In many different industries, including in the development of agricultural parts, components, and equipment, in the production of custom truck bodies, in the oil, gas and mining industries as well as in military and defense industry, custom metal fabrication services are essential.
OEMs in these industries have, in the past, often run in-house shops. This allowed the OEM to have full control over all aspects of production, but it also meant the OEM had to bear the cost of equipment, labor and keeping a fabrication shop operating.
Today, with the increased automation and the cost of the state-of-the-art equipment needed to provide precise parts and components, most OEMs turn to a custom metal fabricator. The fabricator may be contracted to work on one specific service, or they may provide a number of services including machining, welding, punching, stamping, and even assembly and finishing.
Large Production Needs
Turning to an outside fabricator to complete large volume orders is a natural choice. These companies have the equipment, the employees and the specialized facilities to be able to get large numbers of parts and components completed to the specifications of the OEM.
Complex Parts
The more complex the part is, the more important it is to turn to a company with the expertise and the industry experience to get the job done. With their specialization in custom fabrication, they can easily work with your in-house team of engineers and designers from concept through to prototyping and production.
With the team from the custom metal fabricator as part of the designing team, they can provide insight into best options in materials, modifications to the design to reduce production costs. They can provide support in increasing durability, life cycle, and reliability of the part, which is always a top consideration.
This type of collaborative design process benefits the OEM in a faster design time, faster move from drawing to production, and better control over costs and quality production.