Appleton Stainless, Inc. is an American company founded in 1999 and based in Appleton, WI.The company is focused on fast turnaround and supplies through its distribution partners pipe, tube, fittings and valves to such industries as food and dairy, biopharmaceutical, wastewater, ethanol, meat packing, pulp and paper, power plants, semiconductor and mining.
Originally focused on the custom manufacture of stainless pipe and tube fittings, ASI has evolved into a stocking manufacturer of 45° laterals, reducing tees, custom reducers, polished pipe and tube, specialty fittings, flanges and many other unique or difficult to find piping products.
Adjusting shop schedules to adhere to the most demanding of customers’ lead-time requirements while keeping the price competitive is ASI’s devise.
Gary Fahey, owner of Appleton Stainless, has kindly accepted to talk about the company’s needs and his experience with AXXAIR.
What challenge did Appleton Stainless face?
Let's take a look back at the company’s situation before using orbital solutions.
“On the industrial markets, there are some constraints or requirements like selling to customers who are looking for partial pipe and tube. Some customers do not want to buy a full 24 feet length of pipe and they want a very precise and clean cut within tight tolerance, some others more and more want a perfect cut ready to be welded. Also, some of their customers work on job sites and need to receive the tube already cut at the right length and ready to be welded.”
All these constraints require a perfect cutting quality.
So, how did they learn about AXXAIR?
According to Gary, the beveling part was the first interest that led them to look at the AXXAIR orbital cutting and beveling machines.
An AXXAIR representative came by the company’s shop to present the orbital solutions. As the project matured, one of their employees came up with the idea of using AXXAIR to improve their process. They called the representative in order to set this up. In the past, they used a horizontal band saw but never used orbital machines before.
The choice of AXXAIR for orbital equipment
Appleton Stainless, Inc. chose to invest in a 222FS15 cutting machine and a GA10 bevel motor with a 37.5 V-bevel milling head. The bevel motor can be used with the cutting machine’s frame. To optimize the stability of the machine, the company also chose to acquire a support bench CCBSB-X1. Thanks to AXXAIR’s high precision and stainless-steel concentric clamping system, tubes and pipes are cut without tube distortion.
What about customer service?
Customer service is one of the main reasons the company chose AXXAIR.
Gary found it very responsive and supportive. AXXAIR’s experts did not hesitate to answer any question, to help using the machine and to explain well the full capabilities of the orbital tube working machines.
“I would rate 10/10 for AXXAIR customer service". [Gary Fahey]
First use of the machines
When the shop’s employees first received the machine, they were not used to this type of equipment because it was the first time for any of their crew to use an orbital saw and orbital beveller.
“Now, they made it a rule to use the AXXAIR saw as their first choice to cut tube and pipe to guaranty their customers the best quality. We also invested in an AXXAIR support bench and height adjustable table to guarantee a perfect support of the pipe. It got better afterwards as they got the perfect set up to cut from 2 to 8” pipe.”
According to Gary Fahey, the main positive points of AXXAIR products are the squareness of the cut and the machine’s versatility as one frame can be used for cutting and beveling. You simply need to change the motor on the machine’s frame.
The results obtained with AXXAIR products
Thanks to their AXXAIR orbital cutting and beveling machine, Appleton Stainless, Inc. gained new customers and was able to retain high demanding customers requiring more and more precise cuts. Before their investment, a few customers were complaining about the shop’s cuts quality and now they are happy with the improvement in quality and precision of cuts.
"Customers don’t complain anymore, and new ones have joined us!" [Gary Fahey]
What about the company’s future?
Gary is confident that orbital cutting and beveling will take more and more room in their process. He is also starting to think about the orbital TIG welding process using the AXXAIR orbital saw frame. This frame can not only be used to cut and bevel and but also for orbital TIG weld.
The AXXAIR Group was indeed the first to offer a triple and exclusive solution, from preparation to orbital welding: the global process. A single machine frame (122, 172, 222 and 322) enable three operations to be carried out: cutting, beveling and orbital welding.
At the end of the interview, Gary Fahey told us that at first, the cost of investment in this precision tool seemed high. As Gary then said “the ROI is determined by the quality of the results that you get and the satisfaction of the customer who require more and more precise cuts and bevels for their tube and pipe welders. “
Gary Fahey insisted for us to mention that the fact that they bought a second AXXAIR orbital saw in November 2020. This time a 172FS19 (0.625” to 6.625” OD) with a pipe conveyor, demonstrate that they are stepping up their process for high quality and productivity standards.
We thank Appleton Stainless Inc. and especially Gary Fahey for this precious testimonial and we wish them a good and long use of our orbital machines!
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Appleton Stainless, Inc. is an American company founded in 1999 and based in Appleton, WI.
The company is focused on fast turnaround and supplies through its distribution partners pipe, tube, fittings and valves to such industries as food and dairy, biopharmaceutical, wastewater, ethanol, meat packing, pulp and paper, power plants, semiconductor and mining.
