With a philosophy that places their customers needs as their first priority, Tim Milner and Ronnie Peszynski (far left and right, respectively) of National Welders Supply have forged strong distributor relationships with Tico’s Clark Daring (middle right) and Bernard’s Grant Peppers (middle left).

The people at Tico Manufacturing, Inc. know a few things about the importance of durability. The terminal trucks and trailers they build at their Ridgeland, SC facility load and unload shipping cargo weighing up to 300,000 pounds or more in a fast-paced, high-stress environment.

“Our trucks are not made to be cosmetically beautiful pieces of equipment,” explained Production Coordinator Clark Daring. “They are made to sustain enormous weight loads and provide continuous service in very, very brutal environments.”

Needless to say, the quality of the welds that go into their products is of utmost importance.

“We have a reputation based on building a durable piece of equipment,” Daring said. “From both a business and human safety perspective, we cannot supply a piece of equipment that is subject to breakage. And for that reason, welding quality is of supreme importance and cannot be sacrificed in any way.”

Also of critical importance to their manufacturing operations is the quality and durability of their production equipment. That’s why, after witnessing a 2,400 percent increase in their contact tip life expectancy, the company converted all of its MIG guns to Bernard’s Centerfire consumables, and later, also changed to Bernard Q-Gun MIG guns.

After five months of use the company has saved over $1,600 per month just in downtime that was previously spent changing contact tips. Plus, it uses 920 fewer contact tips per month, for a savings of roughly $560 per month.

The manufacturing process

This fixturing system allows the terminal trailer frames to be rotated to any angle, allowing Tico’s welders to avoid unnecessary climbing and to allow them to weld in a flat position as much as possible, increasing productivity and weld quality.

Driven primarily by customer demand Tico typically produces about eight terminal trailers and 12– 15 terminal trucks a month at its 115,000 sq. ft. Ridgeland plant. For the trailers and the truck frames, the company brings in plate steel and uses a CNC plasma table to cut the steel to the desired shape before it’s brought to a brake press to be bent.

Once the initial fabrication process is complete, the company uses a fixturing system (see photo) to position the truck and trailer frames to be welded. The fixturing system is able to rotate the frames to the desired position, allowing the company to create a safer work environment and increase productivity.

The frames are made of 100 percent mild steel, mostly between 3/8-in. — 5/8-in. thick and are welded together using a .045-in. E70C-6M metal-cored wire with a 95/5 Argon/CO2 gas mix. Running their welding power supplies or sources around 300 amps, the resulting spray transfer process produces an appealing, mostly spatter-free weld. Approximately 80 percent of the company’s welds are all-position fillet welds.

Feeling the sting of the nationwide welder shortage, Tico has opted to institute an in-house welding training program for new employees. “We try to hire people with experience,” Daring said, “but oftentimes that’s just not possible, particularly when we have ramp ups in our production schedule.”

Although no governing authority regulates their trailers, Tico performs regular weld penetration analysis through cut and etch visual testing. However, the real test comes when the trucks and trailers arrive at the shipyards. The company’s main business model involves leasing and maintaining the trucks and trailers, so they keep very detailed accounts of all of the repair work that is required.

“Our lease agreement requires us to provide a working piece of equipment, and with the cost of repairs, it’s very important for us to provide trucks and trailers that don’t break easily,” Daring said.

Conversion

Just as Tico’s trucks and trailers must meet the demands of a shipping environment where time is of the essence, it’s manufacturing time is also very expensive. For that reason, the company is continually searching for new ways to improve both the quality of its products and the efficiency of its operations.

Because welding occupies roughly 130 of the 200 total man hours required to manufacture a trailer, and 75 of the 200 total hours necessary to manufacture a truck, improving the company’s welding operations stood to net Tico the largest overall benefit.

Like any good production coordinator, however, Daring is always wary of jumping on the bandwagon without first ensuring the new product will actually create an improvement. “I’m very skeptical about new products,” he explained. “I am the type of person who likes to stick with something if it works.”

Productivity at Tico Manufacturing, Inc. went up dramatically and consumables’ cost dropped sharply as a result of switching to Bernard Centerfire consumables and Q-Gun MIG guns.

The MIG guns and consumables they were using had been getting the job done, so Daring was hesitant when Tico’s distributor, Ronnie Peszynski of National Welders Supply, suggested he consider Bernard’s Centerfire™ line of MIG gun consumables.

“I started working with Clark at the beginning of 2007,” Peszynski said, “and from the beginning I made it clear that I wasn’t going to try to sell him something that I didn’t sincerely believe would benefit his operation. After conducting an analysis of Tico’s welding operations, I knew without a doubt that the Bernard Centerfire system was something they needed to try.”

Having developed a strong relationship of trust with Peszynski, Daring agreed to try the Centerfire consumables on one of their MIG guns.

“I provided the Centerfire system to my best welder because I felt like he would be the one person who could tell me if this was a worthwhile product to invest in,” Daring said. “He welded with it four to five hours a day for two weeks and his only response was, ‘I love it’.”

More specifically, Tico’s top welder, Bryan Cagley, was impressed by the non-threaded contact tip that simply dropped into place and changed out in about a third of the time it took to unscrew and replace traditional threaded tips. And because the contact tips simply drop into place, they can be rotated to achieve a more even wear pattern, which help extend the service life of the tip (see figure 1)

Figure 1

The Centerfire system also features a unique spatter guard, situated as part of the nozzle, that further smoothes out the gas flow from the diffuser for a less turbulent gas flow and better weld pool protection.

Working in the southern heat, fans continuously circulate air throughout the plant, increasing the potential for the shielding gas to blow away. The improved gas flow provided by the spatter guard (see figure 2) creates stronger and more visually appealing welds with reduced sparks, porosity and other problems associated with poor gas coverage.

Figure 2

“Weld quality has improved noticeably due to the more accurate and more concentrated gas flow,” Daring said. “The improved weld quality has in turn led to less rework, which is very expensive and something that we continually strive to minimize.”

If the initial performance of the Centerfire tips wasn’t enough to make Daring and Cagley believers, the consumable’s lifespan sealed the deal. Used to changing out his contact tips three times a day or more, Cagley was pleasantly shocked when the very first Centerfire tips he tried lasted a full two weeks.

Results

Using the Centerfire conversion parts, Tico converted all of its 20 welding stations, and three different brands of MIG guns, to Centerfire consumables. The difference was immediate.

Averaging approximately three minutes per changeout for their previous brand of contact tips and roughly three changeouts per day, Tico welders spent 180 minutes per day simply changing their contact tips. With an average industry labor cost of $35 per hour, that equals approximately $1,680 in time spent changing contact tips every month (Tico’s welders work four 10-hour days per week) (see chart).

	Tips per month	Time spent per tip	Total time per month	Labor cost per hour	Total labor cost
Old System	960	3 minutes	48 hours	$35	$1,680
Centerfire System	40	1.5 minutes	1 hour	$35	$35
Difference	920	1.5 minutes	47 hours	0	$1,645

With the Centerfire system, Tico’s welders change their tips roughly once every two weeks, and when they do change them, it takes about 90 seconds, for a total of 60 minutes per month. That represents a savings of $1,645 per month, not including the time saved through less rework. Further, Tico now uses around 40 contact tips per month instead of about 960 per month.

Daring is also very pleased with the time savings created by Bernard’s Jump Liner system, which allows his welders to replace only the portion of the liner that most frequently wears out — the 18 or so inches leading back from the gun’s neck. Whereas replacing a full liner can take 20 minutes or more, a Jump Liner can be switched out in less than three minutes.

After witnessing the benefits of the Centerfire consumables, Daring was receptive to the idea of trying out Bernard’s MIG guns. After putting the guns through a similar evaluation period with their top welder, Tico converted all of their guns to 400-amp Bernard Q-Guns, featuring an ergonomically curved handle paired with a standard Bernard cable.

“I really like the handle on those guns,” Daring said. “In my opinion, it’s the best shaped handle on the market. We have 20 – 25 welders on staff and it seems to fit all of their hands just fine.”

After five months of use for at least five hours per day, Daring said they have had “zero problems” with the guns.

Conclusion

In the fast paced, brutal conditions of a shipyard, shipping companies look to Tico for a product that will be durable, reliable and that allows them to get the job done at the least possible expense and without sacrificing quality.

When it comes to their manufacturing process, Tico turned to Bernard and National Welding Supply to provide MIG welding guns and consumables that mirror those same principles.

The result has been increased profitability for Tico, a higher quality product and happier and more productive employees.