Strategic Automation Initiative Positions MidMach for Growth, Efficiency, and Workforce Flexibility
MidMach
Located in Jamestown, ND, MidMach was founded in 1977 as Midwestern Machine. They changed their name in 2014 to celebrate a fresh new start and an exciting new chapter for their company. Their mission statement reads, “Combining innovative technology with a talented and motivated workforce, Midmach is a solutions-driven metal fabrication company with a commitment for customer satisfaction by promoting exemplary customer service, superior quality, and on time delivery.”
Their processes are designed for efficiency, high quality, and fast turnaround times. They cater to addressing our customers' unique needs as our partner.
Their goal is to create long-lasting partnerships built on quality manufacturing as well as unbeatable customer service. Their team strives to deliver satisfaction on every order; when a solution is needed, they get busy to find an affordable solution.
Careful consideration is embedded into their production processes starting in design, acceptance criteria, and all the way through to final inspection to ensure a high level of quality assurance. They do this with proven processes, innovative manufacturing technology, supply chain management, and a team of skilled experts.
A part of MidMach’s strategic plan is to increase their level of automation and with that implement robotic weld cells. An opportunity was provided by the State of North Dakota through their Automate ND Grant Program and they elected to participate. To begin the process for applying for the grant, Impact Dakota facilitated an onboarding meeting to get orientated on the process. They furthered their support by collaborating on a Feasibility Study to assess current state process and potential for project impact.
MidMach hosted Impact Dakota with an on-site review beginning with a factory tour and description of the existing equipment and processes, and then collaborating on a current state and future state value stream map to provide information to support the independent assessment. Investing in welding automation to support the sustaining and future operations was determined to be viable with the AutomateND grant opportunity.
The results of the collaboration with Impact Dakota showed that direct impacts from the investment would include increased manufacturing capacity, annual hours saved, and inventory turns. Indirect impacts are being able to transfer work from a skilled resource pool to a general labor function and providing capability to support new product build.
With the addition of the three robotic weld cells, manufacturing capacity is estimated to increase by 3900 hours annually. Moving select products from manual robotic welding is estimated to save 6886 hours annually. As a result of this increased capacity and hours saved, inventory turns increased from approximately 6 to 7. These gains in productivity are realized by the efficiency of the robotic equipment over the manual weld process and by being able to simultaneously load & unload the assemblies while the robot is welding.
The manual welding process requires skilled labor to produce the results desired by our customers. High competition in the marketplace for this skilled labor has resulted in high turnover within the company. This is costly from both a recruiting standpoint as well as being able to foster and maintain the culture of the company. Investment in automation technology has facilitated the ability to leverage a broader resource pool for performing operations tasks. Upskilling the core team with training and then extending the daily tasks to an unskilled labor pool combined with OJT to ensure competency.
“MidMach values our partnership with Impact Dakota, particularly through our recent Feasibility Study collaboration. Their team provided practical guidance that helped us evaluate automation opportunities and plan for improvements. Impact Dakota’s approach is straightforward and results-focused, which made the process productive and meaningful for our team. Their support helped us align with the goals of the AutomateND initiative, and we appreciate having them as a knowledgeable partner in strengthening operations and exploring new opportunities.”
Aaron Roberts, Program Manager