Page 20 - MetalForming November 2017

TruForm, with New Presses,
The Tennessee metalformer adds 330- and 660-ton presses, with another 660-ton on the way, increasing capacity for future auto and appliance work.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
Along I-40 just west of Nashville, the thump-thump-thump echoes from TruForm Way, the newly named street where TruForm Manufacturing LLC stamps and assem- bles components destined for appli- ance OEMs and automotive Tier One customers. The rhythm tells you that TruForm is busy. Fact is, TruForm has grown busier every year since the late- 2000s recession.
The company opened its doors in 1999 with two 200-ton presses in a 20,000-sq.-ft. plant. Expansions fol- lowed, and significant growth occurred after its purchase by Sisler Manufac- turing Group in 2012. With its new own-
This new 660-ton mechanical-press line will help TruForm Manufacturing LLC meet increased demand for automotive parts.
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ers, Jon and Brett Sisler, experienced in the appliance industry, TruForm took on that sector to augment what had been until that point a 100-percent automotive-supply business. A capital infusion followed, with TruForm grow- ing in size from 40,000 sq. ft. at the time of sale to nearly 100,000 sq. ft. under roof in adjacent buildings today.
The campus has room to grow even further, as the company owns several acres of land on the site.
New Work, JIT Needs
Make Case for New Presses
Within its expanding space, Tru- Form and its 96 employees across two
shifts provide progressive-die stamp- ing, robotic and resistance gas-metal- arc welding, and assembly. In late-2015, new automotive work, slated to begin in summer 2018, prompted the com- pany to explore added press capacity.
“I’m a big believer in redundant back- up, because we are a just-in-time (JIT) supplier,” explains Paul Beaton, TruForm general manager. “Any press that we buy should be compatible with our existing presses with respect to shut height, stroke, bolster scrap patterns, pass lines, die protection, controls and more.”
TruForm supplies appliance OEMs on the order of 4-million-plus primarily complex hinge and lever mechanisms