The Fabricator

As its employees have grown their skills, Texas-based Special Products & Mfg. (SPM) has grown its business. Meet The Fabricator's 2025 Industry Award winner. SPM has created an environment that is helping it to grow successfully with its customers and tackle jobs in new industries, all while growing its revenue over the last several years while its number of employees decreased. “Today, we are doing more with less,” says Nora Harding, SPM executive VP. Harding attributes that growth to the employees and the next generation of leaders at SPM. Over the years, documentation has improved, and automation has helped to overcome lost institutional knowledge. But people at SPM are contributing in ways they never have before, writes Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis. Is that the secret ingredient for success in metal fabricating? “It is employee engagement for me. That’s what makes the wheels turn. You can only be as fast and good as what your employees are engaged in doing,” Harding adds. ???? https://lnkd.in/ggMbcsPH Special Products & Mfg., Inc. (SPM) | Sheet Metal Fabrication, Laser Cutting, Powder Coating #metalfabrication #manufacturing #sheetmetal #industryleader

Tariffs worked for bolstering domestic steelmaking, but will the same approach work for returning manufacturing to U.S. shores? Michael Cowden of Steel Market Update takes another look at the everchanging tariff front. "I don’t think a carousel is the right metaphor anymore. Some days it feels more like the carousel has turned into a roller coaster. You can’t see where the next drop or turn is going to be." ?? https://lnkd.in/gBFy46Rt' #tariffs #steel #manufacturing #sheetmetal

?? "What if we made the world's biggest selfie machine?" Mike McCarthy of DCL (Design Communications Ltd.)?tells the story of the As We Are display and how DCL partnered with artist Matthew Mohr and the Greater Columbus Convention Center/ASM Global to design it, fabricate it, and make it happen. ?? Check out this full episode of The Fabricator Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gp6iz6PC Dan Davis | Lincoln Brunner | Gareth Sleger | Griffin Hammond | Dana Wiker | Sara Spring | Paperless Parts #thefabricatorpodcast #fabrication #design #engineering #art

The Fabricator Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis spoke to three powder coating experts who offered advice on how to figure out what might be the causes of coating defects and how to avoid them. ?? Mark Mortensen of?All-Color Powder Coating, Inc. ?? Michael Withers of Philadelphia-based?Axalta ?? Brian Korecky of?Bulk Chemicals, Inc./BCI Surface Technologies Read the article: https://lnkd.in/g3YMiPTz #metalfabrication #powdercoating #manufacturing

????? "We're in the experiential design industry." Mike McCarthy of Boston-based DCL (Design Communications Ltd.) joins The Fabricator Podcast this week to talk about how DCL is at the intersection of engineering, design, and fabrication of some of the most recognizable creative projects around the country. ?? The episode drops soon. Stay tuned and follow us on your favorite podcast platform. https://lnkd.in/gp6Dmi5q ??? Check out more for the FMA Podcast Network. https://lnkd.in/gSjF8ynP Dan Davis | Lincoln Brunner | Gareth Sleger | Griffin Hammond | Dana Wiker | Sara Spring | Paperless Parts #thefabricatorpodcast #fabrication #design #engineering

Fabrication shops can't control time, but they can get a better handle on what they do with it. Sidney, Ohio-based Everyday Technologies is one example of that, writes Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis. “If you came into our business right now, you might laugh because we have so much equipment. You also might say that we could be doing way more in sales,” says Everyday Technologies CEO/Owner Cody Lee. “Well, I know that. That’s what we’re setting ourselves up to do.” Here's how a new ERP system at is helping the fab shop provide real-time visibility into the company that wasn’t available with its previous software package. ?? https://lnkd.in/gDFXfGi8 ??? Check out Cody on the Next-Gen Metal Fab podcast with Tim Heston, Caleb Chamberlain, and Lance Thrailkill: https://lnkd.in/giASEAwa #metalfabrication #erp #smartmanufacturing #fabshop #manufacturing

"We're still a small minority. We have to have each other's backs." Iowa State University English professor turned welder Jo Mackiewicz talks about a piece she wrote for The Conversation U.S. focused on the role of women in welding and other skilled trades. ???? https://lnkd.in/gRYqHwtG ??? Check out more from the FMA Podcast Network: https://lnkd.in/gSjF8ynP ?? Read Jo's article at The Conversation U.S.: https://lnkd.in/gnCMgTWZ ?? Blue Collar Women: https://lnkd.in/ggQ_cfPT Dan Davis | Rafael Guerrero | Gareth Sleger | Dana Wiker | Griffin Hammond | Sara Spring | Paperless Parts #thefabricatorpodcast #welding #fabrication #skilledtrades #InternationalWomensDay

"I asked him if he would hire me..." On the latest episode of The Fabricator Podcast, Iowa State University English professor Jo Mackiewicz talks about how her study of communication within welding education led her to taking a part-time job working for Jim Howe at Howe's Welding & Metal Fabrication in Ames, Iowa. ???? https://lnkd.in/gRYqHwtG Dan Davis | Rafael Guerrero | Gareth Sleger | Dana Wiker | Griffin Hammond | Sara Spring | Paperless Parts #thefabricatorpodcast #welding #fabrication #skilledtrades

We're back this week with another episode of The Fabricator Podcast. And this one is interesting... Jo Mackiewicz of the Iowa State University Department of English joins us to talk about her remarkable path to becoming a welder after writing a book about the?communication between welding teachers and students, working part time in a weld shop, and women entering the trade. ?? The episode drops this week. Follow us on your favorite platform: https://lnkd.in/gp6Dmi5q ??? Check out more from the FMA Podcast Network: https://lnkd.in/gSjF8ynP ?? Read Jo's article about this at The Conversation U.S.: https://lnkd.in/gnCMgTWZ Dan Davis | Rafael Guerrero | Gareth Sleger | Dana Wiker | Griffin Hammond | Sara Spring | Paperless Parts #thefabricatorpodcast #welding #skilledtrades #womeninmanufacturing