Automation and accuracy: The future of metal fabrication

By Jenny Yu.  

Explore how strategic automation can address labor shortages and efficiency issues. 

In an industry under mounting pressure from labor shortages and production demands, contractors and fabricators are increasingly turning to automation and advanced folding technologies to stay competitive, said David Prokop, executive vice president of precision sales at MetalForming, LLC, during a recent episode of Coffee Conversations® with host Karen Edwards. 

“In my 40-plus year career, I’ve never seen a time when so many things are impacting the industry all at once,” David said. “It’s forcing people to go elsewhere, and more often than not, they’re landing on folding.” 

While the shortage of skilled labor remains the single biggest challenge across the sector, this interest in folding can be a new gateway to success. He added, “The only cure for it is to introduce different levels of technology that can offset that loss of labor.” 

Many larger companies have already begun transitioning to motorized folding and shearing systems, David noted. “Where the production requirements are really getting ahead of their ability to backfill with labor, they start looking very heavily into automation,” he said. 

But implementing new technology isn’t as simple as buying a machine and getting to work. “There’s more to it than just bolting it to the concrete and throwing an operator in front of it,” David said. “We make darn sure our customers don’t go down a rabbit hole and buy the wrong piece of equipment, or don’t get it installed or trained properly.” 

With this scale of equipment, safety is critical, especially when companies bring in newer and less experienced workers. “You have to protect them from the operation,” he said. “That integration between safety, operation, training and installation is a huge key to having a successful fabricating facility.” 

Accuracy in bending also plays a vital role in overall efficiency, David said. “Bending is really the only process that sets the stage for everything that happens thereafter. It determines how efficient the rest of your process is,” he explained. “The more accurate that part is, the faster it will install and the more efficient downstream operations become.” 

While full automation isn’t necessary for everyone, David advises companies to adopt systems that allow room for growth. “Not everyone can afford a fully automated system,” he said. “Starting with a solution that gives you a path to add automation as it makes sense is absolutely critical. You never want to get into a dead end.” 

Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to learn more about incorporating automation and folding systems into your company’s operations.