AMF is just getting started. “You see all these integrated, automated cut-to-bend solutions out there, but I’ve seen them mostly in OEMs. I need to see how it works for a custom fabricator like us. We want to prove that out.”
That was Lance Thrailkill, CEO of the Allen, Texas-based, 70-employee operation in the outskirts of Dallas. He and the management team have been leading the automation charge over the past eight years. Walk the floor today, and you see a range of technology from TRUMPF, AMADA, Bystronic, and others. The automation initiative has come a long way and is set to accelerate, with a major addition being built soon to house an automated storage and retrieval system for blanking.
The act of automating isn’t straightforward, especially in custom metal fabrication. As Thrailkill and his team have found, it really takes rethinking the entire operation. Their journey could be summed up in four foundational factors that continue to drive the organization toward its automated future. Without them, AMF probably wouldn’t be as automated as it is now, and the leadership team certainly wouldn’t be accelerating the effort.
Pour lire l'article complet : Guiding metal fabrication’s automation transformation (thefabricator.com)
