Metal Fabricator Thrives On High-Value Projects

摘要

Paul Santos and Lou Milito are giving a whirlwind tour of Coordinated Metals Inc.'s 36,000-sq-ft shop while workers fold, punch, notch, etch or otherwise manipulate materials to create ornamental metal for some of New York City's biggest projects. There are four fabricating crews on the floor. A vast array of multiple stock sheets are stored in back: bronze, stainless steel, aluminum. The pair show off their prize CNC milling machine that can handle material more than 20 ft long, and which automatically keeps its blades cold so that they stay sharp. They explain the importance of knowing exact tensile strength so that metal doesn't "banana," i.e. bend from being worked incorrectly. And when it comes to the finished products, says shop foreman Milito: "We don't trust adhesives-it's all fastened."