The competition for prefabrication is growing, but the good news is, demand is also in full-effect. Studies show that in the past 15 years prefabrication has grown from 15 to 40 percent for pipe welding. This means that opportunities are being identified and shops are aggressively trying to capture the increasing market share. In order to keep up with competition, shops are finding ways to improve lead times, capacity and margins on projects.
By using the SWR™ you’re able to prove without a doubt that you can deliver projects faster, at a lower cost per inch, and with better quality. In turn, you’re also able to go after those bigger projects or improve delivery timelines and avoid outsourcing. Also, due to unforeseen circumstances relating to supply chain issues affecting lead times your timelines will become more predictable. In the fabrication world, time is money and your margins will drastically improve. Another direct benefit to automation is addressing unpredictable human welder performance and welder availability (we discuss the welder shortage in the next section: “People”).
When you have the ability to speed up production and bid on bigger projects it can make a world of difference for your business. It takes forever to build your reputation and only a second, or a project, to lose it. The goal for most companies is to win business without having to be in a competitive situation with others. Delivering projects on time, or early with world-class quality can lead to this. Sometimes, winning and delivering one big project can lead to your company becoming a household name in the market. You can raise the ceiling on your earning potential and your business can grow exponentially.
What our customers are saying:
“We’re now going after projects that we were shying away from because of the size. Since we have implemented the SWR™, we have been spooling a lot more and we are also taking on bigger projects, knowing that we have the capabilities of the welding in place. So it’s actually helped us go after some projects that we were not going after before” – Cyrus Patel, Piping Superintendent, Western Allied Mechanical, Mechanical Engineering
“We compete for and win work in three ways: price, quality, and time. For our customers, the daily service costs are tens of thousands of dollars a day, so two to three days saved is a
huge return,…We wouldn’t have been able to make the lead time on the current project we are doing without the SWR™ – we would have probably had to outsource some of the pipe fabrication…” – Paul Hebson, VP & General Manager at Vancouver Drydock, Shipbuilding Industry.