LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Taber Extrusions of Russellville, AR. and Gulfport, MS. announces the addition of Friction Stir Welding capabilities to their existing portfolio which currently includes aluminum extrusions, fabrication, billet casting, and micro-extrusions. The addition of in-house FSW capabilities creates a vertically integrated supplier of FSW panels and assemblies never before seen in North America.
Eric Angermeier, President of Taber Extrusions is enthusiastic about their acquisition of a new Friction Stir Welder at their Russellville, Arkansas manufacturing facility, "Besides the additional jobs and revenue this expansion will bring to our central Arkansas community, we are very much looking forward to Taber's new horizons into technology and product development. The welder will be housed in a new 60K square foot expansion to our current Russellville facility. This equipment further promotes our strategy of moving Taber toward being a solutions-oriented company offering highly engineered products. This Friction Stir Welder, with the latest technology, is purposely built for the long, wide extrusions being produced on our current extrusion presses. This process gives us the added benefit of vertical integration allowing us to not only better serve our existing customers, but gives us the opportunity to develop new markets and products."
"As a leader in the Aluminum Industry, Taber works with clients in military, government, aircraft and aerospace, shipbuilding, infrastructure – and so much more. The aluminum extrusion shapes they are creating for these clients are absolutely ideal for Friction Stir Welding technology," said Dave Hofferbert, President of Bond Technologies, Inc. "It's been our pleasure to work with Taber to make FSW implementation possible and bring the known benefits of FSW to their production process." Bond Technologies, located in Elkhart Indiana USA, is a leader in Friction Stir Welding machinery, tools and process.
Sometimes described as more of a forging process than actual welding – Friction Stir Welding is a solid-state joining technique used to join metals not easily fused with traditional welding. Ideal for metals such as aluminum, copper and other metal alloys, FSW is commonly used in the aerospace, rail, automotive, shipbuilding, transportation and marine industries. Friction Stir Welding makes possible very high-quality welds with minimal distortion. It is also a process that can be easily automated, making it an ideal solution for industrial use.
The FSW machine was tailored designed for Taber to maximize the use of Taber's wide profiles. With this machine Taber's capabilities will surpass all current FSW machines in its capabilities to FSW large double sided thick profiles with minimal cycles of the machine. Less cycles means greater efficiency and more precise results. Bond's and Taber's engineering and manufacturing teams collaborated at a very high level to create a custom Linear Seam machine based off Bonds LS7 Model Precision Dual Head Long Panel Welder. A FSW production cell capable of welding double wall hollow extrusions up to 6.25 inches tall, 32 inches wide and 65 feet long, to create panel assemblies 200 inches wide by 65 feet long with integrated pre-joining profile trimming. The Taber extrusion operations in Russellville, AR and Gulfport, MS as well as associated extrusion capacities from other NMLP related companies will provide the extruded profiles.
"This was an obvious next-step for Taber. The company was founded in 1973, and never stopped diversifying, adding new capabilities, and technologies. We are known for aluminum extrusions, fabrication, billet casting, ultra-precision extrusions. Friction Stir Welding was going to happen eventually. Taber Extrusions is prepared to develop new products." said Jason Weber, Vice President. of Sales and Marketing , Taber Extrusions.
Taber is already known for their wide range of capabilities, both broad and unique. An upgraded cast house in their Gulfport, MS. location was also featured in Light Metal Age, which makes Taber's mindset known: they really are planning to shape the future of aluminum extrusions. Having one of the largest presses in North America alongside the capability to offer micro-extrusions - and virtually everything in-between cements Taber's position a leader in the aluminum extrusion industry. In a separate article in Light Metal Age, Weber states, ""It's about having all the different capabilities we can. One of the taglines we use is 'Shaping Endless Possibilities.' With the extensive variety of things we can do—from micro-extrusions to wide profiles and everything in between—Taber embodies that message."
About Taber Extrusions
Taber is a minority business enterprise which is AS9100, NADCAP, and ABS certified. Founded in 1973, Taber Extrusions originally pioneered a process forextruding rectangular billet which enables the company to extrude solid profiles up to 31 inches wide or hollows up to 29 inches. Taber expanded with the purchase of an extrusion facility in Gulfport, MS., in 1995 which houses a cast house and two additional presses, and multiple expansions of value addedfabrication services. Taber continues to extrude billet in a wide range of alloys and sizes, including 7"billet molds, and has diversified its markets beyond military since its inception to include aerospace, automotive, marine, infrastructure, and sporting goods, among many others. For these markets, the company supplies extruded products in a variety of soft and hard alloys. In 2018, Taber added ultra-precision extrusions to their capabilities allowing them to further serve customers in electronics, computer, and medical industries. Today Taber is proud to announce yet another exciting launch into Friction Stir Welding.
Thank you for your continued support of Taber Extrusions, LLC. If you have any questions please visit taberextrusions.com or contact [email protected].
