North Dakota manufacturers going full steam ahead on automation – The Dickinson Press

WAHPETON, N.D. Gazing across the production floor of WCCO Beltings manufacturing facility in Wahpeton, it isnt difficult to spot examples of automation at work.

For the rubber belting producer thats been a staple in the city of 8,000 people for over 60 years, automation comes in packages both large and small, Vice President of Operations Rod Koch and Senior Manufacturing Engineer Travis Mackey noted. Theres a thousand little things, that are the byproduct of automation, Koch said Monday, March 7.

Automation is at play in all stages of production, the two pointed out. Running across the ceiling are automated hoists for lifting objects. Meanwhile, the floor of the factory features a machine that pulls rubber belts for custom cutting, another to straighten and align rolls and a third that shrink wraps finished products. All are repetitive, not-so-ergonomically-friendly tasks which used to require human labor. Now, all of these tasks are automated.

Thats not to say that WCCO Beltings production floor is devoid of human activity. Many of the firms 285 employees, 50% of whom are women, provide a hands-on touch overseeing the automated equipment.

The implementation of automation hasnt been in an effort to reduce staffing, Koch explained. Rather, its a response to the current conditions of the labor market. One of the biggest reasons we use automation here at WCCO is the fact that youve heard the saying, Im sure, that necessity is the mother of invention we lack staffing, he said.

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North Dakota manufacturers going full steam ahead on automation - The Dickinson Press