Advantage Fabricated Metals’ metal stamped, roll formed product, contract manufacturing, and custom metal fabricating customers frequently ask similar questions concerning their needs for metal fabricating services to meet their requirements for custom fabricated metal components or products for their OEM projects.
The following metal stamping, metal corrugated, and metal forming/metal fabricating services, turnkey capability, and OEM project design FAQs cover many of the typical questions we are asked by original equipment manufacturers’ purchasing agents, buyers, contractors, designers, builders, architects, specifiers, and other customers.
How long are your quotes valid?
In most cases, Advantage Fabricated Metals’ quotes are good for 30 days. If longer time frames are needed, these can usually be accommodated.
How accurate are Advantage Fabricated Metals’ lead-time estimates?
We understand our customers’ projects often must be coordinated with other production or construction activities and poor delivery estimates can create major issues for our customers. Our quotes include very accurate lead-time estimates.
If we don’t stock the steel, aluminum, or COR-TEN™ a customer needs, we contact our metal suppliers, before we provide the quote response, to ensure our quotes are as accurate as possible so our customers can meet their production or construction time tables.
What is COR-TEN™ steel?
COR-TEN™ is a high strength, low-alloy steel produced by United States Steel. It provides excellent strength and COR-TEN™ provides wonderful resistance to atmospheric corrosion. COR-TEN™ develops its corrosion resistant coating quickly that also provides a characteristic color desired by many architects. COR-TEN™ is frequently roll formed by Advantage Fabricated Metals.
What are Advantage Fabricated Metals’ specialties?
We offer progressive stampings, roll forming, blanking, embossing, punching, notching, press braking, cut to length, shearing, welding and assembly services.
Does Advantage Fabricated Metals offer any unique secondary services?
We offer a variety of secondary services. Besides our primary stamping, roll forming, and other precision metal fabricating services, we offer a wide selection of secondary services to our contract manufacturing customers including toll processing their materials, embossing, cut to length, press braking, slitting, warehousing, curving, and providing containerized shipping.
Do you offer any kind of customer assistance?
We can provide the assistance of a direct Advantage Fabricated Metals sales department, design and manufacturing engineers, and a customer service department.
What is the proper way to order material?
We need specific information to ensure that the metal needed for customer projects is ordered correctly. The best way to get the material ordered correctly is for our customers to place a purchase order that contains as much of the following information as they have available:
- Specifications desired
- Gauge of material
- Paint or surface finish required
- Part length needed
- Width of the part needed
- Desired delivery date
Does Advantage Fabricated Metals have a price list?
No. We normally provide metal fabricating services for projects requiring custom designed components or products. We will gladly quote on any OEM custom metal fabrication requirements, especially those for companies interested in obtaining a competitive, aesthetic, and strategic advantage in the marketplace.
What does Advantage Fabricated Metals need to quote on new products?
Use our Contact form, contact us by phone at 773-650-1390, or send drawings, specifications, and parts lists via e-mail to sales@advantagefabricatedmetals.com or send by mail or courier to Advantage Fabricated Metals, 4800 South Hoyne Avenue
Chicago, IL 60609.
What are the benefits of contract manufacturing?
- The OEM does not have to invest in the needed or extra capital equipment to produce the needed components or products.
- The OEM does not have to invest in the cost of labor and benefits to meet the production needs.
- The OEM does not incur the facility and power costs needed to produce the needed item.
- OEMs can find a contract manufacturing vendor that has the exact equipment, capacity, and expertise to complete their specific job requirements rather than investing themselves.
- OEMs can benefit from the experience and capabilities Advantage Fabricated Metals has gained from similar and previous contract manufacturing assignments.
What are your payment terms?
Our general payment terms are 2%, net 10, otherwise net 30 days.
Do you own your own trucks?
No, but we have excellent freight rates with most of the major carriers.
When are products you put in finished inventory invoiced for?
Advantage Fabricated Metals invoices our customers when their products are produced.
If you purchase special material for our product, when are we invoiced for the material?
Regardless of the purchase timeframe, Advantage Fabricated Metals invoices our customers for specially purchased metals only when we use the material in production.
Who owns the finished goods inventory?
Once we invoice our customers, the title to the finished goods is transferred to them.
How long will Advantage Fabricated Metals hold our goods in finished inventory?
We will hold finished goods up to 60 days on our floor.
Do you have product liability insurance?
Yes, Advantage Fabricated Metals carries product liability insurance.
Will my account be assigned to a specific person?
Yes, we assign one of our customer service personnel or an account manager to each customer to ensure our communications between customer and manufacturer are excellent.
If secondary services are required to complete a contract manufacturing or custom metal fabricating job that Advantage Fabricated Metals cannot provide, will you source and contract for these services?
Yes. Advantage Fabricated Metals will source and contract for required secondary services if agreed to with the OEM customer prior to undertaking the custom metal fabricating assignment.
For more information about Advantage Fabricated Metals and the metal forming and welding services we provide, please fill out our contact form or call us at 1-815-323-1310.