Bettis Fabrication
Earlier this year, Bettis Companies opened its newest division, Bettis Fabrication, to take advantage of a growing market – the parcel industry. Increasingly, consumers shop online and ship product to their homes. Project Director Ramy Morris explains that the vision for the shop was to seize an opportunity to provide necessary components to companies such as UPS, FedEx and Amazon.
“Big players in the parcel industry are all building huge distribution centers, and they will be for the next five years or more,” Morris said. “All of those distribution centers have massive conveyors inside, and we are manufacturing the components needed to build those conveyors.”
Craig Hillman, president of Bettis Contractors, Inc., notes that Bettis Fabrication is stepping into an already established market, which means that careful planning is crucial to ensure a successful investment. Bettis had to raise the bar and provide a greater value than its competition. The solution? Technology.
“Through automation, we increase production capability,” Hillman said.
“We let technology help us out and get the right
people into place to utilize that technology.”
The right man for the metal fabrication job was Morris, who brings his prior experience in manufacturing conveyor components to his work for Bettis. Morris was involved in every stage of the project, from the vision and business plan to building the structure, buying the equipment, and setting the layout for the shop. He hired a crew of 15 to do the work, including welders, a CAD technician and painters. Bettis also employs a crew that travels around the United States installing components for customers.
“Automation puts us at a different level with fast lead times and more efficient work,” Morris said. “Through technology, we took a lot of labor out of the manufacturing process. Automation improves accuracy and efficiency, and also minimizes risk and overuse to bodies and muscles.”
Bettis Fabrication invested in a laser cutting table that is the fastest technology available for cutting, an automated tower that stores and processes different material types and sizes, and a robotic press brake to bend and form the plate material. One example of the improved efficiency is the hauling and loading of metal plates for components. In the past, multiple men used hoists and hauled by hand. What once took three men 20 minutes to do the robot can do in two. That time savings means more work for the shop’s fabrication crew.
In addition to increasing the product line, Bettis Fabrication does metalwork such as stairs, gates and railings, so there is less work for Bettis Contractors to subcontract out when they take on a job.
“It makes us more of an all-in-one service, which is more efficient for our customers,” said Wayne Hiegert, director of marketing. “The fabrication shop can also do a lot of work for other divisions of the Bettis Companies, such as repairs and painting.”
Bettis also offers those services to other companies. Its paint booth, one of the biggest in town, has already done quite a bit of business.
Hillman says the Bettis family is always looking ahead, pushing and planning for what comes next, and the fabrication shop is just the latest example.
“The owners work harder than anyone else here, often opening and closing the office,” he said. “They put in the hours and care about the success of the organization. They really lead by example.”
