Page 37 - MetalForming August 2017

“We will have a dashboard for all employees at their worksites,” says Reinhart. “At each of our 18 presses a dashboard will project a score for over- all equipment effectiveness. We want to give our employees all the informa- tion that we can.”
MT&M also has activated two new press-tending robots to assist in appliance-panel production on the newest 660-ton press. In addition, the company is looking at new 1000- or 1200-ton presses, possibly servo- driven, to reside in the plant’s newest addition and add to MT&M’s capa- bilities.
“Tonnage capacity is an issue for us, and we’d like to increase it,” Rein- hart says, noting that to ease the bur- den on production, MT&M recently added a tryout press. “We probably can test 80 percent of the dies we build on that press.”
Within the past year, the company has embarked on a 5S journey (“We don’t think that will ever be finished...
it’s a continuous journey,” says Rein- hart) and already results are apparent throughout the practically spotless and orderly plant. The atmosphere is aided appreciably by the recent addition of LED lighting throughout. And speaking of atmosphere, all 139,000 sq. ft. of MT&M are climate-controlled, offering comfort for employees and providing an environment that prevents material rust. In fact, some customers have the company store parts onsite to avoid rust issues.
Committed to Its People
Beyond the technology, MT&M invests in its people. Reinhart speaks with pride about its tool design, build- ing and maintenance capabilities, stressing that the company has seven tooling engineers on staff and can read- ily build and maintain its own tooling as well as provide tooling to outside manufacturers.
“We have a competitive advantage in that we carry a fully staffed tool and
die shop,” he says, noting that at all times MT&M carries two to three tool- ing apprentices. “We had trouble find- ing talent about five years ago, but now it seems that young people want to get into this field, so it is all good now.”
As evidence of how much the com- pany values its employees, during our tour Reinhart pointed to the lost-time scoreboard hung prominently on the plant floor. It read 3780, or more than 10 years without a lost-time injury.
“We are very proud of our lost-time number,” he says. “We are not dealing with small parts or small equipment. We deal with heavy stuff and have been very fortunate with regard to safety.”
That safety record is no accident, as the company, according to Reinhart, strives to help its employees be as con- scientious and knowledgeable as pos- sible about their work environment.
“We constantly train our employees and send them to school,” he con- cludes, “to hopefully better them and better the company.” MF
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/August 2017 35