In Their Own Words: Bly Talks About SteelStack’s Impact on MEC

SteelStack is designed to fit the general needs of the industry and specific needs of each manufacturer. In this post, James Bly discusses the needs of Mayville Engineering and their experience with their SteelStack sheet metal storage system.

What initiated your interest in SteelStack?

“We cut all sizes, thicknesses, and different material types from aluminum to different grades of steel. Everything was stacked on the floor. Not only was it taking up a lot of real estate, but keeping it all separated was a mess. You were always needing the stack that was on the floor. We have a crane and it helps get material in and out, but the biggest problem was real estate. When you have that many different materials and types, it takes up a lot of room.” 

Why did you choose steel racking over cantilever racking?

“Cantilever racking capacity is not near as much [as steel racking]. You can’t go as high. You can’t go as heavy.

Vertical is the only way to go. We have lots of room to go up. Plus, our new fiber laser has a vertical automated stacking system so it just makes sense.”

What other impacts has SteelStack had on your business?

“The area we’ve opened up has been huge for us. We’ve got new business coming on, and we were wondering where to put it. When it [storage project] is all done, we expect to get 30-40% more open space we can use for manufacturing instead of storing steel. We’ve already moved a brake press into the area where the steel used to be stacked.”  

How did the install go?

“Very easy. I had my two maintenance crew guys on it, and they had no problem setting it up. Didn’t have any issues at all.”

What do you see in the future?

“We’re growing and getting more business and production in here, so we’re going to need more room. I can see the need for more storage in the future.”