Travis Body and Trailer, Inc. builds some of the industry’s most innovative aluminum dump trailers and they have the patents hanging in their lobby to prove it. From municipal solid waste (MSW), to aggregates, agricultural and the construction industries, Travis supplies its trailers to extremely diverse markets and even customizes their trailers to meet their customers’ specific needs. With a production output of roughly 20 trailers per week, business is booming for Travis and its 135 employees.

Despite this success, Travis is not the type of company to rest on its laurels—they are always looking for ways to improve their business and productivity. When Travis decided to look for ways to streamline its inventory and reduce downtime, they switched to Bernard Centerfire consumables with help from their welding supply distributor.

To meet customer demands, Travis must account for weight restrictions. Requirements dictate that a truck’s and trailer’s gross weight (truck, trailer and payload combined) cannot exceed 80,000-lbs on the Interstate system. Compared to a steel dump trailer, an aluminum trailer weighs less, which means the driver can haul more materials and product without exceeding weight restrictions. “It comes down to giving our customers a trailer that let’s them haul more,” says Jason Backs, vice president, Travis Body & Trailer, Inc. An aluminum trailer also offers greater fuel economy than steel, in some cases up to 10 percent better depending on the trailer size and type of product hauled. Lightweight aluminum trailers can potentially save operators thousands of dollars per year in fuel, an increasing concern for drivers especially with today’s rising fuel costs.

Travis designs and constructs their trailers to be both lightweight and durable. Fabricators MIG weld 1/16- and 3/64-inch diameter aluminum wire primarily on 5454-H32, 5454-H34 aluminum sheet and 6061-T6 aluminum alloy extrusions with some operators using up to thirteen 1-lb spools of aluminum wire in one shift.

 

The Switch to Bernard Centerfire

With such high production, Travis continually seeks ways to improve its manufacturing efficiency. That’s why Robert Lantrip, owner, Ourco Welding and Industrial Supplies, stepped in and suggested a switch to Centerfire consumables (see Figure 1) “I’m always looking for better ways to help my customers improve their productivity,” says Lantrip, “and that doesn’t necessarily mean selling them the cheapest or the most expensive product. It’s about what works and Centerfire was a definite hit.”

Figure 1: Jason Backs (right), vice president of Travis Body & Trailer, Inc., made the decision to switch to Bernard Centerfire consumables with help from welding supply distributor Robert Lantrip, owner, Ourco Welding and Industrial Supplies.

Travis currently uses Bernard Centerfire consumables on 70 of their 85 MIG guns. In their shop, where Travis fabricators weld the trailer steel subassemblies and other structural components, fabricators use Bernard Q-Guns with Centerfire consumables to produce consistent welding results (see Figure 2).

Centerfire gas diffusers, contact tips and nozzles, deliver superior performance and reduce downtime on most MIG welding applications. For quick changeovers, Centerfire series contact tips simply “drop-in” the gas diffuser and lock into place by hand-tightening the nozzle. By choosing Centerfire, Travis has also reduced its overall inventory of consumables.

In fact, after switching to Bernard Centerfire, Gerald Mullican, shop supervisor, Travis Body & Trailer, Inc., drastically streamlined the company’s inventory and ordering processes. “With our previous consumables, I bought about 500 contact tips per week,” explains Mullican. “But since we’ve switched to Centerfire, I purchase maybe 100 contact tips per month.”

Travis’ MIG guns’ previous front end assembly was comprised of seven parts, but when they converted to Centerfire, Travis reduced their MIG gun’s front end assembly to only three components. Having less parts means less inventory to track. Now Travis fabricators only use an average of 10 replacement gas diffusers in an 8 month period. Today Travis is so pleased with the benefits, they plan to convert their remaining 15 MIG guns to use Bernard Centerfire consumables.

 

Built To Last, Built for Looks

Figure 2: Travis fabricators use the Bernard Q-Gun and Centerfire to produce top quality welds for their steel subassemblies.

A base model trailer, with no options, takes approximately 180 man hours to complete. However, a larger sized trailer, such as a tipper trailer (used to haul MSW), or a trailer with many customizations can take as much as 250 to 300 man hours to construct. Because meeting deadlines is imperative, Travis tries to minimize its production downtime, which they have accomplished by using Bernard Centerfire consumables.

"The biggest savings for us, is the fact that Centerfire tips and nozzles are lasting longer,” says Backs. “When one of my guys just ran seven or eight days straight with a single Centerfire contact tip…it’s hard to disprove that.” Fabricators spend less time changing out tips, nozzles and gas diffusers and more time welding for better productivity.

Travis employees also pride themselves on building the best-looking trailers on the market. A customer-oriented company, Travis offers its trailers in several different models to meet a variety of hauling needs. Based on the customer’s specifications, Travis customizes its trailers with extra lights, colors, length and width options—whatever the customer needs. “It comes down to the fact that our customers like the way our products look,” says Backs. Whether they’re selling fifty trailers to a fleet or one trailer to an owner operator, aesthetics play a major role in a customer’s purchasing decisions.

Travis employees ensure that every trailer is flawless before leaving its manufacturing facility. To achieve this standard, Travis employs some of the most talented fabricators and invests in top quality welding equipment.

Welding on aluminum can be particularly difficult. Travis has “inside welders” and “outside welders,” referring to whether an operator welds on the interior structural components of the trailer or on the exposed sidewalls. “The outside welds have to be aesthetically perfect. Keep in mind, when you’re welding aluminum trailers, you don’t have the luxury of going back over it, grinding and painting to hide things. When that weld goes down, it better look pretty because it’s going to be seen forever,” says Backs.

 

Ourco Collects Feedback from the Floor

Being a welder himself, Lantrip knows that many veteran welders may be adverse to change. That’s why Lantrip decided to conduct an informal “blind test” when he first proposed the Centerfire conversion to Travis. “I took Centerfire and the conversion pieces to the shop and asked the welder to screw it on the MIG gun. I told him nothing,” explains Lantrip. “The first thing he noticed was that the front end was lighter and after welding for a while, he said ‘There is something different about this gas. It seems like it’s covering better.’”

However, the type of shielding gas did not change. Instead Bernard Centerfire’s proven design of nozzles and gas diffusers was providing better gas coverage. By converting to Centerfire, Travis reduced the overall operating pressure on their gas regulators. “If you have any [gas] leaks whatsoever, less pressure pushing on those leaks is less gas lost,” says Lantrip. To Travis, less gas usage translates into more profits.

Using Bernard’s conversion kit and Centerfire consumables, Travis reduced its MIG gun front end assembly to three parts (compared to seven parts with their previous consumables), which also reduced the MIG gun’s weight by 6-oz. Tony Macias and Conrad Ruiz, two of Travis’ top “outside welders,” prefer a lighter weight MIG gun because its provides better ergonomics. That’s important because Macias and Ruiz regularly produce difficult, 12-ft long, out-of-position welds for several hours per day (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Tony Macias, Travis fabricator, produces outstanding aluminum weld beads with the help of Bernard Centerfire consumables.

Since Centerfire consumables dissipate heat better than Travis’ previous consumables, fabricators produce better welds because they can support the nozzle of the MIG gun with their free hand for better control. “With the Centerfire front end assembly, the fabricator can hold the gun in one hand, and rest his left hand below the nozzle for better balance and support. They couldn’t do that with the previous consumables because of the excessive heat,” explains Lantrip. “So you might have a fabricator who was struggling to produce a nice looking weld, and now he is able to do it a little easier with Centerfire.”

Travis fabricators weld at amperages and wire feed speeds, almost at the highest limit of air-cooled MIG welding. On certain structural portions of its trailers, Travis fabricators weld with 1/16-inch diameter wire at approximately 290 amps, between 24-26 volts. With such extreme welding parameters, some fabricators were burning back up to 3 tips per day. Since switching to Bernard Centerfire, Travis’ very best fabricators, like Macias and Ruiz, use only one contact tip every three weeks.

Like many manufacturing companies, Travis continually seeks for ways reduce its costs and improve product quality. Plus, Centerfire helps Travis fabricators build some of most unique and durable aluminum dump trailers on the market. With the help of its distributor, Travis reduced its costs by converting to Centerfire tips, nozzles and gas diffusers by Bernard.

 

 

Mobile Welding Supply Warehouse

Robert Lantrip has been selling welding supplies to some of Houston’s largest fabrication, manufacturing and industrial companies for the past ten years. During that time, he noticed he was continually selling the same products and components to the same customers. Lantrip knew there had to be a quicker, more efficient way of filling his clients’ orders.

That’s why a little over two years ago, Lantrip pursued his dream and established Ourco Welding and Industrial Supplies. “I basically have a welding supply warehouse on wheels,” explains Lantrip. “I thought why don’t I just have the products directly on my truck (see Figure 1 above ).”

Lantrip’s customers do business with him because he is efficient and he understands their needs. By maintaining an open dialogue with them, Lantrip can recommend a new welding product that will truly benefit his customers. “There’s lots of hardware, and products that somebody could just bring to Travis and say it’s better. That’s not always true.” says Jason Backs, vice president, Travis Body & Trailer, Inc. “We [Travis] give him our business because he does a great job supporting us and he understands our needs.”

When Lantrip first heard about Bernard Centerfire from Miller District Manager, Sid Tweedle and Bernard Product Specialist, Steve Burger, Lantrip saw an opportunity for Travis to save on costs by unifing and standardizing Travis’ inventory of MIG gun consumables. “One of the biggest benefits of Centerfire is that Travis is able to reduce their parts inventory,” says Lantrip. “A successful product is a combination of price, quality, and performance and we’ve seen a huge benefit with Centerfire.”