When Izza Tube Bending, located in Buffalo, MN, opened their doors a little over 4 years ago, they only wanted to make custom paint racks for their sister company Ekon Powdercoating. Customers began to find out that Izza Tube Bending was able to do some basic tube and wire work and began to ask questions about what else they may be able to do. Two things were in their favor: first was the tremendous potential for tube work. The second was their Mazak SpaceGear-U44 laser. They faced some serious challenges, including: customer fears and perceptions, the need to educate clients on the true capabilities of the 3D laser and absolutely no 3D work on the books. With 40% growth in the last six months alone, it's safe to say that Izza Tube Bending has overcome those obstacles!

Izza Tube Bending was started as a sister company of Ekon Powdercoating to provide value-added production and fabricating services for Ekon Powdercoating. The founder, Scott Ladgraf, saw the volume of tube work coming through his coating business, and heard of the difficulties his customers were having in their machining and fabricating operations. "Ekon didn't do much tube work," said Mike Pennock, General Manager at Izza Tube Bending. "Powder coating customers would ask for some additional services like sawing, but it wasn't our focus." Ladgraf knew there were considerable opportunities to expand his business with 3D laser capabilities, but faced the concern that existing customers might perceive Izza Tube Bending as a competitor rather than a value-added service provider.

Their purchase of a Mazak SpaceGear-U44 laser and a CNC tube bender made some waves in the suburban town outside Minneapolis. "It was a huge leap of faith, and some customers initially thought we might become a competitor, now they see us as a key asset, offering capabilities that they don't have in-house," said Pennock. "It took some time to educate them, to show our customers how the 3D laser can deliver superior parts, in less time, and for less money."

For the first six months, Izza Tube Bending mostly cut parts for existing customers on an as needed basis. "People would say 'Can you do this?' then, as they began to see the light - the repeatability, the consistency and the quality that the 3D laser produces, the business just took off," said Pennock. "We'd get these guys working on a tube with a 6" diameter and a 1/4" wall that needed multiple holes of various sizes drilled on different planes and the ends coped. If you've ever tried to do that with traditional machining, you know it's a pistol. There may be three or four setups with a lot of downtime in between the operations. I can do it all in one setup with the laser cutter, without a lot of secondary operations like grinding burrs. The SpaceGear-U44 makes it simple and less costly."

Eventually, the fears of competition evaporated as the new capabilities actually strengthened Izza Tube Bending's relationships with their customers. "If the customer is coping their own tubes, and we do it for them one time, they will never want to do it in-house again | the difference is in the quality. We do a lot of stainless steel tube which is almost impossible to machine | when we're done it's a welder's dream, the Mazak laser is that good!"

The store fixture is a prime example of the SpaceGear-U44's capabilities. The square tubing was cut into half lap joints which when assembled, interlocked without welding or fasteners. Izza Tube Bending's assistance to the designers also reduced the part content from four pieces to just two. "You find a lot of creativity in store fixtures," said Pennock. "They are into the visual quality, and less is better. The 3D laser gives us the efficiency and flexibility to create these profitable one-time pieces."

As their reputation grew around the Twin Cities, the doors at several major OEMs started to open. "To be truly successful, you need the OEMs - that's your weekly paycheck," said Pennock. "The specialty work may be more profitable, but the stability of the OEM accounts is how you grow." Izza Tube Bending's ability to cut costs throughout the manufacturing process with the 3D laser has been essential to winning the OEM accounts. He continued, "Eliminating setup operations is just a part of the program. The repeatability, consistency and speed are keys, plus the operators need very little in the way of training to run the machine and it can run almost unattended, which creates huge savings in labor costs."

As Izza Tube Bending began to gain the confidence of their OEM accounts, they were able to outgrow the vendor image, and became a true partner in the design process. "At first, the relationship was pretty standard, we would get the print and the OEM engineers would ask if we could make it, then there would be changes sent back and forth. Now that we're working with them in the engineering stage, we can design the part around the laser's capabilities. We're eliminating re-engineering time, and making the part right the first time and that's what's really cutting costs," said Pennock. News of Izza Tube Bending's capabilities has spread within the corporate structures of many customers, resulting in opportunities with different divisions across the country. "We're still a regional company in our infancy, but we are making contacts nationally. We've got a nice book now, in five years we'll be well known | especially if we can maintain 30 to 40% growth."

With only 4 -6 true competitors in the area, Pennock is forecasting continued growth for Izza Tube Bending, "We are the new kid on the block, but our competitors definitely see us as somebody to reckon with. We're taking work away from traditional machining operations every day because of the efficiency of the SpaceGear-U44. We know we can beat our competitors every time because our per-part price is lower." Izza Tube Bending's SpaceGear-U44 is booked solid for a month, running two shifts, five days a week, with a 3 - 4 week turn around on most jobs. "The growth potential is so big, when you consider the thousands of shops out there drilling holes. We're consistently competing and winning on 'The SpaceGear-U44 makes it simple' price and quality."