THAT’S A WRAP

In an effort aimed at achieving a greater measure of customer service and reducing labor costs, this Indiana-based steel service center recently unveiled a new orbital stretch file wrapping machine technology built with some innovative in-house fabrication work for packaging its deliveries in a way that is more attractive and secure.

Located near Indianapolis, Westfield Steel, Inc. (Westfield, IN) is an independent, family-owned, full-line steel service center that was founded in 1977. In growing to accommodate its customers’ needs, this fabricator credits its success to quality people and the capacity to provide customers with quality steel and processing. The company’s main processing center is in Westfield and a second facility operates in Terre Haute.

The Westfield plant recently placed into service an in-house orbital stretch film wrapping machine that was built from the ground up with raw materials using some innovative fabrication work. Longtime employee Paul Edwards spent two months late last summer putting the pieces into place to bring the equipment into operation. “When it comes to customer service, you can always do things better. Most of what we haul to our customers is placed on pallets and, depending on the size of the delivery, it’s always a challenge to make sure it looks nice when it goes down the highway,” he said.

According to Edwards, from the start of its initial development in March 2010, the goal was to find a packaging solution that would be noticed from the time an order rolled off the production floor until the moment it arrived at the customer’s door. Created from the plant’s own internal fabrication capabilities, the new orbital stretch file wrapper machine is helping the company to reach its goals related to the type of secure packaging it provides for its orders while reducing the amount of labor needed to do the job.

After first looking at various used equipment, Westfield Steel then focused on applying the configuration for use on its forklifts and started designing the new platform in-house in June. Edwards engineered the assembly of the equipment through some innovative fabrication work and the use of some spare parts, such as motors and bearings.

While it is not uncommon for manufacturers such as Westfield Steel to specify different types of machinery for use on its production floor, the presence of this new equipment illustrates the innovation that is being created to provide a greater degree of operating efficiency while driving down costs. The wrapper was complete by August and has been configured for use mostly with the company’s forklifts.

All of this adds up to a measurable labor cost savings and has increased loading order efficiency. The results, according to Westfield Steel chief financial officer Fritz Prine, are clear. “Our finished parts pallets are now more secure and attractive. The packaging is much tighter, making even the heaviest of loads easier and safer to handle. The industrial film we use, and how that film is wrapped, gives the customer a complete package, helps protect the finished parts from rain and snow, and arrives with a quality look. Most important of all, having this machine in place adds up to a measurable cost savings . . . and it’s increasing our efficiency of loading orders for shipment.”

Edwards admits that while a wrapping machine is not a new idea, the manner in which Westfield Steel is applying it illustrates its commitment to serving the needs of its customers.

Westfield Steel, Inc., 530 State Road 32 West, Westfield, IN 46074, 317-896-5587, Fax: 317-896-5343, www.westfieldsteel.com.