Welcome to Success Stories, where we sit down with duct fabricators and sheet metal shops of all sizes for genuine conversations about how partnering with Mestek Machinery has impacted their operations. Watch the interview or read the transcript to learn how we help contractors find the right machinery and equipment solutions to boost their productivity and improve their business.
In this episode, we sat down with Mike Hilgert, Owner of Superior Duct Fabrication, Inc. in Pomona,CA to discuss his relationship with Mestek Machinery and his reasoning for purchasing six (6) Lockformer® Vulcan Fiber Laser Cutting Systems for his facilities throughout the country.
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Owner | Superior Duct Fabrication, Inc.
Superior Duct Fabrication, Inc. was established in 2002 in Pomona, CA where the original 121,000 SF manufacturing facility still operates. Superior Duct Fabrication manufactures duct work and sheet metal products for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry as well as industrial dust collection and exhaust systems.
As the firm continued to grow, Superior Duct Fabrication’s expansion efforts led to a 33,000 SF satellite facility in Las Vegas, NV in 2016 and state-of-the-art facility in Camarillo, CA in 2019. In 2021, Superior Duct Fabrication opened a shop and satellite location in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
Overall, Superior Duct Fabrication now operates five shops with 350 employees, and its own fleet of vehicles delivering product throughout the Western United States.
Yeah. I mean, we’ve had a fiber laser here in Pomona for quite a few years now, and we were running two plasma tables here. But just with the the the fact that the laser tables are significantly faster, they cut better, They’re more efficient, and they cut way better product. Right? You’ve got a a sheared edge, literally a sheared edge instead of a plasma cut edge.
So when we were getting extremely busy in the shops and follow behind on our cutting, immediately when we installed the Lockformer Fiber Laser in Phoenix, one machine kept up with all of our demand.
So, you know, with with that fact, you know, we decided almost immediately that it’s needed, and we need to replace every single one of our plasma tables in every location with this laser table. And, we’re in the process of doing that. It’s worked out great.
You know, we’ve got a little bit of, unhappiness at the shops that don’t have them yet. So the ones that do are, you know, they’re they’re thrilled that they have this Mestek Machinery equipment in this laser machine, and it’s really helped us on our production, our capabilities, taking on more work. And quite honestly, just putting a really good cut and and in product out, you know, without any plasma edges on it, and it’s it’s really helped us with our quality as well.
Prior to purchasing, the Lockformer Fiber Laser machine, looking at how where our bottlenecks were in our shop, knowing that plasma cutting was really a bottleneck for us. Right? When we’re really busy and we have hundreds or thousands of sheets to cut, We we realized just the pure speed of this machine and the accuracy and safety.
Safety was a big deal for us. There’s many options out in the marketplace. Not all of them have the FDA Class 1 Rating, and that was very important for us. We want our our operators to be protected. I believe that the Lockformer Fiber Laser machine is the only one on the market that has the FDA Class 1 Rating for safety in an open air laser machine, open table without a without a a cover on it.
It’s a no brainer. While that machine is cutting, our guys could be putting labels on, stripping the fittings off of the machine, and and it’s just way, way faster than having a closed machine where you can’t touch anything or add labels or anything while it’s cutting. So the fact of the speed, the accuracy, the cut quality, and the Class 1 rating for safety, that’s very, very important part because you don’t want anything but a Class 1 Rating to keep your operator safe and keep that laser beam away from your operator. So for me, that was a no brainer. For our guys, it’s a no brainer. And the trust again, going back to the trust of Mestek Machinery and the relationship we have over all these years, it was a pretty easy decision to purchase this.
And it’s a huge savings on having to grind edges, grind down, slag off of a product. It’s a perfect cut on the machine. So you can take it straight from your laser machine straight to the welding shop without having to spend all the time of cutting down and the process of cutting material 3-4 times faster than a plasma table. So for us, the first machine we put in Phoenix, Arizona immediately, we purchased another one for Ohio, and then we just purchased another one for Pomona. And I believe we will be ordering three more here in the very short future.
And quite honestly, once one shop got it, we have 5 superintendents screaming for theirs. So when are they getting theirs next? And I think we’ve purchased three now, and we will have three more on order. I think we’ve actually ordered three, but we’re staging them out in time.
So, we’re excited. It’s, really helped us speed up our processes and be able to take on more work and more opportunities. So, we will have one or two of them in every single shop, every one of our facilities moving forward.
The Lockformer Vulcan Fiber Laser Cutting System
I’ve been building sheet metal products since 1986, almost forty years now. And, historically, we’ve always had, Iowa Precision or Lockformer, which is Mestek Machinery, in our shops since the day I was in the trade at twenty years old. And they’ve been powerhouses for forty years. And the relationship we built with with Mike Bailey from Mestek Machinery and the trust I have in him to make sure we’re getting the right equipment — the relationship’s invaluable. It really is. It’s a trust factor.
Years and years of cutting plasma tables and then looking at this Lockformer Fiber Laser machine, quite honestly, it’s a no brainer. It really is a no brainer out there. It is night and day the difference. It saves significant amount of time in in the manufacturing process, cuts a way better product.
And the fact that you don’t have to on heavy gauges, I’ll say this time and time again, you don’t have to grind anything. You take your product straight to the weld shop, roll it, weld it, and probably saves 20%-30%-40% of the time of prepping a welded job that you don’t have to grind the slag off of those products. So for us, it’s a no brainer putting these laser machines in our shop, and they’ve been workhorses for us.
No issues. They cut fast. They work fast. And it’s been a tremendous advantage for us, in every one of our locations that we have one so far.
From ordering to getting the the fiber laser in our shop, setup was very, very simple. I think it was two days of setup once we had electricity ran to the machine. And then one day of training. The third day, you’re running full steam ahead. If you buy the Iowa Precision Coil Feed as well and you’re coil feeding this machine, which is is a no brainer in my eyes, which is something you have to do. You gotta coil feed the laser machine.
Three days once once it hits your floor, in three days, we were up and running and and cutting material at both shops, in Ohio and in, Phoenix location. So the setup was very simple. The training — if you have an operator who knows plasma tables, the training is pretty much the same situation as a plasma table. So it’s very easy to train and Mestek Machinery did a fantastic job of not leaving and making sure our guy was dialed in, trained properly, and the machine was running good. And quite honestly, I don’t think we’ve had one issue with either machine since they’ve been in our shop. Since Mestek Machinery came in, set up our machines, I can’t recall any problem we’ve had with either one. They’ve been workhorses and that’s another reason why we’ve made the decision to purchase more machines.
We have seen a huge improvement in cutting not being a bottleneck in our shop. I mean, in most shops, if you’re cutting plasma tables and you’re really busy, your your first bottleneck is where you cut material. Right? So if you can take that bottleneck and push it down your shop, whether it’s in the rectangular department or, most likely, in the assembly department where you’re assembling the duct, that’s where you want it to be. Right? You can add manpower there to to to keep up with that.
But it has saved us and we’ve taken on a significant amount of work. We’re working two shifts in locations where we have it and we really haven’t been challenged on keeping up with cutting since we’ve had these machines. Not like we were when we were cutting on a plasma table.
So this machine, I believe, cuts three to four times the speed of a plasma table. And that alone will tell you you’re getting three or four times as much material out the door. So, again, it’s been it’s been fantastic.
We can’t wait to have them in each and every shop. Our guys are thrilled to have these laser machines in each facility. And, again, the quality of material that’s coming out of this machine compared to a plasma table is night and day the difference.
Less abuse on your Pittsburgh machines and your TDC machines because you don’t have the rough edges and the rough cuts on there. It’s a sheared edge. So all the way around, it’s a saver and a positive situation in my eyes.
We partnered with Mestek Machinery for many years because of the support and the relationships and the mere fact that our our go to individual, Mike Bailey, does what he says and says what he does. And he’s always there anytime I need an answer to anything or anytime my guys need service, it’s a phone call away.
Again, Lockformer, Mestek Machinery, and the multiple equipment manufacturers that they own… it’s been a great support system for us. They they work with us. They help us. If we have an issue on any of our equipment, we got a service guy there as quick as they can get it there. It’s been a great relationship — you know you can trust them. You can believe in them. And one thing you’re never gonna get is nonsense or BS out of them.
It is what it is. They’re not gonna oversell or promise you something and not support it. So it’s a no brainer in my eyes. Again, Mike Bailey. I’ve known Mike for a lot of years and I trust him a hundred percent. And he’s there when you need him — and that’s important because that you can’t say that about all equipment manufacturers.
Mestek Machinery is comprised of a family of metal forming manufacturing brands with deep roots in the HVAC duct fabrication industry: Lockformer, Iowa Precision, Engel, and Roto-Die. Together, our brands design and manufacture the most complete, productive, and innovative metal forming solutions for the fabrication of HVAC sheet metal ductwork and fittings. With over 100 years of combined experience addressing every facet of the HVAC duct industry, our knowledge and experience allows us to develop cutting edge, precision technologies, and automated manufacturing equipment that saves sheet metal contractors and fabricators time and labor while ensuring a finished duct product of unmatched quality.
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