Eye on Ag: Bourgault Manufacturing

andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t shaun-sipmaandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Shaun Sipmaandamp lt aandamp gt KX News What once was a large warehouse that focused solely on sales and service has been transformed into a high tech center for manufacturing and assembly for Bourgault Industry on the northern edge of andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t minot-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Minotandamp lt aandamp gt Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot We needed extra capacity in our factory and also the development of the US market really opened the door for us to start manufacturing in Minot andamp quot General Manager Ron Allen says the Minot factory is specializing in the 3310 ParaLink Hoe Drill Bourgault s latest one-pass air seeder taking nothing but raw material and turning into a field ready unit by days end Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot We ve got material that s flat plate or just raw material on a rack in the morning and by the afternoon it could be ready to be delivered to a customer The process starts here with nothing but heavy duty flat plates of steel loaded into an automated lazer cutting computer In a matter of minutes a full sheet is cut according to design Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot This is what they call preferred scrap so it goes right back to the mill andamp quot In another end the building another computer is cutting more raw material The only hands on work is done after the computer is finished to take any rough edges off the metal But highly trained metal workers are required to manage these computers Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot We ve been very fortunate in being able to get people that have that hands on experience and just teach them the management end andamp quot With pieces cut they head to the assembly line to be welded by yet another computer One worker aligns the pieces in one booth while the computer welds in another Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot If you can imagine it takes him the same amount of time to set it up as it does to weld it so if you just go from that aspect along it basically doubled his productivity andamp quot Once pieces are welded they are loaded back onto the line along with other pieces to be blasted Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot Basically you can see the rust that s on this part you can see weld spatter and smoke on here and that s not ready for paint yet andamp quot To maximize the effectiveness of this process optic eye s read special tags on the line to tell the blasting computer which parts are entering into the unit Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot When we blast we don t use sand it s actually little steel balls and these steel balls are recycled andamp quot With the parts blasted clean they head into the paint booth where powder paint is applied then it s on to furnace Ron Allen General Manager Bourgault Ind Minot andamp quot What it does is it actually takes that powder coat and melts it and forms a skin so then the paint is starting to bond to the part andamp quot After cooling it s on to the machining and assembly line It s here where the air seeder really starts to take shape From raw material to an intricate 3310 ParaLink Hoe Drill in one day Allen say Bourgault hopes to produce between 200 to 220 units a year to be sold here and andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t north-dakotaandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt North Dakotaandamp lt aandamp gt and across the the world With Your Eye On andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t agricultureandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Agricultureandamp lt aandamp gt Shaun Sipma KX News