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We added two new rotary draw benders, a 6” Coast Wallace and a Pines #6, to our current inventory of equipment.  Rotary draw, or compression bending occurs when material is bent by rotating it around a bend die (and typically pulled or pushed over mandrel rod). A bend die is formed to fit a specific material size/type and at a specific diameter to fit the bend requirements. The material to be bent is clamped to the bend die and then is drawn, or pulled, around the bend die until the desired degree of bend is met. This method produces clean, tight radii bends and is mainly used by manufacturers or industrial companies.   The 6” Coast is a long machine with a carriage assist and overhead clamp. The machine has the capacity to bend up to 6” pipe down to an 18” CLR. The machine has tooling allowing it to bend 2-1/2”, 3”,4”, 5” and 6” pipe to numerous radii. [caption id="attachment_976" align="aligncenter" width="1632"] 6" Coast Wallace Rotary Draw Bending Machine[/caption] [caption id="attachment_977" align="aligncenter" width="1632"] Tooling for 6" Coast Wallace Rotary Draw Bending Machine[/caption]   The Pines #6 is a long machine with a customized back boost. This machine has the capacity to bend up to 6” pipe (and has the ability to bend thin wall material). In addition to round materials, this machine has the capacity to mandrel bend square and rectangular tubing, in fact it is currently under power to bend TS 12” x 4” x 5/16” wall the easy way to a 24” CLR.   We plan to fully tool these pieces of equipment allowing us to offer countless new radii options for our customers growing needs. The recent changes have greatly improved moral in our shop, increased our efficiencies, and decreased lead times in certain areas of the shop.

I wanted to share a story from a customer whom we recently completed a job for. The customer found us through the internet and was impressed with our web page layout because it showed that we do architectural work. He said working with the team at Albina was a "great experience." "This project was textbook from beginning to end. Once it arrived in Seattle it was installed within an hour. Albina's timing was unbelievable. We have another job coming up where the bent pipes need to be perfect and clean and strong as it has coils going through and it can't be crushed. Once the project is ready for release, Albina will be my first phone call." Most of the customers' work is done in the DC area so he thought shipping might be a problem on the upcoming job. We have a lot of customers on the East Coast and we have the ability to combine shipments which helps to keep the costs down. Don't let shipping be a deterrent.

Albina Co., Inc. has operated in a 50,000 square foot shop since 2001. The shop was designed and built taking into account our equipment at the time of occupancy as well as future plans for growth. Over the years, Albina has purchased many bending machines including draw bending equipment, roll bending equipment and plate rolling equipment and we have done our best to place machines in “free” spaces in our shop. This has created some organization and operational issues because similar machines were not grouped together. Once again, Albina has purchased two new machines to add to our equipment inventory. Before these machines arrived, we completely restructured our shop and have completed a major overhaul in order to group similar machines in common areas. Our next blog will feature information on the machines! Stay tuned!

The newly renovated Broadway Bridge opened a few weeks ago in Boise, Idaho. The General Contractor determined, at the end of the project, that the detailer had left off a couple of pieces. We rolled and galvanized the steel and sent the finished product over night to meet the bridge opening requirements. You can read more about the details of the bridge renovation here.

The following comments from our happy customers demonstrate the very reason that people should not make purchasing decisions based solely on price, especially when buying a product that requires precision and quality like curved steel. "We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Albina employees for their professionalism and expedited efforts that it took to perform their part in the bending and fabrication of the required tube assemblies. With the efforts of the Albina team, the fabricator was able to accomplish the expedited schedule that end customer required. We would like to mention that the customer was very happy with the work that Albina performed and commented that they have more projects they plan on sending our way. We look forward to working with you in the future." "The entire staff at Albina has been excellent to work with and up front and honest in the work that that was performed. I thank you and the Albina crew for setting the standard. I look forward to the next project that we get to send your way." Remember that there is a price and a cost associated with every job. The price of a competitor might be below ours, but when you add up all of the actual costs to receive and install the material, is there really a cost savings? If you chose the lowest price, you may deal with late delivery, poor quality or incorrect parts and a lack of or delayed communication. If you choose the lowest price, you will get what you pay for.

Albina Co., Inc. recently bent various steel pipe materials including  5” sch40 T304 stainless steel, 5" Sch10 T304 stainless steel and 4” sch40 T304 stainless steel for a curved steel water feature in Florida. Albina works on many projects including playground equipment, treehouses, spiral climbers and much more! [caption id="attachment_959" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pipe Bending for Curved Steel Water Feature[/caption] [caption id="attachment_960" align="aligncenter" width="221"] 180 Degree Pipe Bending[/caption] [caption id="attachment_961" align="aligncenter" width="300"] 5" Sch10, 5" Sch40 and 4" Sch40 Pipe Bending[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Recreational Pipe Bending Application[/caption]

Our office team is simply the best in the steel bending business! Each member of our Sales and Estimating team has longevity, experience and knowledge of the steel bending industry. We take great pride in our ability to quote jobs and manage them from beginning to end. We focus on communication, communication, communication! Our Quality Control and Equipment Maintenance teams ensure quality bent steel products and well-kept, high performing machines. Our shipping department focuses on combining long haul loads to keep costs down and we use dependable shippers with safe driving records. Our Accounting team makes doing business with Albina Co., Inc. a positive and seamless experience due to our extreme attention to detail and streamlined accounting processes. Our Executive Staff keeps our office running smoothly and focuses on customer support and getting people the answers they need in a timely manner. Our team is committed to working hard, working together and working efficiently to get the job done and to meet our customers’ needs on EVERY job, big or small! [caption id="attachment_955" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Albina Co., Inc. Office Team[/caption]

The erection of the curved steel "Spheres" in Seattle, Washington was completed in April 2016. Over the summer, the team of contractors began the install of the glass enclosure over the steel bio-spheres. Check out the progression in the pictures below. As a reminder, Albina’s scope of work included approximately 750,000# and 1.050 pieces of rectangular tube steel bent the easy way and a portion bent off-axis. The material was bent to tight tolerances and bent to AESS standards. The amount of welds and grinding was significant, but thanks to Albina’s ability to bend portions of the project, a significant amount of welding and grinding was avoided. Almost NO correction was needed during fabrication or erection as the bends fit to fixtures (fabrication) within 1/32nd of an inch! Check back for more pictures as the project progresses! [caption id="attachment_948" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Curved Steel Bio-Spheres Seattle, WA.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_949" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Curved Steel Bio-Spheres Covered in Glass[/caption]

Most of our steel bending production crew members have been at Albina for a majority of their careers. Our crew has a great working relationship. Having employees who have been here for a number of years and look out for each other, makes a lot of safe combined experience which definitely feeds into the quality work we do on all our projects. Our production crew takes pride in their work as they are continuously repairing and improving equipment, keeping the shop clean and uncluttered to further improve job set up, tear down and production time. [caption id="attachment_943" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Production Crew at Albina Co., Inc.[/caption]

Today we shipped out a two stop load that took some care in stacking from our veteran loaders. This load will head down to Modesto, Ca where some of this material is for the 1000 Page Mill Road Building. Then the truck will continue on to Phoenix, AZ. Where the balance of the material is to be used for a fitness center. This load included many types of materials: TS 10” x 8” x .500”Wall TS 6” x 2” x .375” Wall TS 8” x 6” x .375”Wall 3” x 3” x ¼” Angle C12 x 20.7# TS 12” x 4” x .375” Wall TS 16” x 8” x .500” Wall As you can see by the pictures, this was not very easy to puzzle together as to how best to stack the material for safe shipping as well as easy offloading. With that said, it only took our loader 3 hours to load and stack in a safe manner that both the loader and the driver were happy with.[caption id="attachment_937" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Page Mill Road Building Curved Steel[/caption] [caption id="attachment_938" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Complex Shipment of Curved Steel[/caption]