The company entered the North American market in 2006, when it established Jacquet Mid Atlantic Inc., Pottstown, Pa. Jacquet Metals is one of the leading European distributors of stainless steels and nickel alloys. The company has a network of 35 subsidiaries, including Jacquet Houston; Jacquet Midwest, Racine, Wis.; and Jacquet West, Irvine, Calif., that serve more than 7,500 customers in approximately 60 countries.
The company supplies and processes a wide range of stainless steel and nickel alloys for OEMs, fabricators and machine shops that support primarily the oil and gas, power generation, pollution control systems and water purification industries. Jacquet’s North American service centers provide waterjet and plasma part cutting, and they stock 19 grades of stainless steel and nickel alloy plates in a wide variety of sizes and thicknesses.
Precise parts on a large table
Jacquet Mid Atlantic CEO Terry Engle attributes his company’s growth to its ability to meet customer demands.
"We have a large inventory of stainless steel and nickel in many different grades, thicknesses and widths, and we’re able to cut near-net-shape parts on our waterjet," he says. "The combination of that, plus our fast turnaround, has really helped our growth."
Engle opened each of Jacquet’s North American service centers with two primary tools--a waterjet and a plasma machine. He went with the biggest waterjet table available on the market: Jet Edge’s Low Rail Gantry, which is available in sizes up to 30 feet by 100 feet. He selected 12-foot-by-22-foot and 15-foot-by-22-foot tables.
The Low Rail Gantry machine features a gantry bridge traveling on a floor-mounted rack-and-pinion drive system. The gantry comprises two machined end-trucks, which support the main cross-axis beam and deck and provide the platform for the precision shape-cutting process. The end trucks are equipped with individual drive units that provide the motion along the X-axis, and the double-drive unit prevents lagging. Two steel wheels in each truck assembly ride the machined top surface of the linear rails. A pair of side-guide rollers at each end of the master drive truck straddle the rail, contacting the machined sides for accurate guidance. In addition, an air-blast nozzle at each end of the truck removes dirt loosened by the wheel and rail scrapers.
"We wanted the larger waterjet tables because that’s where we saw the market heading," Engle explains. "We chose waterjet because with waterjet you can cut near-net-shape finished parts. It gives you a cleaner edge, tighter tolerances and maximizes material utilization with narrow cutting kerf widths.
"Because the tables are so large, we can hold extremely large plates up to 15 feet by 21 feet," he continues. "We also have two cutting heads on each table, so we can process two plates simultaneously or utilize two heads on one nested plate of parts, doubling our productivity. This has gotten us some work because we can cut two parts at a time and reduce the cost to the customer."
Engle decided to purchase the waterjet systems from Jet Edge after extensive research.
"I did a thorough follow-up with Jet Edge’s references," he says. "They all spoke highly of the reliability of the pump, technical service and Jet Edge’s on-time parts delivery. That was a big part of us picking Jet Edge. I also was impressed with Jet Edge’s sales process and technical expertise. Jet Edge’s regional sales manager, Scott Wirtanen, had strong technical knowledge of the machine and understood our application. He helped us pick the right machine and equipment for our application."
Since installing the first waterjet at the Pottstown facility, Engle has installed a total of five Jet Edge Low Rail Gantry machines nationwide. In addition, he recently ordered a new 21-foot-by-13-foot Jet Edge Mid Rail Gantry for Jacquet Mid Atlantic.
The Mid Rail Gantry waterjet features an exposed tank that easily accommodates overhead loading. It comes standard with one abrasivejet cutting head, and a second cutting head can be added to increase productivity. The Mid Rail Gantry is ball-screw driven for higher accuracy. Its sturdy, heavy-wall tubular steel construction eliminates vibration and increases longevity. The Mid Rail Gantry uses an industry PC controller and can be configured so that all three axes are fully programmable. It also features direct-couple AC brushless digital servo motors and single or double carriages. Critical bearing components are protected with heavy metal covers with brush seals.
Lowering costs for customers
Engle says waterjet is the ideal cutting method for most of his applications because it eliminates heat-affected zones and reduces the need for secondary finishing operations, which results in lower finished-part costs for his customers. If a customer desires a polished, near-finished part, Jacquet typically cuts the part from polished plates. This saves time and money for customers because it eliminates the need for them to polish individual parts.
"Whenever we have customers who need small parts or tight tolerances or special sketch cuts, we push them toward waterjet," he says. "Also, when we’re cutting heavy plate, we try to convince them to go with waterjet because they can save on material. When you cut with plasma, you have to add additional kerf and material for machining. Waterjet saves on material and machining. When roughing material to allow for machining afterward, waterjet doesn’t put any heat into the part, allowing the material to be machined much easier and saving on tooling costs."
The machine has been a workhorse for Jacquet. "We have run our other systems 16 hours a day or more for over two and a half years," says Engle. "Anytime we have had issues, Jet Edge has been good at offering technical solutions to help us out. Jet Edge’s lifetime training program has also been successful for us. We have sent people to Jet Edge’s lifetime free training class, and we’ve had training here. It has been very valuable as we have added locations and new operators." MM
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