Larson Tool Blog

Using Lean Principles to Create Efficiencies that Benefit Metal Stamping Customers

Our customers come to us for high-quality metal stamped parts—and our reputation for deep draw stamping precedes us. Well-built tooling lays the foundation for this high quality, and is essential for a reliable manufacturing process that will deliver consistent parts throughout the life of the stamping program. Larson Tool benefits from generations-deep tool-making expertise, which is passed down through a carefully planned apprenticeship program to ensure a continuum of knowledge and experience. 

Outlook for the Future from a Precision Metal Stamper’s View 

When I last wrote, we were experiencing much uncertainty in the industry: steel price increases, supply chain delays, workforce and transportation challenges, among the many factors we’ve been juggling these last few years. (Click here to read that article.) And much like last time, we still can’t predict with any certainty what, how, why, and when the markets, supply chain, and industry in general will settle into a pattern that we can “rely” on—whatever that means these days. Afterall, we are now facing a possible recession, with the national manufacturing rate’s slowest pace in over two years and the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates to control buying; a war in Europe that has worldwide implications (on many levels); along with many of the same factors that have us at this inflection point already. 

How Transportation, Labor, and Economics Play a Role in the Supply Chain Predicament

The increase in materials pricing and supply chain interruption continues to impact virtually every sector of the economy—from consumer goods, such as furniture and cars, to raw materials, such as lumber in construction and steel in manufacturing. The initial slowdown in manufacturing created a slump in sales and production, forcing stainless steel suppliers to cut inventory (and one large steel mill exited the 300 series sector of the market entirely). But once the production lines whirred again, the demand far outpaced the supply, causing steel prices to skyrocket.

Factors for Deciding to Reshore, and Ways to Make It Easier

There has been increased talk about the risks of doing business with China, and the recent pandemic has shown a spotlight on the need for less dependence on supply lines from the Far East. Even larger corporations that had pioneered the move to China are starting to rethink things and increase manufacturing in the U.S., bringing some of the outsourced production home.

The Deep Draw Distinction in Metal Stamping: Cutting Weight = Cutting Costs

Who doesn’t want to save money and improve efficiency with their production costs? No product designer, manager, engineer, or C-Suite exec we’ve ever met. How about you? And when you source a metal forming job that requires deep draw expertise, every vendor is going to tell you they can do it cost effectively. But can they prove it? We actually can … in cold hard steel cost savings—with data to back it up. Check out one case study here.

PMA’s METALFORM EDU Provides Training and Education Towards Career Advancement

The good news: the manufacturing industry is robust, and the outlook remains positive. Troubling news: many U.S. manufacturers are dealing with a sizable skills gap (which we recently wrote about). Better news: there is a rise in trade school enrollment. The best news: Larson is already involved in an active training program that educates people in the skills necessary to serve the metal stamping industry—let alone help them improve the quality of their individual lives.

How Larson Successfully Implements PMA’s METALFORM EDU

No doubt about it, there is a skills gap in U.S. manufacturing. Ironically, the latest advances in manufacturing technologies—artificial intelligence, robotics, automation and the internet of things (IoT)—have been blamed, incorrectly, for taking away jobs.

Being SMEs on SQMs

You already have a full-time job; keeping up with the regulations of all the regulatory agencies—as changeable as they may be for any given part or project—doesn’t need to be its own full-time endeavor. When your vendor has a good supplier quality management program, you won’t have to bear the burden alone. It’s why we are meticulous with our SQM program.

Because the Production Part Approval Process Reduces Risk!

Imagine waking up one morning to hear that your metal stamping components are part of the design of a product that expects to exceed 70 million recalls by the time all the numbers are in. Tragically, those aren’t the only numbers tolled in the equation—there are deaths and injuries among them. More numbers: seven high-volume, global manufacturers (and their vast supply chains) have been impacted. Gulp.

Does Your Deep Draw Stamping Cost More? 

Steel tariffs: a very hot—and confusing—topic on the minds of many people in diverse industries. The uncertainty in the markets and supply chain is unsettling. An argument bolstering the need for the tariffs is that they equalize the flood of aluminum and steel from overseas producers—even at the possible economic disadvantage of smaller, regional American-based manufacturers. It’s anyone’s guess whether a global trade war will ensue with retaliatory tariffs on a variety of goods.