Just how does a stamping company maintain not only its viability during these challenging times, but grow and thrive as well? What form of culture, skill sets and technological investments must be made in order to accomplish this? For these and other answers, I turned to a company that I have worked with for more than a decade - Woodstock Stampings in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. Started in 1985 with 22,000 sq. ft., 22 employees and three presses, Woodstock Stampings has grown to 105,000 sq. ft., 105 employees and multiple presses ranging from 150 to 800 tons. In the last two years, the following technologies have been added: robotic resistance and gas-metal arc welding, robotic assembly, restructuring of the plant layout to allow one operator to run two large presses, and an underground scrap conveyor that drops scrap from the presses into a 40 ft. trailer. The electronic sensor program at Woodstock Stampings has a full-time sensor applications specialist, a mistake-proofing technology lab (sensor lab) and a corporate-wide set of standards for the installation of sensors and their support components including connectors and cabling.
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