PRESS RELEASE

Illustrations available upon request

For Immediate Release

February 2008                                                                                        

Contact: Michelle Nemeth

                                                                                  Phone:  (860) 875-5006

                                                                                      Fax:  (860) 872-1565

                                                                        michellen@mastercam.com

CAD/CAM Helps Container Systems Grow

One router with Mastercam produces same work volume with four less people and three fewer machines

Tolland, CT – Like many manufacturers, Container Systems (Franklinton, NC) took a heavy hit after 9/11. This thriving manufacturer of heavy duty shipping containers, boxes and specialty containers for electronics and communications equipment, as well as plywood reels for the rope and cable industries, saw the previous year’s sales of $8 million reduced to $4 million.

Today, this company is leaner and meaner, and sales are pushing toward the previous high. To stay competitive in the post 9/11 business environment, Container Systems is relying heavily on automated manufacturing with a high speed router to keep pace with increased business volume using less manpower and equipment.

In 2007, the company purchased an Accu-Router to cut reels and manufacture parts for any containers that require precision hole cutting. At the recommendation of the router manufacturer, the company also purchased Mastercam CAD/CAM software to generate programs for the router.

Scott Parsons, Vice President of Container Systems, said, “Mastercam has been a great productivity tool for us. Without it, I would be spending most of my time making drawings manually and programming the router. It’s been amazing for me.”

Parsons said that about 25% of the work volume in his business is accomplished using the router and Mastercam. After a little training in both, it took just nine months for Parsons to become very proficient with these systems. Initially, it was taking him five or six hours a day to write programs for the router. Now he spends only one or two hours a week writing new programs or tweaking existing ones. So instead of being overwhelmed with the new technology, it has given Parsons time to create more container designs and seek new business opportunities.

Today, instead of using traditional band saws, Container Systems cuts with the router. Automatic cutting is faster and more accurate. Where it used to take an hour or so to change over to a new job, the transition is almost instantaneous. “We can now change things on the fly. So if a customer calls and says, ‘hey stop running 12-inch reels, now I need 14-1/2-inch reels’, we just press a button,” he said.

Container Systems manufactures around 10,000 reels a week. There used to be 14 people working in this area. Today, with Mastercam CAD/CAM software and the router, there are only ten. In addition to making it possible to relocate four workers to other manufacturing tasks, Mastercam and the router have replaced three pieces of conventional manufacturing equipment, which are now used only to meet overflow production requirements. These include two older CNC systems that had to be programmed manually.

Parsons said, “We have 45 guys in the plant. The guys who were working on the reels just got moved to other jobs in the plant. So no jobs were lost, and we got to grow our business.”

In terms of increased productivity, Parsons said that Mastercam would pay for itself in less than a year. It is also providing a subtler dividend. He said, “Now when a potential customer comes in and sees that machine running, we show them how we can do their program on Mastercam. It’s a powerful sales tool.”

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About Mastercam

Developed by CNC Software, Inc., Mastercam is Windows®-based CAD/CAM software for 2- through 5-axis milling and turning; 2- and 4-axis wire EDM; 2D and 3D design, surface, and solid modeling; artistic relief cutting, and 2D and 3D routing. CNC Software is a privately owned corporation founded in 1984. The U.S.-based company provides Mastercam CAD/CAM solutions to more than 124,936 installations in 75 countries in industries including mold-making, prototyping, automotive, medical, aerospace, and consumer products. Mastercam runs under Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, and is compatible with all other CAD/CAM systems. For more information about CNC Software, Inc. and its Mastercam family of products, contact CNC Software, Inc., M - F, 8 AM - 6 PM EST at (800) 228-2877 or (860) 875-5006,    671 Old Post Road, Tolland, CT 06084. Or visit www.mastercam.com.