Commonwealth Material Handling, Inc. began as a full service custom fabrication and machine shop in January, 1997. Since then it has grown to a multi-dimensional engineering and manufacturing company which:
Custom designs and manufacturers material handling equipment
for industrial material handling markets.
Designs and builds custom control and automation systems.
Fabricates steel, aluminum and stainless.
Provides structural steel and installation..
Services, repairs and maintains material handling equipment on
site or at our facility.
FLEXIBILITY
Unlike some companies, no job is too small for us and is part of providing full service. While we prefer to work on large projects, we understand that sometimes a simple repair or making a one of a kind part is essential to keep our customer’s products moving.
REACH
While the majority of our customers are in the Ohio Valley (KY, IN, OH, IL & PA) we have customers all across the United States from MN to FL, from NY to CA, having completed projects in 17 states. We also can and have assembled “Mobile Foreign Project Teams” which are available to travel to most any country.
SECURITY
CMH is fully insured by Wells Fargo of KY and can provide proof of insurance upon request.
SAFETY
Our sales, production, management and engineering personnel are either MSHA or OSHA certified, having completed 40 initial hours of safety training plus 8 follow up hours each year. Individual documentation is carried by our personnel and can be produced upon request.
COMPETITIVE PRICING:
We understand the importance of providing competitive pricing for all projects. Besides material and labor cost; quality, production time, efficient work flow, maintenance, downtime and durability, all go into providing value for our customers and has helped us build this business.
As a service to our customers, we quote projects 3 ways.
1) Per customer specs.
2) The way we believe provides the best value to the customer
3) A compromise position
Price quotes are guaranteed for 15 days unless noted otherwise
EXPERIENCE
Being a full service design/build, fabrication and installation company, with over 150 years experience in the manufacturing industry, our engineers and designers bring valuable on the job experience to each project. Often our diversity provides techniques and processes that can be transferred from one industry to another. Previous experience also results in more accurate pricing of materials and time, plus proven work flow systems can be
duplicated or modified saving time and money.
PURCHASING
To be able to react quickly to customer needs, our Sales/Project Managers, Engineers, Production Managers as well as our Purchasing Manager have the authority to order materials for the jobs they are working on. We call this our “Running Start Project Deployment”(RSPD). Unlike some companies that have large purchasing bureaucracies, causing delays; CMH can get your project in production sooner. Our experienced purchasing manager (12+ years) still audits the RSPDs for accuracy, enters into our FABRITRAK32 accounting/monitoring system and plays a vital role in our procurement process.
Steel, an integral component in most projects, is procured from 8-14 sources. We contact 3-5 steel suppliers on each project to get the best price possible. Our plant location positions us within 5 miles of 4 of our most reliable steel suppliers; however, we also go to sources in Chicago, New Jersey, Canada, etc. when the project and time warrant. When requested, CMH will provide a Certified Mill Test Report on the steel procured for your job. This certificate shows test results on the steel, verifying yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, gauge, etc.
The ordering process isn’t complete until all materials are received. We utilize bar codes which are printed on our receiving documents and are scanned to record delivery in real time. This process also helps us manage back orders and replacements.
We specify the highest quality component parts
EFFICIENT WORK FLOW SYSTEM
Productivity is an important component in lowering labor time/costs. Efficient work flow also lowers waste and storage costs. In the estimating process, we not only establish materials needed, we create a work flow system that identifies the skill of labor needed plus time and equipment. As soon as we get approval for a project we are ready to start the job and put our work flow system into action.
Service:
CONSULTATION
With over 150 years of material handling, fabrication and structural steel experience, often we are brought into a project early on to provide impute on how to solve our customers problems or to help boost their productivity. Many times we share our experience without cost to our customers and consider this a part of our investment into our relationship.
BID PROCESS
Customer service starts with a responsive bid process. 92% of all projects quoted are planned, written, detailed and delivered within 72 hours of receipt of specifications. On larger projects, we set up a Bid Schedule where we list timeframes and come to agreement with our customer on the due date on each aspect of the project. All warranties, terms and conditions are clearly spelled out with a detailed project time line.
CMH also offers an exclusive ”URGENT Quote Process” where we gather our team members(all are on-call each business day from 7:30 to 3:00) consisting of sales, engineering and upper management to provide URGENT quotes within 6 hours.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Many projects tend to change from bid to the final purchase order. To be sure there are no misunderstandings: all projects are acknowledged and any variances are highlighted and confirmed by the customer before the project begins.
PURCHASE ORDER CHANGES
To protect our customers and ourselves, should there be a change in the project, all changes will be documented and any cost reductions or increases will be duly noted and agreed upon.
PROJECT FOLLOW THROUGH
For long duration projects, we issue bi-weekly progress updates, so that our customers are always kept up to date.
MAINTENANCE
We provide on site training for all the equipment we manufacturer and represent. Our maintenance procedures program will help to ensure that the customer’s equipment will run with minimal downtime. Safety procedures are reviewed at the start to ensure safe operation. Repairs and service are preformed on site or at our facility.
COMMUNICATION
It is the policy of CMH to return all phone calls or answer email with in 3 hours. We value the time of our customers and have instituted a no ring/no answer policy that states “While working with customers, we will give them our undivided attention and take no calls during the time of our meetings”.
EQUIPMENT MANUALS
Many of the projects we take on, require design/build equipment to solve the unique problems and serve the unique needs of our customers.
An essential service we offer is the creation of Equipment Operation and Service Manuals. We realize that to be effective they must be clearly written and illustrated so they are easily understood. We also offer experienced training and thoroughly cover safety policies and procedures. Maintenance procedures are spelled out and all materials needed are listed. To view a typical Equipment Manual (clickhere).
INVENTORY
A partial list of steel sheets, columns, rebar, etc.
1/8”, 3/16”, ¼”, 3/8”, ½”, ¾”, Mild Steel Plate Sheet size: 4’x8’
¼”, 3/8”, ½”, ¾”, AR 400 Plate 4’x8’
11 gauge, 10 gauge, 3/16”, and ¼” Stainless Steel 4’x8’
30-0 Angle Iron 20’-0 stock lengths
Wide Flange Beams “
Flat Bar “
Channel “
Our location provides us the ability to draw upon 4 major steel distributor’s inventory, all within a phone call and a 10 minute ride. This provides us with almost unlimited access to any steel product we need and reduces our inventory cost.
EQUIPMENT – 25,000 sq. ft. shop
A partial list of in-house equipment, available to fabricate, manufacturer, repair, alter and modify jobs.
¼” x 10’ Press Break
¼” x 10” Shear
6’ x 18” Lathe
12” x 18” Horizontal Saw
Radial Arm Drill Press
Overhead and Mobile Crane
14’ x 16’ Overhead Doors
PERSONNEL – 30 employees
10 A.W.S. Certified welders – that average 15 years experience each
– MIG, TIG and stick welding (aluminum, steel and stainless steel)
1 Mechanical Engineers – 15 years experience
4 Project Manager/Designers – 15+ years experience
2 Local Delivery Drivers – 10+ years experience
1 Electrical Engineer – 10+ years experience
1 Field Crews
Quality:
MATERIALS
Material quality procedures are described in the Purchasing section under the Competitive Pricing heading.
PERSONNEL
CMH - Sales/Project Managers (avg.10+ years experience) are our front line in providing quality products and service. These knowledgeable veterans are glad to share solutions to structural, fabrication and material handling challenges they have faced with other customers.
CMH - Engineers, Designers and Detailers utilize the latest software to help them visualize projects, create design/detail drawings and pinpoint potential trouble spots. CMH - Production Personnel average 10+ years in the fabrication/material handling industry. Besides extensive Safety training ( see Safety above) our production people receive continuing training to keep them up to date on the latest welding, cutting and fabrication procedures.
PROCESS
When we quote a project we determine the best materials to meet or exceed the requirements needed and make recommendations when warranted. Inspections take place throughout the process and our “project team” ensures that we look at each project from different vantage points and perspectives. We realize that what we produce will be in operation for a long time and must perform according to the original specifications.
TESTING
Before shipment to the customer, all equipment and fabricated products are tested by running the equipment, checking for both performance and tolerance and inspecting for any misalignment issues.
