Tough Feeds Handle Tough Steel
October 30, 2025Comments
New heavy-duty coil-handling lines at Michigan-based metal former Stanco ably feed thick high-strength low-alloy steel in high-tonnage presses for high-volume solar applications.
Metal formers often seek to diversify their customer bases to protect against the cyclical nature of individual markets. Few succeed to the extent that Stanco Metal Products does. The family-owned company began as Peerless Novelty in 1917, formed by Warren Stansberry as a producer of sewing products. Originally operating out of a 12,500-sq.-ft. plant in Grand Haven, MI, the company expanded into personal-care products such as hair curlers as well as towel racks, toothbrush holders and closet accessories. Over time, Stanco Metal Products—courtesy of a name change in 1977—developed its own line of appliance accessories.
Today, under the leadership of Stansberry’s granddaughter Linda and her husband Gerald Slagel as COO, the certified Women’s Business Enterprise manufactures parts for—in order of volume—appliance, lawn-and-garden, solar, data-center, automotive, HVAC and office-furniture customers. To be nearer to its customers in these diverse markets, Stanco, besides its now 135,000-sq.-ft. plant in Grand Haven, has added a 100,000-sq.-ft. facility in Williamston, SC, and another facility in Santa Teresa, NM, that occupies 180,000 sq. ft. The three operations total nearly 400 employees across three shifts who operate 47 stamping presses in capacities from 150 to 1400 tons. Other processes performed include welding, assembly and inhouse tool building. The New Mexico operation, heavily involved in data-center work, also employs fabrication equipment such as press brakes, laser cutting machines, turret punch presses and a powder-coating line.
Solar Work Drives Coil-Handling Investment
A diverse set of customers demands a diverse set of capabilities. In particular, a push into solar work has demanded high-tonnage presses to form especially strong materials. In the past 5 yr. alone, Stanco has added 880-, 1000- and 1400-ton-capacity presses in Grand Haven, and two 1100-ton presses, one each in South Carolina and New Mexico. Stanco’s presses run progressive-die tooling, with the biggest presses increasingly tasked to form parts weighing more than 25 lb. for solar-panel sun-tracking systems. While Stanco routinely forms mild, stainless, galvanized and high-strength carbon steels, aluminum, and pre-painted materials, the heavier parts produced in the largest presses typically are of high-strength low-allow (HSLA) steels from 4 to 8 mm thick.
“We had always worked with material to 6 mm thick, so to go to 8-mm-thick HSLA Grade 80 required heavier equipment,” says Steve Zimmer, Stanco director of engineering and sales, describing the recent press purchases.
Of course, thicker, tougher material requires bulked-up coil feeding—conventional coil lines just can’t handle it. Recognizing this, Stanco has invested in compact, heavy-duty coil-handling lines from CoilTech North America, Detroit, MI. The first, a 50-in.-wide line installed in January 2024, serves a 1400-ton stamping press in Grand Haven. The second, a 40-in.-wide line, was added in November 2024 to feed a 1000-ton press, also in Grand Haven. Both lines, serving recently purchased used and refurbished presses, are compact lines measuring 18 ft. long, owing to limited space on the Stanco-Grand Haven shop floor. The lines feature common components to enable quick swapping if needed to keep a line running. Upper and lower backup support rolls on these lines bring robustness, and cutoff shears between the feed exit and press window on each line allow for running of partial coils, according to CoilTech officials. And, this past September, CoilTech installed a heavy-duty 40-in.-wide conventional-length line at Stanco in New Mexico—ample floorspace at the facility precluded the need for a compact line. All three lines are fully programmable, automatically adjusting settings according to job number.
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