Tube Laser Installation

You may have heard, we are pretty excited about our new tube laser. We have created this very short video to show you the installation process. Enjoy!

Holiday Shut Down

Midland will be closed beginning Wednesday, December 23, 2009 for vacations, inventory and maintenance. We will be returning on Monday, January 4, 2010. If you have any immediate concerns you may reach your sales person directly by e-mail or cell phone.

Thank you for your friendship, good will, and loyalty.
May the happiness and good cheer of the holiday season be yours throughout the New Year.

We look forward to working with you in 2010!

New Technology Creates New Opportunity

Midland Metal Products was contacted by the Burt Masonry Company in St. Louis when the owner could not find a local fabricator who could construct a run of large steel fence panels with an intricate custom design. The production run of 9 fence panels measuring 11 feet between mounting points, included a interwoven arch motif that was fabricated to appear as though it were a one-piece casting. Our sophisticated CNC equipment easily accommodated this requirement. The arch motif was programmed and nested using the most advanced CAD/CAM software, so that only a single sheet of 1/2" thick Mild Steel was used to create the components for all 9 of the 11-foot long fence sections. Our 3300 Watt sheet Laser, having a maximum cutting capacity in steel of 7/8", was able to handle the cutting task quickly and easily.

With so many repetitious features in this design, attention to absolute accuracy as well as structural integrity was extremely crucial. A precision welding fixture was built using our CNC router, using a program born from the same exact dimensions and specifications utilized in the laser cutting process, . Careful consideration to advanced fixture-making is critical in establishing perfection in the assembly welding process.

After all assembly welding was completed, the fence sections were sandblasted and powdercoated in three steps to ensure durability. After coating and finishing, the fence panels were packaged for shipment to St. Louis were they were installed at the customer location, anchored to fieldstone piers built by our customer, Burt Masonry.

Sustainability: Made in the USA?

The concept of sustainability has captured the attention of the global community. In general, if we support sustainability, we acknowledge that satisfying the needs of the current generation should not impact the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable practices include efficient use of natural resources, use of renewable energy such as wind and solar power, and reduction of emissions harmful to the atmosphere. Using resources irresponsibly harms our children and our children’s children.

Companies have rushed to support sustainability. In our own industry, Wal-Mart recently announced a major initiative that will measure the full environmental impact of the products its sells in their stores through their “sustainability index.” Their view is that sustainability will become so important to their customers that they will factor this index into their purchasing decisions.

If companies are truly committed to sustainability, they must review their global supply chain to understand the impact their production has on the environment EVERYWHERE. Strict regulations in the US provide basic environmental standards. But as companies span the globe in search of lower manufacturing costs, their foreign suppliers might not be governed by similar regulations. What happens then? It is disingenuous to tout sustainability here at home and then turn a blind eye if foreign suppliers dump raw sewage into foreign streams or release dangerous toxins into the atmosphere.

A sustainability idea that is gaining traction in the agricultural industry is a push for local farming. Supporters believe that we should grow our food close to the markets that consume them. People have a heightened awareness of activities taking place in their own communities. They support fair living and working standards in their own communities and often use local resources more efficiently. Local farming requires fewer additives due to a reduced lag time between production and use. Finally, local farming significantly reduces the resources required to move the goods from producer to the consumer.

In our industry, a similar argument can be made. Instead of local farming, we can support local manufacturing. Many customers are asking their suppliers to demonstrate their sustainability initiatives. Suppliers often point to increased use of recycled materials, decreased use of harmful chemicals in manufacturing, and increased use of renewable energy to power our factories. Why not add local manufacturing to this list? Practices such as producing goods 8,000 miles away in Shenzen, loading them on a gas guzzling freighter, and shipping them over the Pacific Ocean simply can not be considered sustainable. These activities are eliminated by producing close to the home market. Recycling the Made in the USA mantra to support sustainability, wouldn’t Lee Iacocca be proud?

Thank You

During the Thanksgiving season we wish to express our gratitude

for your friendship and good will.

We appreciate your business during this year.

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May you enjoy of bountiful Thanksgiving,

a joyous Holiday Season,

and a successful and healthful Happy New Year.

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Your Friends at

Midland Metal Products

Hole Guide for Pop Rivets and Semi Tubular Rivets

Introducing Our New Tube Laser

Our goal at Midland Metal Products is to possess the manufacturing capabilities to produce exactly what our customers want, when they want it, at a price point they can afford. We continuously strive to achieve this goal by simplifying our operations through the use of automation. We have implemented sophisticated CAD / CAM software applications and machinery throughout our plant over the last decade. A partial list of investments include our automated laser system for sheet metal fabrication, our CNC wire bender for wire forming, our CNC robotic welder for mig / tig welding applications, and our CNC grid welder for wire fabrication.

I am proud to announce our next step in creating a factory for the 21st century. In October, our new tube laser system will be operational. This investment will bring automation to our tubing fabrication, a major advancement in terms of throughput, quality assurance, and cycle times. More importantly, it will give us the ability to provide new processing capabilities for our customers. Upon completion of this project, it will be difficult to find a metal fabricator in our industry that can match our capabilities in sheet metal, wire, and tubing fabrication.

Our laser can process 24 ft. lengths of round (0.75” to 6.0” in diameter), square (4” x 4”), and obround tubing. It can also fabricate non-tube profiles such as formed channels. Various materials can be processed including steel, aluminum, and stainless steel. During fabrication, the machine can be used to cut off tubes into smaller pieces and fabricate slots, holes, pie shapes, and fish mouths. Our system eliminates the need for hard tooling, improves accuracy and repeatability, and makes fabrication fast and flexible. Once the designers and engineers at our customers understand the capabilities of the machine, the possibilities are endless.

Once the machine is operational, we will be releasing a video on our web site to demonstrate the machine in action. Before this time, please contact me with any specific questions you may have on the machine. We are really excited about taking this next step. We hope you take advantage of the capabilities in your next project.

Marc McDonald
Midland Metal Products