Page 20 - MetalForming-Sep-2018-issue

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MetalForming/September 2018
www.metalformingmagazine.com
Downtime and cost comparisons led Yorozu Automotive Tennessee to opt for new feeder-straightener packages rather than rebuilds. Future work also impacted the decision.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
Since 1987, Yorozu Automotive Tennessee, Inc. has stood smack dab in the middle of high-volume automotive-component production. With 1300 employees and 500,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space in the small Tennessee town of Morrison, Yorozu Automotive Tennessee primarily man- ufactures chassis products, mainly subframes and control arms, as well as trim products such as brake-leveler assemblies and oil pans. Material destined for the company’s 16 mechanical-press lines includes mostly steels in thick- nesses from 1.8 to 4.5 mm, with lot sizes reaching 5000.
Among those press lines, eight are blankers, in capacities from 150 to 1000 tons.
“On a typical blanking line, we’ll run as many as four jobs per shift, and within each of those may be three or more coil changes,” explains Mike Rogers, senior vice president.
The company, steeped in just-in-time production, goes seven days max.
New Feeds
the Ideal Route for Auto Supplier
This recently installed straightener-feeder, on a 300-ton blank- ing line, represents Yorozu Automotive Tennessee’s efforts to modernize its press lines, to ensure reliability while prep- ping for new work that requires increased material- feed capabilities.