Better, faster, farther
Jul 1, 2008 12:00 PM
Brandon Truck Equipment can use robots to weld custom truck bodies because the welds the robot produces are in areas of the truck bodies that do not deviate from standard models. The robot welds top and bottom rails and long sills.
“We can offer all types of custom specifications — hurricane body, log box, quarry body. But the areas involving the robot rarely changes,” Comtois says. “When we get specifications that are too complex, we don't use the robot.”
Computer-aided design software, of course, also helps make robotic welding feasible. The company uses SolidWorks design software to design — and custom design — its dump bodies.
Flowing smoothly
Communication plays a key role in successfully providing custom-built truck bodies. Brandon Truck Equipment uses a custom software package to manage virtually all of its operation — from proposals to delivery.
The company's staff of one engineer and three draftsmen use SolidWorks to produce drawings of proposed trucks. Once the customer approves the drawings, Comtois enters the order into the production system — the first and last time that keyboarding will be required. From that point, the data flow seamlessly through the system. The production management system interfaces with the nesting software that enables the company to get the most from a sheet of steel. It also interfaces with the CNC equipment on the plant floor to accurately fabricate the components of the custom or standard body.
Computer-generated work orders provide workers in the plant with the information they need to assemble the parts and pieces into a completed product.
Rising cost of steel
Like any company involved with producing and selling products made of steel, Brandon Truck Equipment has been having to deal with another round of escalating prices for this very important raw material.
“We have been prebuying our steel a year in advance, and we take delivery on that steel a couple of times a year,” Comtois says. “We have made additional steel purchases to help reduce the price we have to pay. As a result, we have been able to hold the prices we charge for our products throughout the year and should be able to continue to hold them steady at least until this fall.”
The price increases have affected mostly mild steel.
“We mostly use AR450 steel, which has not gone up nearly as sharply as mild steel,” Comtois says.
Family business
Brandon Truck Equipment is a private company owned by Luck and Daniel Rainville and Guy Comtois, Pascal's father. The company has been in business for 50 years, It was started by the grandfather of Luc and Daniel Rainville to provide general welding services for the local market.
In 1992, Brandon branched out from general welding and began producing it own dump bodies. Manufacturing dump bodies gave the company an additional source of sales, especially in the winter when the general welding business experienced seasonal downturns.
Dump body production grew, leading Brandon Truck Equipment to build a 26,000 sq ft. plant on 15 acres in the new St-Gabriel-de-Brandon Industrial Park in 2000. The company added 12,500 sq ft in 2004 in order to accommodate additional fabrication.
Along with the plant expansion, Brandon installed an 80 ft plasma cutting table and 750-ton press break. Those two machine tools helped the company increase production to 10 dump bodies daily.
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