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A long-time contract supplier of fabricated and machined components to a wide range of companies, Dowding Industries, Inc. is making the leap to large-part production and the transition to the alternative energy economy. It is purchasing not one, but two massive machining systems from MAG Industrial Automation Systems for production of wind turbine components and large, critical parts for other big-machine makers. A Cincinnati U5-1500 five-axis profiler and a Giddings & Lewis PT 1800 horizontal boring mill are the centerpieces of a new state-of-the-art 35,000 sq ft  machining facility in Eaton Rapids, MI. It is operated by a subsidiary, Dowding Machining. Both machines were delivered earlier this summer and are currently finishing installation and prove-out.

A family-owned company, Dowding began looking for opportunities in 2006 to grow while avoiding the region's industrial downturn. It was particularly attracted to the potential for wind turbines and alternative energy, according to Jeff Metts, Dowding Machining president. "We saw an opportunity to be part of the 'new energy' solution."

To help in exploring that potential, Dowding enlisted the assistance of proven technology suppliers - MAG and its Michigan channel partner VMC Technologies. It had received strong service and support with 16 Fadal vertical machining centers at an existing contract machining facility adjacent to the new large-part plant, said Metts. "Being a dedicated, all-MAG plant worked well for us, so we approached them first with our plans. We made a decision early on with the purchase of the Fadal machines. The critical success factors were uptime and common controls. Service plays a big part in uptime and the team of MAG/VMC has been beyond excellent in responding to any need we've had. And, homogenous controls have allowed us to be ambidextrous within our machine capability and simplified our training programs."

The suppliers did extensive application and time studies based on wind generator part prints provided by Dowding, according to Jim Foust, sales engineer for VMC Technologies. "The detail and thoroughness of the reports were overwhelming," he said. "The studies included machine recommendations, fixturing, set-ups, tooling, cycle times and earnings per hour. They addressed the risks and unknowns, giving Dowding the comfort level, as newcomers to large part machining, to make such a major commitment."