Anchor Danly Homes in on Die Sets and Fabrications

Anchor Danly’s management team (left to right) Carl Powers, general manager fabrications; Steve Zerio, president and CEO; Paul Brisebois, executive vice president, sales and marketing; and Tracey Heslop, vice president and CFO, are focused on growing the company’s two divisions through expansions, acquisitions, and capacity via new equipment such as the SNK RB-6VM machining center added to the Windsor, Ont., plant earlier this year. Photos by James Gervais unless otherwise noted.

Anchor Danly, a Connell Limited Partnership Company, has shifted its corporate spotlight. It is accelerating growth for its fabrication line even after doubling its size in 2011.

Known for decades as a top supplier to the global tooling and mold industries, the company is investing significantly to further grow its fabrication capacity and capabilities.

“We are already one of the larger fabricators in North America, but we have significant growth opportunity with both existing and prospective customers,” said Steve Zerio, president and CEO. “We are pleased with the way our team members and new equipment are supporting the increasing steel fabrication activity.”

Two divisions comprise Anchor Danly 2013: One produces die sets and machined plate, the other creates large fabrications and assemblies. As it stands today, the two divisions generate $110 million in annual revenue, with $95 million produced in North America.

Ready to Grow

A solid foundation of experience puts the fabrication division in a good position for more expansion. “One of our strengths, especially on the fabrication side, is our knowledge base. Starting with the Tilbury, Ont., plant, and now expanding to our other facilities, we can help customers be more efficient at making their own products,” said Zerio.

Carl Powers, general manager fabrications, added, “We are often called in at the design review stage to assist customers in cost reduction and design for manufacturability ideas.”

Powers referred to a conveyor project that was fabricated, assembled, and containerized in sections in the Tilbury plant then shipped to Ethiopia as an example of a large, precision fabrication project. When assembled on-site, the conveyor stretched over 2,200 meters (1.37 miles), to bring concrete down a mountainside for construction of a dam.

“We had to design and fixture the lengths of conveyor so the connector plates were identical and would line up properly in the field. We couldn’t do any final assembly of the sections prior to shipping because delivery was taking place as each section was completed. We had to rely on fixtures to ensure that a consistent connection pattern was maintained on each frame without the expense of machining each frame individually,” Powers said.

North America Plus

Canadian plants in Windsor, Tilbury, and Cambridge, Ont., and Montreal; U.S. plants in Grand Rapids and Ithaca, Mich.; and Los Angeles provide main subassemblies used in the manufacture of machines, structures, and large assemblies for the mining, power generation, forestry, defense, and aerospace industries. Aluminum bases are also manufactured to size for builders of complex automotive gauges and fixtures. Each day more than 100 dies sets, primarily for the automotive industry, are shipped from the combined locations.

“Having plants on both sides of the border is a plus,” said Paul Brisebois, executive vice president, sales and marketing. Certain companies want to buy in the country in which they reside, so it is a strength to be multilocational.”

A welder in the Tilbury, Ont., plant works on a 36-ft.-diameter rotary work platform.

A facility in Chemnitz, Germany, provides similar services for the European market.

About 65 percent of the manufacturing is done in Canada, with a large percentage of Anchor Danly products going into customer projects shipped across the globe.

Synergistic Plants

Capabilities overlap in five of the seven Western Hemisphere locations, allowing jobs to easily shift from one plant to another to facilitate work flow. Within the 320,000 sq. ft. of the seven shops, 17 single and multihead flame-cutting centers; 30 Blanchard grinders with table diameters up to 120 in. and a 60-in. vertical head clearance; 28 fitting and welding stations including a robotic welding station for repeat orders; 40 CNC vertical and horizontal machining centers; hydraulic shears, two plasma tables, and a 600-ton press brake with a 14-ft. capacity cut, grind, machine, and form components from plate as large as 138 by 354 in. and up to 16 in. thick.

Fabricated products include aluminum and steel fixture bases, machine angle plates, and sediment removal systems. Mechanical assembly is offered using components produced in-house, customer-provided, or a combination of the two.

Earlier this year the Windsor plant completed installation of a SNK RB-6VM, an 80- by 137- by 236-in. machining center with right-angle and five-sided capabilities. Large workpieces, weighing up to 66,000 lbs., are continuously machined on the workcenter without multiple setups.

“The new mill was added to support the fabrication side of our business,” said Powers. “We had relied on outsource partners to assist with that type of machining, but there just wasn’t enough capacity in southern Ontario. We were losing fabrication work because of access to machining capacity. With this in-house addition, we can better meet our customers’ expectations when there is a peak. It’s a differentiating process for us.”

Taking Stock

“All our locations stock, cut, and process their own material,” said Powers. “Having the material on the floor helps us with lead time. We can go from order to floor without waiting for material. Being able to do the majority of our own stress relief also gives us an advantage on controlling quality.”

About 30,000 tons of precertified steel is processed each year. Warehouse inventories typically include A36, 44W, and 1020 mild steel; 1020 carbon steel plate; 1020, 1045 and 4140 specialty steel; aluminum alloys; and a variety of structural tubing, beams, and channels. Tensile strength, chemical composition, or 100 percent traceability are provided by customer request.

Thermal and vibratory stress relieving processes are performed in-house. Five ovens can accommodate loads up to 7 by 10 by 30 ft. for both thermal stress relieving and annealing.

A good surface for paint adhesion is provided by shotblasting in a continuous feed blast unit with a 16- by 70-in. entry gate or sandblasting after flame cutting and before assembly and welding. Painting is also done in-house in a 20- by 40-ft. booth.

Welders in the Canadian plants are CWB-certified for carbon and stainless steels. U.S. welders are AWS-certified.

Certified Experience

Over 600 people comprise the Anchor Danly workforce. Most departments run two shifts. The exceptions are welding, burning, and machining which typically produce around the clock.

Welders in the Canadian plants are CWB-certified for carbon and stainless steels. In the U.S. plants, welders are AWS-certified. “We are working on AWS for the Canadian plants as well,” Powers said. “Most U.S. companies accept the CWB certification as an equivalent, but some customers require AWS. So we are getting that in place.”

A robotic workstation accommodates fabrications up to 11 by 8 by 5 ft. and weighing up to 14,500 lbs., with full 360-degree part rotation for volume fabrications.

Steady Relationships

“We have long-term relationships with both our customers and our employees,” said Zerio. “Our customers are not in and out, which would lead to the kind of environment where you would have to hire for a limited time. Our employees appreciate the safe work environment and our communications.” Communication boards scattered across the shop floor track and share daily activities.

A staff association that coordinates monthly meetings at each location allows hourly employees to have a voice in company operations. Upper management participates in periodic meetings to discuss how the company is doing, answer questions about any existing issues, and share tracking on how Anchor Danly compares to its competition. Training and development of team members are extensive, and the company looks within its own ranks when there is an opportunity for promotion.

The result is a workforce that stays put and contributes to the knowledge base and overall success of the company. Employees in their second or third decade of service are the norm, not the exception.

Moving Into 2014

Brisebois is gearing up for a surge in business. “I anticipate a robust market starting with the fourth quarter and going into 2014 on both the tooling and the fabrication sides. We know that the programs that will require tooling exist, and that OEMs will need bases for equipment to support capital equipment investments. These programs have been a bit slow developing, but they’re out there.”

Zerio added, “Automotive is good, agriculture is good, and mining will come back. Then there’s construction and automation. And the housing industry, which has been in a four-year lull in North America, will hopefully provide growth through die sets for the appliance industry.”

Some increased activity in appliance manufacturing is due to the reshoring initiative, according to Zerio. “We are starting to see commitments to bring work back to North America, so we are seeing more tooling needs than in previous years. It is benefiting our business as programs are tooled-up here as opposed to in China or Korea. Some appliance manufacturers are making significant investments to grow their capacity. And we see overlap into fabrication because many of our fabrications go into the machinery used in these plants.”

Focus on Fabrication

“We’ll work to take care of our customers,” said Zerio. “If there is something they need that we can deliver to them efficiently, we will look at it, but generally, with as much opportunity as we have to grow our fabrication business, that’s where we’ll be putting our attention.

“We have aggressive plans for growth in that division both organically and through acquisitions in Canada and the United States. We are the preferred supplier with virtually all of our customers. The size and financial stability of our company give us the leverage to add capacity to accommodate new business as market activity expands. We’re well-positioned. As things stabilize in North America, we should have some big years ahead of us. These are exciting days.”