ACCORDING to Advanced Sheetmetal Technologies (ASMT), companies can survive economic downturns by having the right equipment installed.
Although management is a key influence on the stability and growth of metal fabricator companies, the company claims investing in the right technology can ensure a good outcome in hard times.
The sheet metal industry in Australia is competitive, but the American and European markets are said to be more mature and can be the source of a few lessons.
ASMT cited the example of EPMP, which was founded in 1984 and dumped in 1988 due to poor performance. The entity, consisting of six employees, old sheet metal fabricating equipment and an ordinary reputation was re-acquired in 1992.
New equipment such as turret punch presses, press brakes, shears and welders were installed, with the facility expanded and a new satellite manufacturing shop added to the premises.
Today, EPMP has 85 employees, and provides fabricated sheet metal products various industries including lighting and electrical, HVAC, and commercial construction.
ASMT attributes the company’s success to its implementation of automation technology. EPMP was facing competition from offshore metal fabricators and manual sorting was becoming costly.
It chose FINN-POWER’s Night Train material management system. The manufacturing system punches, shears, and engages in laser cutting. It also uses robotic press brakes and an in-line panel bender to automate the bending process.
This allowed fabricators to bend parts as they were needed, and use different bending sequences according to assembly needs. This reduced the labour content and also allowed better use of floor space by reducing work in process and storage of unneeded parts.
The company successfully reduced labour costs on bending and sorting, but also realised reduced material costs, higher steel utilisation and reduced lead times.

Key contact:
Advanced Sheetmetal Technologies
andrew@asmt.com.au

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