Page 37 - MetalForming February 2015

U.S. Mercury plant, set up to provide highly complex low-volume parts (clamps, mounting brackets, core plugs, etc.) for the heavy-truck mar- ket. But Briggs and Schwochow also have their sights set on the construc- tion and agricultural-products mar- kets, and haven’t ruled out evolving into higher-volume automotive work.
“The business model is different,” shares Briggs. “While automotive typ- ically gives you eight-week lead times, in truck and construction we face two- to three-week lead times. We have to not only be able to handle the diversi- ty and flexibility required by lower-vol- ume higher-part mix fabrication and stamping, but we also need to focus on speed to delivery.”
Versatility and flexibility play out on the plant floor in Mexico thanks to an equipment list balanced by five stamping-press lines on one side and sheetmetal-fabricating equipment on the other. This includes a 4000-W CO2 laser-cutting machine, four press brakes and a slew of welding equipment.
When the Saltillo facility opened, four stamping presses made the jour- ney from the U.S. facility—a pair of 65- ton models, along with 110- and 350- ton presses. To expand its stamping capacity in a big way, in mid-2014 the plant welcomed a 1000-ton rebuilt 1963-vintage Danly with 120- by 84- in. bed, 20-in. stroke and 64-in. shut height.
Mercury stamps and fabri- cates several complex, low- volume products for the highly complex low-volume parts (clamps, mounting brackets, core plugs, etc.) for the heavy-truck market. Shown here being stamped on its newly rebuilt 1000-ton mechanical press are truck- hood pivot support bars.
“We saw a pronounced need for bigger presses in Mexico,” says Schwochow, “for applications such as truck-cab walls and frame rails. Some parts that we have been stamping in
Canada and transporting down to Mex- ico now run on the Danly, and we’ve brought back some outsourced dies that had been running in nearby Mex- ican pressrooms.”
This Could be the Start of Something Big
Mercury’s management team in Canada oversaw the purchase and rebuild of the 1000-ton press, along with a rebuilt 60-in.-wide-capacity feed line with 7.5-hp motor and five-roll straight- ener. The press rebuild, performed by Excel Machinery, St. Catharines, Ontario,
Canada, included a clutch/brake over- haul, new counterbalance rods and seals, rebuilt slide overloads, a crown rebuild, upgraded controls and the addition of light curtains.
“To load up the press with work, we brought the previously outsourced dies inhouse, and have brought in several new tools to stamp heavy-truck frame rails,” says Briggs. And we’ll soon bring down a progressive die and several line dies from the Windsor plant. All told, we’ll quickly fill about half of the press’ capacity.
‘We’re really gearing up in 2015 for new business for the press,” Briggs con- tinues, “and we expect that by June (2015) the press will be running two shifts per day, full out. Our business out of the Saltillo plant has doubled since its inception, and we think it will double again in 2015 and then again in 2016, thanks in large part to anticipat- ed growth in the construction market —excavators, road graders and similar heavy equipment.”
Then Mercury’s management team will set its sights on adding more press- es to the plant, to fill out the press line- up. “We’ll likely be looking to add mid- range 500- and 600-ton models between the end of 2015 and 2017,” Briggs concludes. MF
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MetalForming/February 2015 35
A four-station line-die setup on the 1000-ton press
stamps truck-frame cross members, one of several previ- ously outsourced jobs that Mercury Products has brought back inhouse following its new (used) press acquisition.