Robot-Tended Press at Work in Monterrey

Nestled into the northeast region of Mexico, just north of Monterrey, we find metal former and fabricator EZI Metales, primarily a Tier One and Two supplier to the truck industry since its founding in the late 1990s, but today a diversified supplier to OEMs all over North America. Among its customer base are well-known companies such as Navistar, Caterpillar, Case New Holland, General Electric, John Deere, Mercedes-Benz and Carrier Corp. 
Founded in 1996 by company owner Rogelio Cisneros (whose brother Octavio works as plant manager), the firm now encompasses five facilities in the region—four in Nuevo Leon (three in Santa Catarina and one in Apodaca) and one in Torreon, Coahuila. In addition, Cisneros acquired a sixth facility in 2018 to expand into the Queretaro region, “which remains idle still, due to the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic,” he says.

The five facilities under roof in the Monterrey region total some 30,000 sq. m, and feature “very vertically integrated fabrication and stamping capabilities,” Cisneros explains. “In 1999 we purchased our first laser cutting machine and press brake, and from that point on we’ve added at least two new pieces of equipment every year, always looking to add value for our customers.” 

Overall, the company processes some 8000 part numbers for 60 to 70 customers, focused on the construction industry (about 35 percent of its business) and agriculture industry (22 percent), with smaller portions of its business going to the electrical/telecommunications, trucks/buses, medical and aerospace industries.

Stamping Joins the Mix

What launched and grew as a metal fabrication business eventually evolved, starting in 2015, to include metal stamping, “as many of our customers that initially placed low- to midsized order volumes began to increase their demands for higher volumes,” Cisneros says. “One lower-volume product that might start with a laser and press brake, for example, suddenly would experience a growth in volume and we’d risk losing that business to a metal stamping company that could provide a more cost-effective solution. To keep those customers and products, therefore, we decided to invest in stamping equipment.

“But, we are not into stamping for very large progressive-die production,” Cisneros continues. “Our model is to stamp when projects that start in fabrication need to grow, and also to use stamping to perform forming operations that may be too complex or time-consuming to perform in a press brake. And, stamping also allows us to improve costs and quality for our customers, often providing tighter tolerances than press brake forming, which then helps our welding productivity.”

EZI Metals today counts four stamping presses in its arsenal, the largest a 440-metric-ton two-point straightside mechanical press (a Stamtec model). With a 12-in. stroke length and 120 by 55-in. bolster area, “that press is used for the largest, heaviest parts that we stamp,” Cisneros says. Examples include a part for the food industry that requires embossing into the sheet, and an excavator door that requires forming of louvers.

“While we often can make louvers on our CNC punching machines,” Cisneros shares, “for the excavator door the louvers are 6 in. long, and stamping is the only way to form those. What’s interesting is how we can combine fabricating operations with stamping, and this excavator door is a great example. We form the louvers in the stamping press and then perform the rest of the forming operations in a press brake; it’s a very cost-effective and productive solution. The same product is fabricated in China at 10 times the volume, but rather than ship the parts from China the customer appreciates our cost-effective solution for manufacturing them here in North America.”