Steeling for a robotic increase
A $1.3 million production robot is set to give a North Shore steel fabrication company the ability to accurately process steel beams on an automated line.
The newly-installed CNC unit at A+ Steel Fabrication will drastically reduce the time it takes to drill, cut and prepare a beam to fit with the rest of a steel assembly.
The Ficep robot also accurately measures and etches marks in the beams for further work, such as welding cleats.
A+ Steel Fabrication director Phil Witney said the unit imported from Italy would open new business opportunities at a time when major Victorian infrastructure projects, such as the Metro Tunnel, were drawing heavily on existing resources.
“We see what is happening in Melbourne with the tunnel, and what resources that’s taken out of Geelong and up there, so it’s a good market for us,” Mr Witney said.
He said steel suppliers that did not have the cutting capacity or had excess work were already starting to have discussions about quoting jobs.
Controlled by dedicated software, a key feature of the robot is to work 360 degrees of the beam.
Mr Witney said the unit, installed over the past two weeks, had the capacity to reduce a four-hour manual job down to about four minutes.
“We are looking to increase productivity, giving us scope to win more projects, not reduce our staffing numbers” he said
If the demand is proven, A+ Steel Fabrication is prepared to look at additional shifts to keep the machine operating.
Founded in 2010, the growing North Geelong company moved to a 4000sq m facility in the port precinct about two years ago, subletting adjoining facilities for sandblasting and painting.
“Basically we can do the whole job in-house,” Mr Witney said.
“The more we can do ourselves in here, the more work we are going to do.”
A+ Steel also provides maintenance, site construction and labour hire services.
Mr Witney said the company, which was turning over $7-8 million a year, employed a team of 30.