Speed and growth aren’t just goals at Go Fast Manufacturing; they’re built into the name and culture. The company has grown from a few pieces of machinery when Dan and Dennis Berken purchased it in 2013 to a full line of cut stock production equipment. The Berkens translated their years of experience in running a cut stock sawmill and pallet manufacturing facility (Shiocton Cut Stock) into developing machinery for the industry.
The company recently held an open house to celebrate a major company milestone. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) recognized Go Fast as the first completed project eligible for WEDC’s Wisconsin Automation Implementation Grant. Go Fast received this award at a special event on March 28th at Go Fast’s manufacturing facility in New London, Wisconsin. This project was developed in partnership with WMEP Manufacturing Solutions (WMEP), a non-profit organization that assists Wisconsin manufacturers in achieving growth and success.
The Wisconsin Automation Grant is designed to lower the risk of companies’ automation implementation by providing project selection and implementation assistance through WMEP’s Automation Advisor™ and financial support from the WEDC. This program helps support companies’ implementation of technology that mitigates the effects of long-term worker shortages while increasing productivity and innovation capabilities, leading to increased competitiveness and growth opportunities for Wisconsin manufacturers.
New Laser Improves In-house Production Capabilities
During the assessment, WMEP evaluated any process that required physical labor to create a prioritized list of processes that Go Fast could consider automating, ranked by their likely return on investment. Replacing an outdated plasma table with a laser cutter became the top option. The cutter was installed in November 2022 and Go Fast has seen an increase in production, quality and safety with an expected return on investment of less than one year.
Kevin Wieser, director of engineering at Go Fast, commented, “The grant award helped us buy a used 2012 Amada laser. This piece of equipment is a pretty substantial upgrade from our old plasma table, which we have been running for the last several years. This laser allows us to bring a lot of work in-house and gives us more capabilities. Doing more work in-house improves our lead times, helps lower costs and gives us more quality control. A laser of this size and capacity is most likely found in high production fabrication shops.”
Dan Berken, president of Go Fast, added, “Our new laser allows us to bring parts production in-house and control the whole process under one roof. It will give us faster, better lead times.”
Go Fast Manufacturing is a rapidly growing “one-stop” pallet and sawmill equipment company that offers a catalog of machinery that includes conveyors, green-chains, trim saws, resaws, dedusters, chop saws, board stackers, and notcher machines. Go Fast focuses on innovation and always strives to build machine designs that allow its customers to achieve new levels of productivity and profitability.
Open House and Manufacturing Award Process
Go Fast celebrated its award recognition by holding an open house at its manufacturing facility. The event included customers, vendors, politicians, bankers, business leaders and employees. Go Fast showcased its products and capabilities.
Duane Brown, special projects manager, said, “Our showcase demonstrated the wide variety of equipment that we can produce and our high-tech manufacturing capabilities.”
Before the event, Berken stated, “We are pleased and honored to be the first recipient of WEDC’s Wisconsin Automation Grant and to have worked with WMEP Manufacturing Solution in the selection and implementation of technology that increases our capacity for significant future growth.”
The award process is all part of Go Fast’s strategic plan to improve its own automation capabilities. George Bureau, senior vice president of manufacturing solutions for the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, explained, “Go Fast Mfg., through their adoption of automation, is setting the stage for future growth. Automating their plant helps them offer additional career growth opportunities and fill open positions given the across the country workforce shortage issues facing manufacturers. We worked with Go Fast to develop a growth vision that integrated an automation road map into their plans and then provided assistance in securing a WEDC Automation Grant.”
Introducing the New UpSTAK Automated Stacker
Committed to innovation and new product development, Go Fast unveiled its new UpSTAK automated stacker at the open house. The manufacturer even ran the new stacker for the first time for the first customer who bought one, Schluter Wood Products of Necedah, Wisconsin.
Joe Schluter of Schluter Wood Products commented, “For us, it was an easy choice picking Go Fast for our stacker. We’ve always been very happy with the quality of their equipment, and their support/service has always been fantastic. We like the direction Go Fast is heading and look forward to more new Go Fast equipment in the near future.”
The Go Fast UpSTAK can stack at speeds of up to 15 layers of boards per minute with board lengths of 30" to 72", widths of 1-1/2" to 6" and thicknesses of 3/8" to 2". The UpSTAK features heavy-duty frame construction throughout. The Bottom-Up Stacker can also come with an unscrambler, which can build up a whole layer of boards in advance.
Berken explained, “It’s our first fully automated machine. It has PLC controls and is a more modernized piece of equipment than anything we have produced to this point. It completes our line, so we can now produce pretty much everything you need for a cut-stock line. A lot of customers have been asking us to develop a board stacker. So, we have answered the call.”
The UpSTAK comes with a standard 7-foot discharge but can be outfitted with additional lengths. The UpSTAK comes equipped with an HMI and PLC with top-of-the-line components that are available in 240, 480 and 575V. The PLC can also be customized with data feedback, remote access, and the ability to network and communicate with other machines. It is a one operator machine with the following key features: hand crank adjustments, a heavy-duty pin “Stop and Go” system, and independent fence and infeed chain adjustment.
Wieser added, “We think we found a low-profile solution that will fit into a small footprint. If you look at board unscramblers that are getting placed in front of these stackers, they take up a lot of room. We found a way to do the same task and save about 7 feet.”
Berken stressed that his team is working to develop cost effective solutions that are safe. He said, “The new UpSTAK is a safer design and is available with safety zone sensors that are not common in the pallet marketplace yet.”
Product Innovation Rolls On, Focused on Cost Reduction
Go Fast is not content to stay with its existing product line. The company has four to five products in its development pipeline right now.
Berken outlined his strategy: “We are working on budget-friendly new products. One example is a new notcher with a completely different approach from anything on the market. An innovative head design should result in less maintenance, less horsepower and lower cost… just a better way to operate all around.”
Wieser commented, “Our new notcher should appeal to smaller pallet companies. Basically, we found a way to make our standard NXL notcher half the price. It’s slower and really safe.”
With companies wanting to reduce costs, they are looking for machinery partners that are focused on keeping equipment prices low. For more information on Go Fast’s evolving equipment line, visit www.gofastmfg.com or call 800-854-7439.
See Videos of the Latest Go Fast Equipment
New UpSTAK Board Stacker
https://tinyurl.com/48kh3zm5
Test footage shows the machine stacking a variety of materials and highlights some of its features.
Five-Head Master Resaw Line
https://tinyurl.com/3kkyspsh
Go Fast’s resaw line including a 5-head configuration with an in-line deduster and a chopsaw.
New TS10 Trim Saws
https://tinyurl.com/3kuv695c
The TS10 trim saw features four chain rails, a steel wheel hold-down, optional incline attachment, aluminum measuring ruler, and is available with several different blade sizes.
WMEP March Event Highlight Video
https://tinyurl.com/mvmsvwyr
Go Fast Manufacturing/WMEP Manufacturing Solutions automation award event highlight video.
