Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently took occupancy of a new 15,000-square-foot connector building that joins the 80,000-square-foot workspace, which houses some of the largest vacuum furnaces in the world, to the 10,000-square-foot Nadcap laboratory, testing building and vacuum oil quenching building. The primary purpose of the new building is to create a clear and defined flow of work using a pull-push system rather than having incoming and outgoing jobs combined in front of heat-treating equipment. All incoming jobs will now be “pulled” from this building, and completed jobs will be “pushed” back to a designated outbound area. The new space will serve as a conduit for transfer of materials from production to final testing.

In addition, four new loading bays will allow for the loading and unloading of multiple trucks at one time. A drive-through feature will allow all flatbed trucks to load/unload indoors, thus keeping shipping personnel and equipment out of harsh winter elements.

Wes Hoffman, shipping manager, said, ”Material handling is now thoughtful and organized throughout our facility. The new building has already proven to eliminate wasteful movement of material. This addition has also enhanced our overall safety. Instead of large trucks navigating our entire campus internally, we can now isolate trucks and drivers to the outer perimeter of the property.”