Minneapolis-based Ajax Metal Forming Solutions has been named the Minnesota Manufacturer of the Year (Medium category) by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Another great team effort!
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Ajax Metal Forming Solutions now provides sheet metal fabrication in North Carolina. The new facility will be the company’s second location and will serve new and existing customers along the Atlantic Coast.
“We did our homework, and the Raleigh/Durham area checks all the boxes,” said Ajax Vice President of Sales Don Wellman. “It’s obvious that the people of the Carolinas take great pride in their work ethic.”
Capabilities at the new plant will include fiber optic laser cutting, computer numeric control (CNC) turret press punching, press brake forming, and Kanban supply chain solutions. Future additions include robotic welding and component assembly.
Sales engineering and marketing operations will continue to be headquartered at the Minneapolis location.
“Proximity plays a huge role in overall customer satisfaction,” Don said. “This new manufacturing site puts us within a day’s reach of our Eastern U.S. customers. We’ll be able to offer many more logistics options.” The new Ajax plant is located at 2303 Industrial Park Drive in Wilson, North Carolina. The plant covers approximately 25,000 square feet and will employ approximately 20 people during the startup phase.
Kent Djubek, Ajax President, said the company has grown quickly over the past five years due to its culture of quality and exceptional customer service. “Customers want shorter lead times, pristine product quality, and high ethical standards,” he said. “Those have been the keys to our growth. We’ll apply those same business values here in Raleigh.
There are three main types of sheet metal fabrication capabilities at this new Ajax plant:
Press Brake Forming
Forming includes processes like bending metal blanks using machinery such as a press brake.
View Press Brake Forming Video
Fiber Optic Laser Cutting
Fiber optic laser cutting is by far the newest and most popular method of cutting sheet metal into a shape. Lasers use focused light beams to cut through or engrave material. The video below shows you how fiber lasers at Ajax cut through aluminum sheet metal.
Punching
The ability to form perfect extrusions using a CNC turret punch press is an Ajax specialty, and we’re extending that exciting capability to our new plant. How important are perfectly-formed extrusions? Just ask any coil manufacturer. They’ll tell you that perfect extrusions can prevent coil assembly problems and speed-up production.
The results? Extended product life. More satisfied end users. Far fewer warranty calls. A distinct competitive advantage.
The superior profile and pristine quality of Ajax extrusions make our tube sheets and fin plates the best in the business.
LVD Strippit CNC turret punch presses are ideal for header plates.
Ajax provides part prototyping services, short-run, low volume production, and high-volume, long-run metal part production. Your Ajax sales engineer can assist you in selecting the best materials and production process for your metal part.
Celebrating the colleagues we are honored to work with. 2021 is forming up to be another great year!
Ajax Metal Forming Solutions has joined with the Precision Metalforming Association and more than 30 other associations in their effort to convince the Biden administration to terminate Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. These tariffs are causing supply disruption and price increases that are extremely counterproductive to the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Since their inception, the tariffs have effectively handed a competitive advantage to overseas producers who can buy steel and aluminum at lower global market prices. The post-pandemic economic recovery has increased demand for manufactured products, but U.S. producers can’t deliver the goods without access to materials.
Not surprisingly, retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports have been put in place by our global trade partners, crushing business opportunities for a wide range of U.S. exporters. Here’s a second letter sent to President Biden that summarizes our argument.
Our thanks go out to Paul Nathanson and the team at Bracewell LLP for their ongoing efforts to correct this very unfortunate situation.
The Governor’s Safety Award winners were announced during the Virtual Minnesota Safety & Health Conference on May 4 & 5, 2021. Ajax Metal Forming Solutions is very honored to receive the Meritorious Achievement in Occupational Safety award.
We’ve assembled a great safety record, but thanks to the Ajax, Safety Team, we’re staying vigilant. Our ongoing goal is to make Ajax the safest, healthiest place to work.
Providence Academy’s FIRST Robotics Team – #4511 – Power Amplified – successfully concluded their 2021 season! Although challenged by the pandemic, the 2021 team produced a very advanced robot. Here’s the online recap: https://bit.ly/3tZeWkY.
A little background: Michael Plucinski, Providence’s FIRST Robotics Team Instructor, contacted Ajax in early February and explained the team’s need for specialized, laser-cut parts for their 2021 robot. The Providence robot is designed to auto-navigate along complex paths and accurately launch game pieces at a target.
Consistent with the company’s community-service mission, Ajax jumped at the chance and provided expertise, labor, and materials to the team free of charge. Ajax Sales Engineer Jayson Marcott administered the project while the Ajax production team formed the parts on a Salvagnini fiber optic laser and ran them through a deburring machine.
The photo below shows a small portion of the calculations that went into the robot build. Bear in mind that Providence is a K-12 institution. Needless to say, these young people are working and learning at a very high level.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-profit organization that inspires young people to participate in science and technology programs at their schools. Ajax is proud to be associated with this advanced learning and growth opportunity for young people.
