Drives Success.
“Amada automation has
allowed us to increase
machine utilization
to 92%, manage our
workflow and
increase safety. ”
— Greg Schutte
Fabrication Manager
The Knapheide Manufacturing Company

After 163 years of operation, The Knapheide Manufacturing Company (Quincy, IL), has evolved into the nation’s premier producer of steel service truck bodies and platform/stake-style truck bodies. With a firm foundation in the past, Knapheide turned to Amada to accelerate their production into the future. Greg Schutte, Fabrication Manager, put it this way “We needed additional capacity, we wanted to cut thicker material. We wanted leading-edge technology. Amada’s machines and automation systems are now driving our success.”

Amada provided a modular automation solution consisting of two FO3015 NT laser cutting systems plus a 10-shelf AMS (Automated Material Storage System). In order to keep up with the demand for thicker materials ( 7 gauge to 1/2˝), Knapheide later added an LC3015F1 NT laser cutting system and a 15-shelf tower automation system.

Amada’s innovative machines and state-of-the art automation has enabled Knapheide to:

• Increase capacity (two automated material storage towers feed 3 laser cutting systems)

• Better manage their workflow (while improving inventory control)

• Increase safety (by delivering automated load/unload of heavy gauge materials)

• Streamline processes (automation provides consistent, reliable, around-the-clock results)

• Reduce operating costs (standardized sheets of material are purchased by the truckload and stacked directly into automated storage and retrieval towers)

In summing up their success, Schutte states, “Automation allows us to operate 24/7 and deliver on the promise of quick turnaround regardless of the size of the production run. For Knapheide, automation means business – getting it, keeping it and profiting from it.”