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October 2021 #13267 Page #82
From the Road... My Cutting-Edge Tour at Triad By Thomas McAnally
n our May issue, I began this series From the Road, inviting everyone along the course of our cross-country adventure to connect with me for an in-person visit. Recently, I was pleased to tour Merrick Machine Co. in Alda, Nebraska, the home of Triad Machinery.
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Arriving at the industrial park that houses two of their manufacturing plants, I was met by Brad Samples, Plant Manager, and we were soon joined by Lowell Tuma, Sales Manager, and Russ Merrick, owner and President. As the name shows, Merrick began as a family business – Russ is third generation leadership at the company started by his grandfather, Jim Merrick, in 1959. Originally from the oil industry, Jim Merrick is considered one of the early pioneers in building component manufacturing machinery. Their first machine made windows and it was called the Triad. Today, the Triad T-4 Window Machine is the cornerstone of the Triad Window line. Other products include wood wall panel equipment, steel stud framing tables, stair stringer cutting saws, RUVO pre-hung door assembly machines, material handling carts, and more. My plant tour started in a staging area for raw materials. Merrick Machine Co. (MMC) produces all of their specialty parts in-house using CNC-guided laser cutting, break press, milling, and forming equipment. Their strategy is to cut out the middleman to reduce lead time, maintain production schedule flexibility, reduce errors, and maintain a strict level of quality. It also allows them to plan ahead on raw materials in bulk without affecting their production schedule. We took time to watch a robotic sheet steel machine lift a single panel and position it on a carrier that brought the raw sheet into a CNC laser machine. It cut out individual parts including slots, holes, and openings based on the overall design of the machine being produced. From there, we went to an assembly area where a wall panel bridge was being constructed. Every part of the bridge structure was produced in-house with the exception of fasteners and electrical or pneumatic components. Next to the bridge, a wall panel assembly table was under construction. As with the bridge, all of the plate and structural members had been produced in-house and stood by, ready to be assembled. Continued next page PHONE: 800-289-5627
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