Consolidation in the truck dock leveler industry left underutilized beveling equipment in its wake.
Before independent companies were consolidated, the legacy production method was to thermally cut discrete plate and machine a bevel into the leading edge of the lip plates. Each company had its own beveling equipment. The inflexibility of stock-sized discrete plate led to high scrap rates.
Dock leveler manufacturers began to move away from discrete plate as the plate produced from coil increased in thickness and strength. Offered in custom sizes, plate from coil allowed the manufacturers to improve their scrap rates, reduce waste, and save on material costs.
Steel Warehouse, an industry leader in processing high-strength and heavy-thickness steel coils, formed a natural synergy with the dock leveler manufacturers, securing a reliable source for diamond plate coils, and operated slitters and levelers, to produce lip plate blanks and deck plates.
One problem remained: the bevelers at each location were underutilized.
The leadership of manufacturers devised a solution. Instead of operating each beveler under capacity, beveled lip plates could be purchased from their supplier, Steel Warehouse.
When approached with this proposal, Steel Warehouse welcomed the opportunity. Operating a beveler would not only alleviate the production burden at the dock leveler manufacturers but one beveler operating at the source of the lip plate blanks became fully utilized.
Steel Warehouse purchased a beveler from a manufacturer and it has since been joined by a second beveler, designed and built in-house by Steel Warehouse’s team of engineers.
Steel Warehouse has a rich history of analyzing material needs and providing material configured to optimize value-added processes for our customers. If you have a problem that needs solving reach out to our experts.
Definitions
- Dock Leveler – a metal bridge that covers the gap between the dock floor and the transport vehicle, protecting your material and your staff during the loading/unloading.
- Lip Plate – hinged plate, connected to the deck plate, that extends outward to the truck trailer.
- Plate from Coil – hot rolled coils are made from cast slab produced on tandem mills where it is rolled continuously without reversing the direction. At Steel Warehouse, we can cut steel plate from our existing coil plate stock in customized lengths and widths up to 1” thick.
- Diamond Plate– refers to a metal plate with a formed diamond pattern. Diamond Plates are also recognized as checkered plates or tread plates. These plates are applicable in many metals such as hot rolled steel, aluminum, and stainless steel.
Written By:
Allison Lucak, P.E.
Metallurgist