Waterjet, plasma cutter, saw help mechanical contractor maximize custom fabricating capabilities

Situation

Thirty-five years ago, Ken Gottstein started providing mechanical contracting and construction services from a small, 1,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in Hazelton, Pa. Today the company operates out of a 9,000-sq.-ft. space with a 20,000-sq.-ft. system integration facility where clients can set up and test new equipment before installation. Gottstein Contracting Corp. has five locations across North America and more than 100 employees.

While the company is known for its installation, setup, and mechanical processes of large-scale bakeries and other food facilities, it works with many companies in the commercial, industrial, and manufacturing sectors. Services include process and packaging systems, material handling and conveyor services, process piping manufacturing and installations, rigging, equipment relocation, anytime emergency repair, complete turnkey project management, facility preventive maintenance, and contract maintenance.

Gottstein also has a full-scale custom fabricating and machining shop to manufacture key components and vital parts for customers. While it was running smoothly, there was room for improvement.

Together with Devin Martin, a sales representative for equipment distributor Mid Atlantic Machinery, Gottstein evaluated equipment that would best meet its clients’ current and future needs.

Resolution

After careful consideration, Gottstein chose an OMAX® Maxiem® 1530 waterjet, a Bend-Tech A400 Dragon tube plasma cutter, and an HE&M VT100LM-60 vertical semiautomatic band saw to add to its fabrication shop.

The abrasive waterjet has a rigid tank design scaled to handle common plate sizes with room to spare and has a cutting envelope of 10 ft. by 5 ft. 2 in.

“For our food and beverage clients, there is a lot of conveyor work and modification that goes into the process. The … waterjet is specifically going to be extremely helpful for providing the accuracy required for that and also for doing custom parts and projects that are really out of the box,” said Shop Fabrication Supervisor Andrew Skuntz. “We are looking forward to challenges and taking on new designs, in addition to a customer that just says ‘Hey, we need this material cut, can you help?’”

For pipe processing, the plasma cutter allows Gottstein to give customers better pricing on handrails and platforms with improved quality. The commercial-grade machine, designed to withstand long hours and heavy materials, cuts holes, notches, and other designs on round, square, and rectangular tubes. It also performs engraving and marking.

Finally, the band saw can cut heavy beams to help make design elements more efficient in structural steel.

“We can help anyone who needs parts fabricated. These machines that we just bought are going to improve efficiency and help reduce pricing on customers’ jobs because they will come out faster, at a higher quality, and at a better price,” said Skuntz.

The company’s capabilities include custom shop design, machining, conveyor design, parts design, platform and catwalk fabrication, equipment modification, GMAW, electrode welding and GTAW, plasma and waterjet cutting, bending, and sheet rolling. With its new machines, Gottstein is set to continue tackling challenging jobs, big and small.