Six months after opening the doors to our highly anticipated new manufacturing facility in McGregor, Texas, we are continuing to discover new ways to expand the boundaries of what is possible for our company and within the industry. This second facility, which marks Allied’s expansion into U.S.-based fabrication, features cutting-edge technologies and a world-class workforce that together are already revolutionizing the way steel buildings are manufactured.
Unlocking Efficiencies and Advantages
With the support and expertise of our longtime partners at IP Grupo, we designed McGregor around top-of-line manufacturing equipment and machining from the same vendors who outfitted Allied’s first facility in La Coruna, Spain. Together these technologies comprise a one-of-a-kind manufacturing system that leverages robotics and automation to elevate the quality, precision, and speed of our fabrication process. At the center of this is a fully automated robotics line from Lincoln Electric/Zeman that scans, sorts, and transport plates, allocating them to the appropriate projects, before assembling, and welding them per project specifications. In addition to improving the speed and quality of production, the system leverages modelling technology to identify and solve potential design flaws before they occur.
Evolving Our Workforce
Beyond improving the way steel assemblies are produced, automation is also expanding the opportunities available to our workforce. Because the success of these new systems depends largely on the people who operate them, we are discovering new potential for skill development and career advancement, while leapfrogging over the labor supply shortages that more traditional fabricating processes still grapple with.
“Automation doesn’t mean hiring less people. It means hiring them for different jobs. Some of the people who were working on the line in a production atmosphere are now managing new technologies and systems based on the experience they had. ” – Michael Lassner, President and CEO of Allied Steel Buildings
Exploring Opportunities for Growth and Alignment
Though we didn’t anticipate hiring as large of a workforce in Texas as in Spain, automation and technology have allowed us to serve new market needs, which has driven a 30% increase in our McGregor workforce, allowing us to unlock yet more opportunity. With our new capabilities we are exploring client engagements that previously didn’t make sense for our business, including fabricating for fully developed projects that leverage our manufacturing capabilities rather than just our design and engineering experience.
With the benefits of this growth, Allied’s teams realized how critical it was to align both of our factories in terms of their processes, so we recently made investments in automation in Spain to ensure both factories mirror each other. In addition to streamlining our processes and improving quality control, standardizing our facilities will allow us to provide our clients with models that inform them on what’s happening to their project throughout the entire process. This added transparency will be a critical advantage within the industry.
Evolving Together with our Clients and Partners
Looking ahead, Allied is also making investments in a second manufacturing robotics system in McGregor which will allow us to expand beyond fabricating primary steel to a range of other essential secondary components. Doing so while continuing to work with our longtime supply partners will broaden our abilities to provide our clients with exactly what they need within budget and on time.
Ultimately, it all comes down to doing what is best for our customers. As we unlock new opportunities and explore even more ways to scale up our capabilities as a global fabricator, we will continue to reflect on how we can best serve our clients. In Michael’s words,
“At Allied, we’ve always prided ourselves on being a company that puts our clients first. Our goal is for Allied to represent a balance of innovation and craftsmanship—where the most advanced technology is always in the service of exceptional human skill. We want to be known within the industry and beyond as a company that pushes boundaries but never loses sight of the values that built our success. Quality, integrity, and a commitment to our clients will always be our guiding principles. That’s the kind of company we are—and the kind of company we’ll continue to be as we move into the future.”
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