Alliance Family of Companies is made up of three divisions: Alliance Steel, Alliance Fabrication & Manufacturing, and Alliance Tubular Products, working together to support customers across steel processing, advanced fabrication, and mechanical/structural tubular products.
The Alliance Fabrication & Manufacturing (AFM) team tackles heavy-gauge metals and complex bends. Many of these parts serve industries such as agriculture, transportation, and power distribution, where fabrication often demands precision, power, and techniques that rely on extensive manual labor.
To increase production capacity and meet evolving industry regulations, Alliance Fabrication and Manufacturing approached RAS to find the right machine for its fabrication needs.
The AFM team had known about RAS since the 1990s, and our U.S. presence and factory-owned structure gave them confidence in our industry expertise, communication, and maintenance support.
After consulting with our team, Alliance became the first to choose the RAS MEGAbend in the world.
“With a RAS MEGAbend, we’ve doubled productivity with half the labor and are running 80% faster than with a press brake with certain parts.”
– Alliance Fabrication and Manufacturing
The Challenge
AFM already runs some of the best press brakes on the market, but they knew they needed a machine that could take their forming capabilities to the next level.
A lot of the work they do involves heavy-gauge metals and complicated bends, precisely the kind of jobs that can get tricky (and even risky) on a traditional press brake. When parts shift or snap upward, production slows, and the team is limited in what they can safely take on.
That’s why adding a folding machine wasn’t just an upgrade; it was a strategic move to expand what AFM can deliver for customers while keeping operators safe and projects moving smoothly.
Additionally, AFM found it challenging to grow at the pace its customers needed. Traditional press brakes can’t easily handle niche or highly complex parts, and strict GD&T tolerances often slow production down even further.
That’s where the MEGAbend and Bendex software changed everything. Together, they opened the door to tighter accuracy, more unique part designs, and a faster, more scalable workflow for the AFM team.
“The RAS MEGAbend is a great complement to our existing machines. Custom tools on a press brake for a specific job were $35,000, whereas they are standard on a RAS machine.”
– Alliance Fabrication and Manufacturing
Why Alliance Chose the RAS MEGAbend
Built for power and precision, the MEGAbend’s control, automation, and accuracy ultimately led to Alliance’s partnership with our team.
“No one else competes with RAS when it comes to thicker bends. The U.S. footprint and local factory support RAS offered made the choice easy.”
– Alliance Fabrication and Manufacturing
With features such as UpDown folding of up to 6 mm mild steel, automatic pop-up square arms, and a Virtual Navigator to help Alliance easily load parts for forming. The MEGAbend has quickly transformed the team’s productivity.
The Results
With the MEGAbend on the factory floor, Alliance Fabrication and Manufacturing can now complete jobs more safely and efficiently. With RAS’s Atlanta, GA, metro location, support teams are available at any time.
AFM isn’t just investing in new equipment; they’re investing in long-term capability and quality. Their new folding machine is being maintained and protected to ensure consistent performance well into the future.
So, how has the MEGAbend made a difference?
- Labor Requirements: Alliance can now complete complex bends with one operator, rather than two or more, using its press brakes.
- Cycle Times: Alliance can now produce faster, doubling their productivity with half the labor.
- Job Speed: With the help of the MEGAbend, the Alliance team is running 80% faster than projects that only use press brakes.
- Part Accuracy: The MEGAbend has helped Alliance better meet GD&T requirements on several complex, tight tolerance parts.
- Custom Press Brake Tooling Costs: To properly equip its press brakes for specific jobs, Alliance had to spend upwards of $35,000 per project. With the MEGAbend? $0. The up/down capability coupled with the upper clamping beam technology allows the forming of complex parts without the custom tooling investment.
“The MEGAbend has helped us win more competitive jobs and take on niche projects we couldn’t have before. We are able to produce complex parts with tight GD&T tolerances. We have produced over 2,000 of our tightest tolerance parts without a single reject. This part is over 70” long and weighs over 40 pounds. The MEGAbend gives us significant advantages over press brakes.”
– Alliance Fabrication and Manufacturing
Want to Explore a RAS Folding Machine for Your Business?
Our team helps fabricators like you find the right solution to meet your unique needs and goals.
Recent Comments