The season of autumn is upon us and, in Ohio at least, thoughts of pumpkin pie are never far from our minds or our dinner tables.  Seeking a unique way to celebrate the season in 2005, the community of New Bremen, Ohio decided to create the world’s largest edible pumpkin pie.  The engineers behind the project realized that one of their early challenges would be to find a pan that would measure 12 feet in diameter, support 2020 pounds of pie filling, and yet be thin enough to bake the pie sufficiently so that it could be eaten.  Definitely it was necessary to seek a custom fabricator that could meet their expectations.

Len and Marie McConnaughey, co-founders of Arctech Fabricating in Springfield, Ohio, who make it their business to fabricate one-of-a-kind weldments, accepted the challenge.  Bakers from the area formulated the filling and the project became a reality.  Folks from the Guinness Book were on hand to audit the progress, document the event and a new world record was set!

Founded in 1992, Arctech Fabricating is a partnership formed by the McConnaughey’s and Jim and Tina Roberts.  Len, Jim, and Marie all attended Tecumseh High School together. Marie is the company’s CEO, Jim serves as President, Len is Vice President, and Tina is Corporate Secretary.  The company employs a staff trained in engineering, welding, tooling, production control, material handling, and general labor.  With a focus directed toward meeting specialized welding and fabricating needs of today’s fast-paced industry, Arctech offers high quality, certified welding of stainless steel, aluminum, and tool steel as well as precise fabrication of weldments and sheet metal products.  Services are extended toward transportation, defense, food service, and energy industries and any other industry that is seeking a quick response, high-quality workmanship, as well as quantity production that is done in 14,400 square feet of manufacturing space. 

In order to expand their capabilities even further, company Vice President Len McConnaughey attended a spring session of the Hobart Institute’s Preparation for the American Welding Society’s Certified Welding Inspector/Educator Examination Course and received his AWS certification as a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI).  Len has 27 years of manufacturing experience including six years in defense contract management and is responsible for plant production and facility management.

“We received a contract that required CWI for a nuclear project,” says Len.  “So it was time that I obtained my welding inspector certification.”

“I thought I knew quite a bit until I took this class,” Len continues.  “I realized there is a lot more to learn about welding.  Industry is moving fast and one must continue learning to keep up to the pace.  To succeed in business, one must be able to tell the future – or react so fast it appears you can.”

Arctech is committed to a safe work environment and is a member of the Springfield/Clark County Safety Council.  The company’s Safety Committee promotes interaction on safety and health matters between management / supervisors and their employees.  They participate in the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC's) Premium Discount Program (PDP+) which is an incentive program designed to assist employers in establishing a safer, more cost-effective workplace.  In April 2004 Arctech applied for the PDP+ and committed efforts to creating and implementing an annual plan of action (the 10-Step Plan).  Arctech passed all 10 steps of the plan in the first year, a process that usually takes two years.

“Safety is everyone’s responsibility,” says Len, “and every employee is a member of the Safety Committee.”

As a small company, Arctech has a commitment to their employees with open lines of communication and sharing of ideas.

“Several of our employees have an interest in racing,” says Len.  “This generated our spin-off business, TrailerWiz.  Race car and karting enthusiasts will find a wide variety of aluminum products and accessories for the inside of their race trailers with visit to the web site, www.trailerwiz.com.”

 
“Unique” is a way of life for Arctech Fabricating.  The privately held company is co-owned by women and has maintained certification as a woman-owned business through the Women’s Business Enterprise Council since 2001.  The relatively young company offers nearly 200 years of combined, extensive manufacturing experience in military and commercial items.  Their employees hold a wide variety of current welding certifications.

You may contact Arctech Fabricating, Inc. at 50 South Fostoria Avenue, Springfield, Ohio 45505.  Phone: 937.322.5006 or e-mail: sales@arctechfabricating.com.
 

The Preparation for the American Welding Society Certified Welding Inspector / Educator Examination course will be offered again beginning October 22, 2007 and December 3, 2007 at Hobart Institute.  To receive a packet of information and registration materials, call 1-800-332-9448, ext. 5215 or retrieve the information online at http://www.welding.org/CWI_CWE_INFO.pdf.