Northwest Sheet Metal has a new, 27,000-square-foot home in Surrey, opening up a larger space, more efficient operations, and new opportunities.
Part owner and operations manager Bernie Antchak said the old facility was one-third the size of the new facility, which limited the company’s trucking and lean manufacturing capabilities.
“We had very limited office space and could not pose any more growth as every nook and cranny had a desk in it,” said Antchak. “The old facility also couldn’t accommodate all the machinery.”
The new 27,000-square-foot shop includes 6,000 square feet of office space and has been designed to encompass lean manufacturing principles to alleviate time wasted and maximize productivity.
“We worked in co-operation with Bowman Industries, Maralich Mechanical, and Hermanson’s Mechanical, each of whom provided valuable input, as well as Gord Gohringer who put in long hours to help achieve this,” said Antchak.
The new facility enables the Northwest Sheet Metal team to be more efficient, and to refocus on pre-assembly and other plans the team isn’t quite ready to divulge. The additional space also provides room for the company’s waterjet table, which cuts all flexible and rigid insulation, textiles, cardboard, rubber, and other materials.
“We are cutting patterns for insulators now and saving them time and money as it is way slower for them to do it ‘old school,’” said Antchak. “As we purchased a lot of machinery, we are geared up for launching online sales in co-operation with Webduct in mid-February.
“This will be an exciting venture.”
Northwest Sheet Metal’s new facility is 100% green, and includes full, auto LED lighting and minimal shop tube heaters with 20-foot ceiling fans that have low wattage motors to keep warm air down low where the staff needs it during the winter.
“I’d like to offer a big thanks to everyone who came out to our grand opening in November,” said Antchak, “and also a big thanks to Prism Construction, Pitt Meadows Plumbing, Aarc-West Insulation, and KD Engineering.”
Visit Northwest Sheet Metal online at www.northwestsheetmetal.ca.