Page 7 - MetalForming September 2010

Serving those who create precision metal products using stamping, fabricating and other value-added processes.
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Facilities
A Metalforming Miracle: 20 Years Without
a Lost-Time Accident
E.J. Ajax and Sons, Min- neapolis, MN, a manufac- turer of precision metal stampings, fabricated sheet- metal products, deep-drawn parts and assemblies, has recently passed the 20-yr. mark without a single hour of lost time. The firm also has worked the last 7 yr. with zero OSHA 300 log incidents —“no cuts, stitches, slips, falls or back strains,” says vice president Erick Ajax. “Statewide,” Erick continues, “Minnesota metalformers average one amputation a month—that’s why everyone at E.J. Ajax considers safety to be our highest priority and moral responsibility.”
Horizon Steel Expands
via Acquisition
Flat-rolled steel supplier Horizon Steel, Wheeling, IL, has acquired the facility and equipment of the former MC Steel Co., also in Wheeling. Included is a 72-in. cut-to- length line, a 24-in. slitting line with deburring capabili- ties, a sheared blanking line and a second edge-condi- tioning line; Horizon has added to the facility a 72- in. 1⁄4-in.-capacity Red Bud slitter with in-line corrective leveler.
Greenheck Fan
Growing in Saltillo
Hoping to increase sales of its air-movement and control equipment into Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other neigh- boring countries, Greenheck
Fan Corp. plans to expand its operations in Saltillo from 35,000 sq. ft. to 70,000 sq. ft. Eventually, the company, based in Schofield, WI, expects to double its workforce at the facility. Greenheck manu- factures fans, dampers, lou- vers, kitchen ventilation hoods and similar equipment.
Medical-Device Maker
Expands with Class
100,000 Clean Room
LSA Laser, a fast-growing contract manufacturer of medical-device components and assemblies in Plymouth, MN, has opened a Class 100,000 clean room to process silicone, TPE, Teflon and other polymers in addition to a wide range of medical-grade metal alloys. The firm operates out of a 26,000-sq.-ft, facility with 26 laser-weld- ing and cutting systems.
Etching Company Launches Rapid- Prototyping Program
for Stampers
Photofabrication Engi- neering, Inc. (PEI), Milford, MA, a metal-etching compa- ny, has introduced its Rapid Prototyping Program designed to help metal- stamping companies intro- duce new products quickly and inexpensively, accord- ing to PEI vice president Chip Lehrer. The company uses photo-chemical machining to produce burr- free tightly toleranced (0.0005 in. on a 0.25-in.- radius hole or flange thick- ness) parts or tools in small quantities, in as little as
2 to 3 weeks.
Awards
Six Sigma Excellence Earns MA Metal Recognition
Cummins Inc. presented a Chairman’s Award to met- alforming company M A Metal, Edinburgh, IN, for its commitment to Six Sigma management philosophies designed to improve process and product quality, elimi- nate waste and defects, and save money. The award-win- ning project, in which the Cummins engine-business global purchasing staff had to quickly identify new, niche suppliers of oil pans and covers, was one of 40 that Cummins selected from among its 4000 Six Sigma projects in 2009.
Says Ronnie Burton, M A Metal’s vice president of operations and a student in Cummins’ Six Sigma Sup- plier Training: “Our contri- butions to this project taught us how we can use Six Sigma to improve prod- uct and service delivery to all of our metalforming and stamping customers.”
Supplier Award
Presented to
Sheetmetal Fabricator
Contract sheetmetal fab- ricator CGI Automated Man- ufacturing, Romeoville, IL, is the sole U.S. recipient of the Excellent Supplier Award from the American Purchasing Society. Nomi- nated by its customer Focal Point, a manufacturer of light fixtures and lighting systems, CGI performs laser cutting, CNC turret punch- ing, rolling, forming, assem- bly, robotic welding and
William E. Gaskin, CAE
wgaskin@pma.org
Kathy DeLollis
kdelollis@pma.org
Andy Flando
aflando@pma.org
Brad F. Kuvin
bkuvin@pma.org
Marlene F. O’Brien
mobrien@pma.org
Donna D’Amico
ddamico@pma.org
Susan Cubranich
scubranich@pma.org
Barbara Tillett
btillett@pma.org
Sales Staff
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METALFORMING / SEPTEMBER 2010
www.metalformingmagazine.com