Page 14 - MetalForming December 2014

Feed Lines Fuel
Cosmetic-Parts Production
...at Weber, manufacturer of the “American backyard barbecue.” As Weber’s product mix has expanded in recent years to include high- end stainless-steel masterpieces, so has its manufacturing acumen, highlighted by the move to progressive-die stamping with feature- laden servo feed lines.
Hungering for a reliable and effi- cient metalforming process to produce, among other barbe- cue-grill parts, cosmetic stainless-steel panels free from marks and other aes- thetic issues, the metal-fabrication team at Weber-Stephen Products LLC, Palatine, IL, recently turned its attention
to new coil-feed technology. Equipped with 15 stamping presses (28- to 800-ton capacity), the Weber press shop process- es a wide range of material types and thicknesses—stainless and mild steels, aluminum alloys, galvanized and other precoated sheetmetal from very thin sheet 0.018- to 0.134-in. thick.
Stamping, fabrication and assem- bly occurs in a 400,000-sq.-ft. building on Weber’s sprawling campus. The company, previously named Weber Brothers Metal Works, was renamed Weber-Stephen Products Co. after an employee, George Stephen (develop- er of the firm’s iconic kettle grill), acquired Weber Brothers Metal Works in 1959.
Fast forward to the period between 2007 and 2013, when the Weber prod- uct line grew tremendously. Today it bears little resemblance to the “Amer-
The Weber product line bears little resem- blance to the original “American backyard barbecue.” Since 2007, Weber has intro- duced dozens of new models—ground- breaking aesthetic designs with stunning curves and sleek lines, and in flawless stain- less-steel and brightly-colored enameled finishes.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
12 MetalForming/December 2014
www.metalformingmagazine.com