IN-HOUSE INITIATIVE:  cnc MACHINES

Subscribe to our email newsletter!

Reinke acquired these 2 Haas SL-10 CNC Lathes from Central Community College in Hastings, Neb.

​Reinke has been pursuing an initiative to increase production of parts in-house that were formerly purchased from vendors. Producing these parts in-house allows the company to better control quality, availability and price.

​Two past significant examples include the galvanizing plant (ReinCoat) and the ACME screw machine. ReinCoat, which opened in 2012, is a significant example. ReinCoat not only galvanizes all Reinke irrigation system components, but also fulfills galvanizing orders for other companies. The ACME screw machine, a recent acquisition in 2018, produces half couplers that were previously purchased from outside vendors.

​To continue the in-house initiative, two Haas CNC lathes were added to Hillcrest Fabrication.  The CNC lathes are helping to solve a similar issue for a recent Reinke acquisition, ACE Irrigation & ACE Eaton Metals, Inc. ACE was previously purchasing/outsourcing a 2-inch pipe nipple from a vendor. ACE Procurement Manager Mike Thomas contacted First Vice President Russ Reinke to ask if it could be fabricated in Deshler. Manufacturing Engineering Manager Dave Staroscik analyzed the 2-inch nipple, estimated the labor costs to produce the pipe nipple and concluded that producing the part in Deshler with a CNC lathe would be beneficial.  

“The acquisition of ACE is a good fit for Reinke. Collaborations like this can take place and benefit both companies,” Staroscik said.

​Similar to low mileage, well-maintained older vehicles, the CNC lathes look nearly new and have very few operation hours, Manager of Maintenance Equipment, Jon Henry said. He and Staroscik bought them at auction from Central Community College in Hastings, Nebraska, last fall.

“They’re in great shape – the instructors said they were hardly used at all,” said Henry.

​Maintenance Equipment employees installed the CNC lathes in March and the company hired two new employees, Fabricators Efraen Gomez and Johnny Espinoza, to run them. Both have previous experience running similar machines. Maintenance Fabricator Kevin Lowery, from the Tool and Die Department, currently designs parts programs for the CNC lathes. Hillcrest Fabrication Supervisor Jeff McBride anticipates the arrival of a new computer that will allow parts programs to be developed within Hillcrest Fabrication. After Gomez and Espinoza complete a Computer Aided Manufacturing training and are able to develop parts programs, lead time on parts will be reduced, McBride said.
 
Parts with shorter production runs are good candidates for the CNC lathes, Staroscik said. For example, producing low volume items such as unique stainless steel couplers on these machines would eliminate purchasing from an outside vendor. Common tooling is preset inside the CNC lathes on the tooling turret, which can hold up to 12 separate tools. Each part has a unique program file, so the change-over to a different part is often as easy as loading a new file.
 
The most recent additions of the CNC lathes are a positive step in the continuous progress that Reinke Manufacturing Co., Inc. has made for this initiative and will continue to expand the company’s success.