Industry Watch: Business

Recent activities and events going on in the business of fabricating and metalworking.

FASTEMS, LLC (WEST CHESTER, OH) . . .
added 4000 sq ft to its North American headquarters near Cincinnati that includes a showroom and training area to demonstrate its factory automation systems, two additional conference rooms, and an additional 1000 sq ft of office space. The total space is now 8,000 sq ft of this wholly-owned subsidiary of Fastems Oy Ab (Tampere, Finland).

In addition to doubling its physical space, the open integrator of flexible automation systems also appointed Jana Landrum as the business controller, Mark Saalmuller as the eastern U.S. regional sales manager, Jacqueline Brooke as the project manager to coordinate system installations, and Joseph Miraglia as a service/installation technician based in New York to support customers in the Eastern U.S. Fastems is currently researching candidates in the Northwest to service and install systems the Pacific U.S. corridor. The company currently employs 400 people in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

“Automation is the future in the global marketplace to increase productivity and reduce overall operating costs,” said Tomi Ketola, the president of Fastems, LLC. “Companies can achieve substantial cost savings that will affect an ROI of less than 12 months in most cases. Just as manufacturers are now making these investments, so is Fastems. We are building our support organization and customer confidence to ensure that we can serve companies, large or small, in the North American market.” The company provides extendable and flexible automation systems and robots, advance manufacturing management system controls, stacker cranes, conveyors, loading/unloading stations, single or multi-level workpiece, pallet magazines and assembly organizers, and raw material stations.

These “open” automation systems can be incorporated with virtually any modern CNC machine tool and auxiliary equipment brands. Typical applications range from joining two machine tools together with a flexible palletized container to highly sophisticated, factory-wide flexible manufacturing systems. www.fastems.com

GIBBS AND ASSOCIATES (MOORPARK, CA) . . .
granted Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT; Edmonton, AB, Canada) a network license of twenty-five seats for GibbsCAM software and a post processor library which, when combined with the first-year maintenance contract that was also granted, is valued at almost $510,000.

The software includes functionality to open CAD models from their native format file, modify and prepare CAD models for machining, and generate, verify, simulate and post process CNC toolpaths for up to 4-axis milling, rotary milling, and multi-axis turning. It will be used for CAD/CAM, CNC programming, and machinist apprenticeship and training classes of the NAIT School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Technology, and for its periodic GibbsCAM-only training classes, the first of which will be offered in April, 2011.

“We are grateful for this generous support,” said David Grabski, the associate chairman of the NAIT Machinist program. “This software will provide our instructors the option to teach CNC programming with a system that is locally well-supported and which has a reputation for demonstrable ease of use. It will be most helpful in programming our multi-axis machining centers and dual-spindle turning centers with live tooling, where verification and machine simulation are more important.”

The NAIT Machinist program, one of the largest in North America, is conducted within the 31,000 sq ft NAIT Sandvik Coromant Centre for Machinist Technology that houses three machine shops, a CNC lab, two computer labs, five “smart” classrooms and a metrology/inspection lab. It employs nearly 200 machine tools, including 24 conventional milling machines and 83 conventional lathes, and has capacity to train 1,820 students annually. The facility offers a four-year apprenticeship program that is responsible for approximately 70 percent of Alberta machinist apprenticeship training; a full-time, one-year CNC certificate program; and two pre-employment machinist programs. At the core of its CNC machining programs are 36 Haas Automation CNC lathes, turning centers, dual-spindle turning centers, and vertical and horizontal machining centers.

“Because NAIT enjoys an exceptional reputation serving Canadian and international industry, we are proud to assist it with a grant of software to help machining students achieve higher levels of CNC programming faster than could be achieved with other software,” said Robb Weinstein, the senior vice president of sales and strategic planning for Gibbs. “Our user base is growing rapidly in Alberta, serving oil, gas and other industries, and we hope to help customers find new employees that already know how to use a powerful and increasingly popular CAM system. We look forward to NAIT success with GibbsCAM in its machinist and CNC training programs.” www.GibbsCAM.com, www.nait.ca

BERNARD WELDING EQUIPMENT (BEECHER, IL) . . .
now features product information, demonstrations and customer testimonials on its new YouTube Channel, The Bernard Difference. Through welders, supervisors and business owners from a variety of industries, The Bernard Difference channel provides first-hand accounts about Bernard products, including their Q-Gun™ MIG guns, Dura-Flux™ self-shielded FCAW guns and Centerfire™ Series consumables, as well real-life welding solutions that transpired from using them.

The channel also features company experts providing up-to-date product information on the companies MIG guns and accessories. Bernard will continue adding videos to the site on a regular basis. The company has manufactured GMAW (MIG) and FCAW (flux-cored) welding guns, consumables, accessories and manual arc products for more than 60 years as an innovator in heavy-duty MIG welding and a contributor to improved welding productivity. www.bernardwelds.com

GF AGIECHARMILLES (LINCOLNSHIRE,IL) . . .
launched a mobile website that allows those seeking product information to do so via their smartphones. The mobile site utilizes numerous engines, platforms and active browser versions that make it compatible and fully functional with all popular phones and even older browser versions for a superior mobile experience. The browser support covers the Android, Apple iOS, Blackberry OS, Nokia Symbian and Symbian S60, Palm webOS, and Windows Mobile platforms.

Visitors can quickly access extensive information on wire cut and diesinking EDM systems, high speed milling machines and machining centers, innovative Laser Ablation technology, entry level diesinking EDM systems and high speed drilling systems. GF AgieCharmilles is the North American leading supplier of laser ablation centers, wire EDM, CNC and manual diesinking systems and high speed/performance and 5-axis CNC milling machines. www.gfac.com/us

GREENERD PRESS & MACHINE COMPANY, INC.
(NASHUA, NH) . . .
recently delivered a 75 ton hydraulic press to ILSCO Corp. (Cincinnati, OH), a leading manufacturer of electrical connectors that is shifting from mechanical presses to hydraulic presses to punch, trim and mark electrical connectors in aluminum and form them in copper. The privately-held company was founded in 1894 and now manufactures more than 15,000 connector solutions, including SureCrimp^®, ClearTrax^®, Nimbus^®, ClearTap^®, SnapBloc^® and Kup-L-Tap^® for OEM, wholesale and utility markets, all backed with award winning on-line support and personal service.

With 220 employees in its Cincinnati location and four additional manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada, the aggressive entrepreneurial spirit of ILSCO has been a guiding force sustaining and growing the company for over 100 years. The new hydraulic press uses adjustable stroke length and tonnage to replace three different full-revolution mechanical presses and further standardizes die sets, which has reduced set-up time by over 50 percent. The new machine is also safer to operate than the older mechanical presses.

The Greenerd press is constructed of a heavy, welded frame that provides maximum rigidity and minimum deflection for accurate parts and long tool life. It uses a removable press table that makes it quick and easy to drill and tap tool-mounting holes or resurface the table. A large daylight and throat depth accommodates large dies, and long stroke lengths are adjustable from about 1 in to a maximum of 18 in. “We are pleased to provide ILSCO with the first hydraulic press to be integrated into their manufacturing operations,” commented Tim Dining, the president of Greenerd. “We were able to deliver a press that is easy to set up, performs a number of different operations and is safe for them to operate.”

Founded in New England in 1883, Greenerd has built thousands of hydraulic presses since 1934 in all sizes and configurations. www.ilsco.com, www.greenerd.com

DELCAM INTERNATIONAL (WINDSOR, ON) . . .
recently renovated its existing premises to meet the growing demand for its sales and services and to support the extended product line for its Healthcare Solutions in Dental and Custom Orthotic Insoles. The Windsor office opened in 1997 to service the increasing number of customers situated in Ontario, Michigan and other industrial areas across North America.  It is now one of five offices located in North America to support over 10,000 customers  and more than 40 sales partners situated throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The office renovations introduced a newly designed demo center and training facilities. “The demo center was created in the Windsor office because of the expertise offered through the experienced and senior application engineers there,” said Glenn McMinn, the president of Delcam North America. “We have worked hard to earn a reputation for quality customer service. It has been an important factor in making us a leading supplier of machining software and achieving record sales last year. This state-of-the-art facility is another element in the high quality support we provide.”