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Testimonial SCW Contracting Corp
- Core business:
- Location:
- Employees:
- Founded:
- Steel Fabrication
- California, USA
- 50
- 1980
"These two pieces of equipment work seamlessly together. They produce at incredible rates. To have one without the other just wouldn't really make sense."
SCW Contracting Corp
SCW Contracting Corp, located in California USA, started in 1980 by Andy and Steve Scrape’s father. After working their way up the company, the two brothers now manage the day-to-day operations of the business after working every chance they could in their father’s business.
“We learned how to weld probably about the same time we learned how to ride bikes,” said Andy Scrape, Vice President of SCW Contracting.
Now with about 50 employees working at SCW Corp, they recognized the need to be more efficient with their warehouse space while demand was growing.
“As the economy got better and we got busier, we found ourselves actually running out of space in our shop and actual capacity,” explained Andy. “We started looking for outside vendors. It helped us – we were able to produce more with the same amount of people in the same space, but they also got busy.”
Investment in Voortman equipment
SCW Corp decided to take a serious look at all machinery manufacturers available for the kind of needs their business had. After touring The Netherlands and getting to see the dedication and care that Voortman employees put into the equipment, it was clear to the Scrape’s that Voortman was a better partner than the rest.
“We decided to go to a trade show and look at everybody underneath the sun,” said Steve Scrape, Project Manager at SCW Corp. “Voortman was one of those companies, and after touring The Netherlands, the manufacturing facility, and also the showroom (the customer experience center), we realized the professionalism, the quality of equipment – there’s nobody that could compete with Voortman.”
Plate processing and robotic coping – a perfect match
What started as a way to bring their plate processing needs in house turned into a realization during consultation that moving plate part production in house meant their fitters and welders could also benefit from more beam production when they were used to waiting for plate product deliveries.
“We were used to getting plate processed deliveries to us in about 2 weeks. When that timeframe started to increase and it was out of our control, we realized we were vulnerable,” said Andy. “After that trip [to The NL] we decided that we weren’t only going to go with a V310 for our plate processing, but we would also go with a V808 robotic coper.”
More about their machines
QUOTES FROM SCW CORP ON THE V310:
- “Beveling, drilling, sometimes tapping, sometimes countersinking, marking – it’s an all-in-one machine of everything you need as a plate table.”
- “We are drilling 1-5/16” holes in 2-inch thick plate as we speak, and it’s going through them very quick.”
- “We’ve done time studies. It’s faster to drill and the hole quality is perfect.”
QUOTES FROM SCW CORP ON THE V808:
- “When we take a 65-foot beam and put it into the infeed, on the outfeed we’ll get multiple different products that are coming out with all the copes complete; the holes are complete; it’s laid out.”
- “Square tube, rec tube, wide-flange beams – it’s amazing. Not only that it does those – it does channels and it does angles. We’ve done a lot of them in recent months to where we’re putting all our layout for our shear clips on there.”
- “Our stiffeners – all of our bolt holes are already cut in them. You literally can put it right on a fitter’s station, fit it up within an hour, and it’s out the door in two.”
The Final Word
SCW Corp originally was only to purchase one machine, but maintained an open mind and were rewarded from their decision to make sure they weren’t creating new bottlenecks in the process. Both Andy and Steve praised Voortman through their process researching and discovering all of their options, and have witnessed their business grow over the past few years as a direct result.
“Having this equipment definitely has changed the way that we anticipate just timing and production,” said Andy. “We’re actually looking for types of structural steel jobs that we wouldn’t necessarily focus on before we had the V310 and V808. It’s really broadening our horizons and changing the way we approach other aspects of our business.
“It’s making us more competitive and increasing our capacity,” said Andy, whose brother echoed the sentiment.
“When you decide you want to go with the best and want to know what the added cost of going with the best is getting me,” said Steve, “it’s the customer service, it’s the support, the innovation, and a true partnership.”
“I don’t think there’s ever been a moment where we regretted or even second-guessed the decision to make the investment,” Andy summarized. “It’s been great – every aspect of it.”