On October 11th and 12th, Quebec-based job shop metal Bernard hosted an open house to showcase its newest equipment – notably their 1500 ton, 30-foot Cincinnati CNC press brake, the largest in Canada.

Over 200 guests visited the plant, guided by metal Bernard’s management team.

In addition to the new equipment a reorganized plant layout was presented to attendees. Many of the plant’s machines were reorganized into new work cells resulting in reduced waste.

A 12,000 square foot addition to the plant was needed to accommodate the new equipment, which also included a large laser cutter (8-ft X 26-ft), and a 20-foot plate roller.

The new press brake is an 8-axis machine that was added to the plant’s 10 current presses. Because of the addition the plant is now capable of bending 30 feet metal parts up 1-inch thick. The company invested $5.5 million to implement the new layout and machinery.

“By reducing much of the need for welding individual parts, we achieved savings that would not have been possible without our team’s expertise and the unique equipment we now possess,” said Louis Veilleux, the company CEO.

Also discussed at the open house was the idea of lean manufacturing, which is becoming an important industry topic.

Executive Vice President, Mario Ferland said, “We follow the latest economic numbers, and see the world economy slowing, and with it, manufacturing jobs disappearing. But we believe there is always a place for the strongest in any market.”

The company has been offering demonstrations of lean manufacturing processes by organizing customer-oriented shop visits.

Approximately 800 separate improvements were made to manufacturing processes in less than two years.

metal Bernard has a presence in the transportation industry and the mining and energy sectors. The company is a division of the Mundial Group, and their job shop offers laser cutting, bending, rolling, welding, machining and processing of all types of metals.

www.metalbernard.com

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