Miscellaneous metals fabricator increases productivity and opportunity with plasma cutting

Situation

SL Chasse Steel, Hudson, N.H., is a full-service structural steel and miscellaneous metals fabricator serving customers in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and throughout New England. Its services include fabrication and design-build of joists, deck, stairs, and rails.

“A few years ago, Steve Chasse [president] came up with an idea for a machine designed for the layout of stairs and railings,” said Mike Evans, sales director at Automated Layout Technology, also located in Hudson. “He needed something that could process various metals and shapes quickly.”

Evans immediately understood what Chasse was looking for. After failing to find a machine on the market that fit Chasse’s needs, he approached HGG Profiling Equipment, a Netherlands-based provider of 3D profiling equipment with a location in Houston, about developing something new.

Resolution

Together, HGG and Automated Layout Technology developed the RoboRail all-in-one plasma cutting machine. Flexible and sturdy, the machine addresses the day-to-day production issues of miscellaneous metal fabricators, processing parts in a variety of sizes, shapes, and metals.

The machine is designed to be easy to set up and use, reducing the amount of time it takes companies to get up and running. That proved true for SL Chasse.

“Ease of use was very important to everyone involved in this project,” said Evans. “SL Chasse was productive from the get-go. It took two or three days to get their people trained and efficient on the machine.”

The miscellaneous metals fabricator found that automating many processes it had previously done by hand opened up the potential for gains in both time and money.

“SL Chasse is completing some projects in almost half the time [as] before installation,” said Evans. “They’ve also been able to accept projects they would have rejected before, so the machine paid for itself very quickly.”