In order to minimize the effects of these material price increases, Steeldeck, Inc continues to make positive progress in manufacturing efficiency.

We are investing heavily in new machinery, starting with a CNC router to cut out and drill plywood tops for all sizes of deck. Before we acquired the router, we had the plywood cut to size by a sub-contractor, then performed all subsequent operations by hand. We found that plywood mill cutting tolerances were unsatisfactory, and worked our way through several subcontractors before finding a local shop with the skills, machinery and patience to do the job correctly. The router performs all operations at a single station much faster and more accurately than we humans could. Cutting the plywood to size is a significant operation for us, as any inaccuracies are magnified when multiplied in a stage with several hundred decks.

Our next acquisition is a pair of machines to make trusses. The first is a custom made bender to form the wire web. The other is an automatic weld cell to weld the truss chords to the web on both sides. This duo will enable us to maintain good accuracy while decreasing skilled human input. Following shortly will be other machines to take more labor from the platform components, again to keep costs down, and delay price increases.

On the rental side, we also have been very busy, reaching 135 jobs during March. This is an average of nearly seven jobs per working day, with an average rental invoice value of $1,036.12. This was comforting after our biggest job of the year was cancelled due to the writers’ strike.

Since acquiring the building we occupy in 2005, we have remodeled the office and restrooms, re-roofed, and replaced all lighting with energy efficient T-5 fixtures, significantly improving the quality of light in the warehouse and manufacturing areas, without increasing the electricity bill.

From this solid foundation, we are set to continue to serve our customers efficiently for years to come.