Fabricator Far Behind on Lead Times... Turns to Cobotics...
, by Jim Ryan, 1 min reading time
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Wow! quite a tale from Mette McCall at Assembly, a narrative about a company turning to cobots. Justin Montes, the CEO of DeAngelo Marine Exhaust, a producer of marine exhaust parts, could not find good welders to hire. The company had been known for excellent welds, including full penetration welds: "This was a very big concern for us. A leak could literally sink a $100 million yacht." But "Sixty-five days. That’s how far behind DeAngelo Marine Exhaust was on lead times at its worst point." The company was on the verge of losing accounts (yacht makers). They had heard about robotic and cobotic welding and sent out for some sample welds. The results were not good. Finally, they stumbled upon a cobot solution....
Really great story: buildup, tension, release. Plus, a plot twist just when you think everything is going to be okay. When it was time to "win over the welders" in the shop: "When the Cobot Welder first arrived at DeAngelo, not everybody shared Montes’ enthusiasm." Uh oh!