MANUFACTURING isn't the same today as it was two and a half decades ago. CNC for machine tools, desktop computers, electronic data interchange (EDI), laser cutting machines, robots, lean manufacturing, and other technologies and processes have caused more changes in the past 25 years than perhaps any similar time period since the discovery of iron. Fabricators who have been able to adapt have survived, and many have thrived in this environment. One such fabricator is Bill Duy. In 1985 Duy and two partners opened Production Cutting Services Inc. (PCS), East Moline, Ill., a service center that initially provided tube and cut-to-length sawing services. From that foundation, the company adapted and grew as it learned about drilling, machining, bending, laser cutting, and other processes that today make PCS a full-service fabrication shop. A look at the company's history offers a perspective on morphing a service center into a fab shop, little by little, while manufacturing changed in ways both big and small.
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