Pacific Press Technologies LP

Burkett added, "Our plant currently has 75,000 sq. ft. of office and manufacturing space. We have 20 employees with 12 in the shop and 8 in the office. Currently, we are doing enough product that we're staying where we need to be for people and equipment, but as we grow, obviously our workforce in the shop is going to increase." To get into the utility pole manufacturing business and take care of their $1.6 million backlog of orders, Burkett said they had to acquire the right equipment to give them the flexibility and productivity they needed. They looked at several press brake companies' equipment, but settled on Pacific Press Technologies L. P. (Mt. Carmel, IL). From Pacific, they purchased two Fabri-K 750-25/22 DNC hydraulic tandem press brakes. Along with this purchase, they added material handling equipment that would let them be very productive and cost competitive for pole manufacturing. Pacific provided Southeast Fabricators with two 750-ton, 25-foot tandem press brakes. Pacific provided Southeast Fabricators with two 750-ton, 25-foot press brakes that are connected in tandem using Pacific's unique electrical and hydraulic synchronization. This arrangement gives the company a 50' long bed for long part forming and two individual brakes for short parts. The brake has a 44" throat that allows Southeast to produce up to a 28" diameter pole in one setup without turning it around. The system uses a laser-line generator at each end of the press brake, which is integrated into the electrical system. A visible red laser line is projected along the centerline of the tooling and across the plate for positioning the bend line accurately. "When we took possession of this equipment, we had already backlogged a lot of work. We were not manufacturing any kind of poles prior to purchasing it either. So this forming equipment was very vital to us opening up the utility pole side of our business," Burkett remarked.