The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association Meeting brings together metal manufacturing professionals from around the world and this year it landed in Las Vegas.
Each year hundreds of executives and leaders from fabricators, manufacturers, steel producers, distributors, service centers, and suppliers meet to forge strategic partnerships and relationships during this networking event. We were contacted by Jerry Gunderson the head of the FMA who reached out to see if Precision Tube Laser would open our doors to for a tour of our facility. We welcomed the opportunity.
Some businesses may have been weary to allow thier competitors through thier doors and Gunderson even admitted that he is often met with hesitancy from fabrication businesses when he asks for tours, we looked at it in a positive light.
We have always had the philosophy that the more transparency the metal industry has, the better we all become. With over 54k followers on Instagram naturally we get 100's of questions about metal processing, our business, how we got started and questions about the equipment. We always give honest answers because we feel a that this mindset only helps the industry. This tour was no different.
Over 60 guests got to explore our facility, before we started our open Q & A session. With all safety measures in place, curious guests were able to see our machines up close and in use. Jordan gave a brief history of the company, how he got started and some of the strategies he has relied on to become successful in the industry, despite entering it without a background in metal. Our favorite part of the tour was the engagement. We got so many great questions and the guests seemed to really be enjoying our our facility. We were able to meet so many peers in the metal industry from all over the country and share common pain points, compare solutions as well as strategies for success. The tour is something the entire PTL staff enjoyed as well, we look forward to more involvement with the FMA!
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Full Article can be found HERE in the April 2023 edition
Precision Sheet Metal Needs Exposure
Too many people don’t know our industry exists
by Tim Heston
"Teamwork was incredibly evident during the first morning of the event, when
meeting attendees visited Precision Tube Laser in Las Vegas. There, CEO Jordan
Yost, 40, spoke to the tour group flanked by youthful staff members and a collection
of precision equipment, including (of course) a tube laser, a flat sheet laser
(complete with a conveyor-based parts offloading), and several high-end press
brakes, including one with automatic tool changes. The entire place exuded a
teamwork vibe. No piles of work-in-process. No obvious bottlenecks to flow. No silos.
No BS. Let’s just work together to get the job done.
“Just as much as cutting material is our business, educating customers is our
business,” Yost said, speaking to attendees, “helping them understand what the
possibilities are, and what we can do to achieve them.”
Yost never spoke of the typical metrics like inches per minute or parts per hour—
just ideas, alternative ways of processing, customer problems and solutions, and
the criticality of quick delivery. And sure, Precision Tube focuses on rapid-turn
work; it isn’t a production facility.
But like Paretta in the automotive business, Yost entered precision tube and
sheet metal as an outsider. Just seven years ago he was in the car rental business.
He sold his companies and went to work for a friend’s fab shop that had trouble
sourcing cut and formed sheet and tube. From that serendipitous exposure eventually
sprang Precision Tube Laser.
In Indy Car, broadening exposure and promoting diversity have pushed racing
in new directions and opened the business to new levels of talent. The same could
happen in precision metal fab through friends and social media. Precision Tube
Laser happens to have more than 50,000 Instagram followers, many of whom are
asking questions, discussing problems, and interacting. That success didn’t come
after decades in the sheet metal arena either.
Business-savvy people are noticing just how good a business precision metal
fabrication can be. And as Yost has proven, they don’t need years of experience to
find success. FAB
For more information on the FMA Annual Meeting, visit www.fmamfg.org/annualmeeting.
For more on Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, visit www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org. "
Full Article can be found HERE
metal fabrication, metal forming, tube laser cutting, fiber laser, fabrication, sheet metal