Chico Van Zant operates a Hardinge Precision 5C Lathe in the new tool room of the Roberts Machine Products CNC Machining Facility in West Liberty.
Shortened lead times and decreased cost of parts production. These are key payoffs Roberts Machine Products will provide customers through recent expansion of in-house tooling capability.
Roberts has launched a new tool room and hired an experienced toolmaker at the RMP CNC Machining Facility in West Liberty. These new developments will enhance our capacity to meet the growing demand for high quality US-made carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum machined parts.
Royal Oak Form Relief Grinder in Roberts CNC tool room
And this added capability will enable RMP parts customers to fulfill their customers’ orders in a timely and cost-efficient manner.
Chico Van Zant, who has more than 40 years of experience in toolmaking, has joined the RMP team to manage the new tool room. His brother, Jeff Van Zant, serves as a sales engineer and plant manager of Roberts’ West Liberty facility.
Royal Master Centerless Grinder in CNC tool room.
“We’ve made a considerable investment in experienced staff and equipment to respond faster to the unique production requirements of each of our customers’ orders,” Bob Hughes, President/CEO of Roberts Machine Products, said.
“Chico is a welcome addition to our team and will play a significant role in our continued growth,” Hughes said. “With his wealth of experience in toolmaking, we can produce in-house, in a matter of hours, any tool needed for a machining process.” In contrast, outsourced tools can take weeks to arrive for a production run.
Opti Dress Form Tool and Cutter Maker in Roberts CNC tool room.
Van Zant explains his role: “I will serve as an in-house coordinator and will work with our sales engineers and production team to find the most efficient way to run parts and make tools and fixtures. We will focus on delivering each job to the customer in a precise and timely manner.”
The new CNC tool room and the existing tool room at the RMP Screw Machine Production Facility in Rushsylvania will support one another as needed to meet production requirements and provide backup tooling capability.