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The Reality Is We Are a MICRO Sheet Metal Shop/Business

I stumbled on this video today and it reinforced the fact that we are a MICRO shop. The amount of duct that some companies can produce in such a short time is mind boggling. A straight section of trunk duct form beginning to end takes me roughly 8 to 10 minutes. I have heard that companies, like the one in the video, can produce that same section in under 10 seconds. It has become tougher and tougher to keep a shop like ours going because of this gap in production time and more importantly cost of production. Another problem is, most of the work available is commercial in nature and far too involved for a company like mine. Therefore, we are left to pick up the scraps of much smaller commercial work and of course, residential (our bread and butter). But residential and home owner projects seem to be fading more and more even though the housing market has "bottomed". 

Walking this line of keeping the shop smaller in size or taking out loans and making it bigger is a scary proposition. The lack of motivated workers and young people in the field is also something that can be worrisome. Shops like ours will always be needed, but if work can't at least sustain the owner and his family, then smaller shops will continue to fall and go out of business.

Getting Back into The Social Swing

As the summer continues to heat up, so does business and little time for keeping up on social media. However, I have come to realize that more and more businesses and people are migrating to many platforms and ways of communicating. K & E has had a twitter account and blog for a short time and keeping them up to date can be a challenge. So, that's why I have created a posterous account to try and get the word out over multiple platforms in one swing. I hope to post more pictures and musings, trying to get a quality foothold on social media in the business world, help us create more business and help customer relations. Below are the social media outlets we are currently using. Follow us!

• kemetal.blogspot.com
• twitter.com/KE_Metal
• kesheetmetal.tumblr.com
• kemetal.posterous.com

Some links: Design Mistakes, Business Footprints and False Hopes

A few business related articles I read and bookmarked over the last couple of days...

• Top 5 Web Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make ( Mashable )
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• Beyond Business Cards: Marketing Tools You Need ( Intuit Blog )
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• The Four Os: a Four-Step Guide to Successful Blogging ( ProBlogger.net )
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• How To Spread Your Business Footprint Around The Web ( Open Forum )
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• Hiring Up, But Optimism Down in March (NFIB )
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• The False Hope of Higher Prices (The Reformed Broker )

2011 Federal Tax Credits for HVAC Consumer Energy Efficiency

Many customers ask about tax credits and rebates that may be available on air conditioning units and furnaces. So I thought I would post the 2011 tax credits that are available from Energy Star for HVAC applications. A few include $300 for a new central air conditioning system, $150 for a new natural gas, propane or oil furnace and $150 for a new gas, propane or oil hot water boiler. Below are screenshots of the current tax credits available. Just click on any and it will take you to the Energy Star website for more details and how to apply.

From www.energystar.gov

If you live in the Glens Falls, NY area and are looking for a quote on a new gas furnace or central air conditioning system, go to www.kesheetmetal.com to call or send us an email.

Related articles

• 7 Tips for Saving Energy (And Money) This Summer (cnprojectgreen.wordpress.com)
• Tax credits are not Government Spending? (businessinsider.com)
• Tax Credits, Deductions, and Deferrals (education.com)
• Carrier's Performance Series AC (cousinsair.wordpress.com)

Photos of Some Recent Custom HVAC Fabrication

Here are a few photos of some recent fabrication that has left the shop. Business has been slower but not totally dead.

The first photo was an order for two 25 x 16 to 25 x 10 cold air boots (aka buffalo boots). These are as common as plenums and trunk duct when it comes to installing a forced air furnace. These are for a retro-fit change out in town.

The next photo is a basic plenum, customized with a flat top instead of a normal plenum style cap that would recess 1/2" down inside the top of the box. The customer needed a flattened top for this particular installation.

The last photo is a small order of trunk duct and some small fittings.

Nothing fancy, just a few photos showing the kind of work we do on a daily basis. All of these items are custom made and are what keeps the shop moving along. We concentrate on the residential market consisting of smaller HVAC companies and homeowners with some work coming from very small commercial clients.

Check us out at : www.kesheetmetal.com

Related articles

• When My Air Ducts Smell how do I Make Them Smell Better (brighthub.com)

Oil Hits $110/Barrel, Our Input Costs Continue to Rise

Seeing that Crude Oil hit $110 today, I thought I would post a few charts showing the performance of oil, gas prices and steel over a one year period. As you can see, all three have been moving consistently to the upside over the course of the last year to date. This is troublesome for a number of reasons both personally and from a business standpoint.

Senate Bill Could Bring More HVAC Business to The Northeast

One thing that could help jump start the HVAC business here in the Northeast is a bill being introduced to the Senate by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M to update the efficiency standards for many appliances and building systems, including furnaces, heat pumps, and central air conditioners.

From achrnews.com
Titled the “Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011,” or INCAAA, the bill (S. 398) divides the nation into three regions with different efficiency standards for each. It also recommends more stringent building codes for new construction.

Sheet Metal Prices Continue to Rise, Hurt Margins

Our input costs are quickly rising. The load of metal I received Friday afternoon was the highest metal has been in over three years and until oil and other commodities stop rising, I see no end. A 25% increase in our metal price since the end of the fourth quarter 2010 is a tough pill to swallow. This scenario is a killer for our business because

Fabrication of a Custom Access Door Frame: Day 1

Here is what I am working on this afternoon. A customer needs a door fabricated to fit on this pre-made 12" round fitting. So, after a bit of drawing and thought, I came up with an idea for a frame that I can fabricate separately and bolt on. Today was the day to build the shell of the door frame and map out where to cut the hole on the pre-made 12" round Y-fitting.

Here is the pre-made fitting that

You Can Now Follow Us on LinkedIn.com

One thing that I have been meaning  to do lately is update my LinkedIn.com page with some new company information. To my surprise,

Slow Beginning to The Year Brings Hope for Stronger Summer Business

The beginning of the year for us is often slow and like many, we begin to long for summer. This year is no different as the last couple months have dragged on with limited work and not much in the pipeline. When business was booming, before the economy took one on the chin, we would have quotes and contracts set for the first sign of spring.

Fabrication of Custom Exhaust Hood For Screen Printing Shop

Even though duct work is our bread and butter and what the majority of my work day consists of. We often get projects that are along the same lines, but just different enough that some extra thought and attention is needed. Case and point, the project I had for the last few days has been to fabricate an exhaust hood for a drying machine inside a small screen printing shop. I won't even pretend to know exactly what the machine does, the customer drew up what he wanted and I am making it to those specifications. Simple. Here's some pics.

Below is the wide shot of the hood. The customer wanted a rectangular box with pieces angled inside that would deflect the air to the center 4" collar.There are no welds, everything is done with the Pittsburgh machine, break, hammer and rivets.

This picture just gives a clearer view of the depth of the piece and a look at the collar in the center. The total dimensions were 62" wide, 6" deep and 12" in height with a 4" collar cut into the top middle.

Here is a shot looking inside at the angled pieces that will deflect the air toward the center of the hood.  It's tough to see, but I also added a 1/4" 90 degree lip around the bottom edge for some stability. Even though the hood is for a smaller application, the width of the hood will make it weaker in the middle and prone to bowing or popping. The angle will give it just enough strength to keep it stable when the machine is running and keep any noise to a minimum.

End of The Week Pin Action

One of my most hated tasks in this business is insulating duct work. I know that it is a necessity for some applications and obviously, more work means a bigger invoice. However, it is one of the most tedious of the jobs that I have and can eat up hours quickly, leaving me little time for other work. I know that it comes with the territory though and for the first time this year I have a full day of pinning and insulating. Any business is good business.

Filter Rack Installation Inside a Plenum

This morning I am working on a custom cold air filter box. Basically a plenum with a filter rack riveted inside. I fabricated the plenum and just finished installing the filter rack. Here are a few basic before and after pictures.

 Here are a couple pictures of the finished plenum without the filter rack installed. As you can see, I have left a slot in the plenum ( 1 1/4" wide ) where the filter will slide in and out.

Next I have to fabricate the 1"x1"x1" channel pieces that will become the finished rack inside the plenum. The plenum is a basic 16" x 24", so I will need two 23 3/4" rails for the long sides and one 15 3/4" rail for the short side. Notice I have subtracted 1/4" from each rail. That is so the rails fit easily inside the plenum without any unneeded force, while allowing for movement in the plenum for easy installation on the job site. I have also cut some 45 degree notches on the 15 3/4" rail so that when the filter slides inside, it won't get caught on a bent corner of metal.

All that is left to do is rivet the sections of rail inside the plenum and the rack is installed. I usually start by installing the 23 1/4" sections first and then slide the 15 3/4" section down inside the other two rails. Now the customer can pick it up and install it on the job site. I have used some basic filter material in the picture to show how the filter would slide inside the plenum. I would not suggest using this as a filter for a homeowner. Buy some high quality filters that will last.

Our Favorite Super Bowl Commercial: Detroit Rock City

Our favorite Super Bowl commercial was hands down the Eminem Chrysler spot. Gotta love the appreciation of manufacturing in this country and the importance of one of the great city's in America. Love it or hate it, Detroit Rock City is an important cog in the workings of the country as a whole. With the jobless rate still hovering in the 9% range, a busy Detroit is a good sign for the direction of the jobless market and the country's ability to build things going forward.