, these grinders provide a patented switchless power option that requires the user to hold down one of four buttons while using the tool. The buttons are designed ergonomically on the casing and require virtually no pressure ? only contact ? to keep the tool running. The disc begins to stop just seconds after the button has been released, which is intended to prevent dangerously long overrun periods. ?It took a little time for some of the guys to learn how to get them started using the touch system, but once they got the hang of them, everybody seems to like the new grinders really well,? McDonald said.

The range of these angle grinders covers the entire 5 in to 6 in grinding bandwidth, as well as a 4½ in model with the tip start feature. One unit has a variable speed feature that can be adjusted between 2,500 rpm and 7,000 rpm. Another model is equipped with a quick-action tool clamping system. The low-maintenance high-power motor delivers high torque levels and can withstand permanent loads up to 1,800 watts, preventing damage to the disc during operation. The design is ergonomic and provides a number of safety features, including an integral, non-removable safety hood and an Autostop feature that prevents a long overrun period.

?We designed these grinders to be safe, durable and easy to use. To start with, they?re smaller and generate less vibration than other machines. One metalworker told us it fit his hand better than any grinder he?d used in the past 30 years,? said Vince Grlovich, vice president of sales and marketing for Fein. ?They also provide higher-powered motors and additional safety components that other grinders don?t offer. Overall, we feel they represent an excellent value.?

The return-on-investment that McDonald expects from these grinders is significant, given the company?s past experience with angle grinders that broke down after a few weeks of heavy use. ?We?d been buying the cheaper grinders for a while, and we just kept going through them. At times, we would have six grinders failing every month. At a cost of $100 or a little more for each failed grinder, that gets expensive really fast. ?The new grinders have been great so far, and they come with a solid warranty. We?re potentially looking at maybe saving around $3,000 a year or maybe even more if they hold up like we?re expecting them to,? he said.

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Fein Power Tools Inc., 1635 1030 Alcon Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220, 412-922-8886, Fax: 412-922-8767, www.feinus.com.