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Testimonial Steel & Pipe Corporation
- Location:
- Core business:
- Founded:
- North Carolina, United States
- Steel Service Center & Steel Fabrication
- 1961
“When we compare productivity to the previous beam line we have seen an increase in at least 30% and running cost saving of 40%. The accuracy and performance of the system has been exactly as was sold to us.”
Steel service center & steel fabricator
Steel & Pipe Corporation is located in Sanford, North Carolina and was established in 1961 as both a Structural Steel Fabricator and Steel Service Center serving North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia fabricating jobs from one ton to twelve hundred tons. In mid 2010 Mr. Brian L. McRae, President, was confronted with the decision to replace the beam punch line that had become unreliable. In September 2010, after almost twenty years of service and several cylinder rebuilds, the decision was made not to invest anymore time or money in the old machine.
Allround machine
Mr. McRae began his due diligence to find a new system with certain goals that needed to be achieved. “We needed to find a supplier that can give us the performance of high speed drilling, the capability to layout all fabrication positions driven directly from DSTV, automatic tool changing and a technology level that superseded all other suppliers to give us an edge in this very competitive market place. After visiting end users of Voortman products and also contacting many customers throughout North America for testimonials regarding the criteria we had set prior to any purchase being made, we finally decided to purchase the Voortman V613 High Speed Drill Line."
Installation, training and production after a few days
During the time the old system was out of commission, Steel & Pipe had to revert back to manual layout and drilling. This situation very soon reminded Steel & Pipe that without the CNC technology of an automated system they could not survive. "Voortman was able to fast track assembly and installation of the V613 drill to assist in the dilemma we had with no machine in place. The old beam punch line was removed prior to arrival of the new Voortman V613 to expedite the installation and training period. This was accomplished in a matter of days. The Voortman technicians also converted the existing material handling with the old dated hydraulic drive system into a new electric drive system driven by invertors. We began training and production the same week."
Productivity increase & cost savings
“The installation was completed earlier this year and we have seen a minimum of 10 to 1 increase over the manual method we had to revert to with the demise of the old system. When we compare productivity to the previous beam line we have seen an increase in at least 30% and running cost saving of 40% over the hydraulic system and no leaks to deal with which had always been an issue with a hydraulically driven system. The accuracy and performance of the system has been exactly as was sold to us.” said McRae.