Lincoln Electric MC07-48 manual 30% Increase in Productivity

30% Increase in Productivity			2/4
W E L D I N G C O N S U M A B L E S			SUCCESS
UltraCore	®	Owen Steel Company, Columbia, SC

Ground Zero in New York), Owen Steel and its management team know that they must constantly innovate. They understand that in today’s fiercely competitive environment the company must continually focus on improving and streamlining its business practices and fabrication processes.

In 2006, the firm looked to its welding operations for ways to save money and increase production - and found the answer in a material less than a quarter inch in diameter.

Working with welding and gas distributor Praxair and welding equipment and consumables manufacturer Lincoln Electric, Owen Steel conducted extensive on-site tests and decided on Lincoln’s UltraCore® 71C gas-shielded flux-cored wire.

“Sometimes it’s the smallest item which can make the biggest difference,” said Isaac Murciano, Owen Steel chief operating officer. “In a 12-month span, we can use upwards of 300,000 pounds of weld material. This is a substantial investment, even for a firm our size. We knew that if we could find a more efficient wire, it had the potential to make a considerable contribution to our bottom line and give us a clear competitive advantage.”

Owen Steel’s weld department consists of 45 welders and can swell to 65 during peak times. The firm was counting on its new welding wire, along with recent welding equipment purchases, to make a substantial increase in productivity.

In initial testing, the UltraCore 71C wire in 1/16” diameter provided a 30-percent productivity increase. And with just half a year in actual usage, Owen Steel has already realized a 15-percent increase in productivity with the new wire in the two-and-a-half bays currently using it. The company anticipates reaching the

30-percent level once all of its welders are trained and the firm makes a complete conversion to the new material in all four bays.

Lincoln Electric and Praxair also help with all of Owen Steel’s training. A

number of the firm’s team members initially visited Lincoln’s Cleveland headquarters for training on UltraCore and the firm’s four new Lincoln Power Wave® AC/DC 1000 inverter power sources with Lincoln’s Waveform Control Technology™. Additionally, the two companies continue with on site training for new and veteran employees.

Because every Owen Steel project is built to custom specifications, there is no “typical” project for the fabricator, so

“UltraCore’s long stickout

procedures have allowed us to maximize the deposition rate, while giving our welders better arc control.”

the number of welding hours can vary widely from project to project. A 10,000- welding-hour job is not unheard of, but with the Lincoln UltraCore wire, the fabricator now has the potential to save between 1,500 to 3,000 hours on just one job.

This realization has positively impacted Owen Steel’s bidding process. The company, which estimates welding wire at pounds used per hour, has been able to realize cost savings and efficiency gains.

“This is one operational change that has made an immediate and demonstrable contribution to our ability to compete in today’s marketplace,” Murciano said “The competition is fierce on every job, and Lincoln’s UltraCore wire gives us a competitive edge.”

The UltraCore wire has also saved the company’s welders time through drastically reducing the need for rework, cleanup and gouging.

Owen Steel typically welds on a variety of structural steel plates ranging from ½” to 8” in thickness. The firm gets raw material from U.S. and overseas sources, depending on project requirements. Finished product includes

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