Page 26 - MetalForming December 2014

2014 Awards of Excellence in Metalforming
present to an educational institution that provides course- work directly enhancing metalforming technology.
Excellence in Productivity
Metal Flow Corporation, Holland, MI, received the 2014 Zierick Manufacturing Corporation Productivity Award. The company produces high-volume and complex custom metal components through the deep-draw process and progressive- die stamping using a variety of metal alloys.
Metal Flow won the award for reducing work-in-process (WIP) and finished-goods inventory, and for improving qual- ity on a product required the welding of two deep drawn parts.
The original process required components to be stamped in an individual cam-operated plunger press. Parts then were moved to an outside wash and returned to Metal Flow, where two operators per shift, working on three shifts, per- formed semi-automated welding to assemble the parts. The process ended with employees sorting and packing the assemblies.
Now, the parts are stamped, washed and welded in a captive, lean and automated robotic-welding cell. They then are boxed into finished goods.
As a result of the lean initiative:
• PPM has dropped from 100 or more to less than 1;
• Total labor required has dropped from 15 workers down to just six workers; and
• Inventory, including WIP, has dropped from six weeks to just five days.
The Productivity Award, sponsored by Zierick Manufac- turing Corp., Mount Kisco, NY, recognizes outstanding achievement by a manufacturing company in the develop- ment and implementation of programs and processes, and use of assets that lead to significant improvements in pro- ductivity. Metal Flow received a $1500 cash prize.
Excellence as an Educational Institution
Workshops for Warriors ( WFW ), San Diego, CA, received the 2014 Clips & Clamps Industries Educational Institution Award for its efforts to educate veterans and place them into advanced manufacturing careers. WFW is a board-run, fully audited 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering veterans free train- ing and certification in advanced manufacturing skills.
The WFW educational program allows veterans to choose classes in welding or machining. Participants attend 4- month semesters to earn credentials from industry-leading accrediting bodies such as the National Institute for Metal- working Skills (NIMS) and the American Welding Society (AWS). All WFW training is provided at no cost to veterans, funded by private donations from throughout the manu- facturing industry.
“Workshops for Warriors is really the house that American manufacturing built,” says Ana Guedes, WFW executive vice president. “Companies such as Haas Automation, Amada America and Sandvik Coromant, and trade associations including the Precision Metalforming Association, Fabrica- tors and Manufacturers Association and AWS have been tremendously supportive of our efforts to transition veterans into manufacturing, and have donated materials and funds to make our mission possible.”
The WFW curriculum features two primary tracks—
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