When It's Time to Turn to Engineered Solutions

By Bob Goulding, Machine Tool Business Development Manager and Tom Funke, CET Manager

Never before have we in the manufacturing world had to do more with less. Shops across the country face skilled labor shortages, demanding customers, unforgiving production schedules as well as the increasing complexity of parts and the equipment used to produce them. All this while experts tell us that we need to “constantly improve,” a goal that’s tough to reach when all you can do is react to the latest challenge.

Seco can help. Our Engineered Solutions team represents a company-wide commitment to comprehensive support for your operations – we sweat the process optimization details and you reap the profits without disrupting your work in the slightest. Our best and brightest engineering minds work hard to develop comprehensive solutions, and the results – an increase in productivity of 25 percent or more – speak for themselves.

To obtain the best results, shops must begin with the part and ask themselves what is the most optimized way to produce it. And whether a situation involves a new or existing process, our experts will then meet with yours so we can get a thorough understanding of your needs and goals. We’ll take all that information back with us to our headquarters in Troy, Michigan, where the Engineered Solutions team will get started on your project.

Our workflow begins with a simple question: “What is the most efficient result that can be obtained with these inputs?” We usually find our answer after a quick look through the archives; few projects today involve any real unknowns for Seco. Instead of spending valuable time reinventing another wheel, we apply our expertise to the customer-supplied data and evaluate cost-per-unit, projected cycle times, machine capacity and other factors to create a documented process.

After we’ve finished our research, we present our findings directly to you in the form of a complete proposal. This is no simple summary of our investigation – our Engineered Solutions team will describe exactly how to optimally produce the part, including the equipment used and how to apply it. We not only define the best cutting processes, but also the best machines, tools and accessories as well as the optimized cutting data.

With your approval, we’ll then go on to turn the plan into a reality. We’ll quickly build any required custom products in our 35,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Troy, conduct runoffs, then have it delivered directly to your facility. Our Engineered Solutions staff will be there when it’s time to install any components and initiate the new process. As far as Seco is concerned, we’re not finished until you are running parts that meet your exact specifications.

Even after the project is “finished,” we remain fully committed to your continued success. A new process is useless without someone to manage and maintain it, so our training staff will be on hand to work directly with your operators on the process and to fine tuning cutting data. Likewise, even after you have all the aspects of the process set up and running smoothly, Seco will remain a resource you can call on any time you have a question or need support.

Now is the time to join the many other shops that have enjoyed cycle time reductions or cost-per-unit savings of 25 percent or more upon optimizing their part processes with Seco. And since there’s no cost to you until after you’ve accepted our proposal, choosing Seco as your process optimization partner is a no-brainer. For more information, talk to your local Seco salesperson or contact Engineered Solutions directly by phone at 1-800-896-2593 or by email at epd@secotools.com.