"Compared to three years ago, we are producing 30 percent more 'stampings today," says Paul Meyers, plant engineering manager at Anchor Manufacturing Group, Inc., Cleveland, OH, a Tier One and Tier Two automotive supplier of stampings and assemblies. As the firm has significantly ramped up its metalforming capacity, it's also expanded its welding operations, more than doubling its number of welding machines and personnel (from 40 to 113 employees just in the welding area). To handle this growth spurt, the firm, residing in two buildings on one campus, recently reorganized operations by moving most of its presses into one building and welding and assembly operations into a second building, along with shipping and receiving, to create an optimum and efficient flow of material. Starring in the 155,000-sq.-ft. pressroom are three transfer presses purchased within the last several years-a 2000-ton 180-in. model brought in seven years ago, a 1000-ton 120-in. model added in 2003 and a brand-new 1200-ton 240-in. press installed in January 2006.
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