Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxSOZbBnvaU (3 min)

Mike walks through the parts area of a Powston assembly plant at shift change as workers restock shelves for the next shift.

WHAT YOU'LL SEE

- Hundreds of hydraulic cylinders in every size, from thumb and quick-attach cylinders to large boom cylinders.

- Bins of pins, including very large ones, plus hydraulic hoses in different diameters and lengths, floor mats for each model, and Kubota engines staged for the night's builds.

- Factory rhythm: two shifts a day of about seven hours each, six days a week, with the shelves nearly emptied by morning.

Mike says Powston told him that pin steel hardness was an issue for them a couple of years ago, the same problem Rippa is working on, and that it has since been corrected so the pins don't wear out quickly.

Questions? Call Rippa USA Sales at 817-382-3201 or visit RippaUSASales.com. We deliver nationwide with flat rate shipping, and you get 50% off attachments when you buy a machine from us.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z735rQ_vRgI (8 min)

Mike follows excavators through final assembly at a Powston factory, from bare bases to machines with engines and hydraulics installed.

WHAT THE VIDEO SHOWS

- Kitting: workers lay out all the hydraulic hoses and cylinders needed for each machine before it is assembled, so each station has what it needs.

- Models in line include the PE30 and one-ton machines, with Kubota diesel engines being mounted. Bolts are fingertight at this stage and torqued to spec afterward with an impact tool.

- Swing boom cylinders and other parts being fitted at the right stage.

- A greasing tip: don't pump a whole tube into one fitting. Give two or three pumps, rotate the cab a little, and repeat. Pumping all the grease in at once means it never reaches the rest of the swing bearing, which can lead to failures.

Questions? Call Rippa USA Sales at 817-382-3201 or visit RippaUSASales.com. We deliver nationwide with flat rate shipping, and you get 50% off attachments when you buy a machine from us.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXeXIH4N7GQ (6 min)

Mike tours the new powder coating and paint area at Powston's factory, in a building of roughly 800,000 square feet that the company expects to move into next year.

WHAT HE SEES

- A new, state-of-the-art powder coating and paint booth, with overhead conveyors and counterweights that set the right tension for anything from a small machine to an 8 ton excavator.

- A drying section where parts travel up a ramp into the ovens.

- Two paint tracks that Powston expected to bring online the following month, painting much of the factory's equipment.

- Robotic welders in the attachment area, each properly vented, with a large filter bank. Mike says the venting was one of the first things installed.

He also mentions a coming video on how he and Powston will work together.

Questions? Call Rippa USA Sales at 817-382-3201 or visit RippaUSASales.com. We deliver nationwide with flat rate shipping, and you get 50% off attachments when you buy a machine from us.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnSUHYVhWQs (3 min)

Mike shows where machine parts begin at Powston: the raw steel stock area.

At volume, a factory doesn't buy pieces to fit. It buys flat steel plate and long bars and tubes, roughly 8 meters in length, and cuts them to size based on what machine or attachment is being built that day. You can see the raw stock, beveled pipe ends from laser pipe cutting, and the cutting stations. Mike also notes that this facility is about a 40-minute drive from the main factory, because land costs far less outside the city.

Mike says he would love to follow a single piece of steel through the whole process until it becomes a finished machine or attachment.

Questions? Call Rippa USA Sales at 817-382-3201 or visit RippaUSASales.com. We deliver nationwide with flat rate shipping, and you get 50% off attachments when you buy a machine from us.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKS5n5KODeY (7 min)

Mike shows the very first step of building a Powston machine or attachment: cutting the steel.

WHAT YOU'LL SEE

- Sheets of steel in different thicknesses, moved by overhead booms and suction-cup lifters, which are needed for plates up to half an inch thick.

- A laser cutting machine cutting out parts for a planned run of excavator models, with workers checking quality and pulling out any pieces that don't meet standard.

- Parts straight off the laser that are unpainted and untreated, showing clean, precise cuts.

Mike says it is the first stop in a chain that ends in a finished excavator or attachment, and that he appreciates the quality of the laser cuts.

Questions? Call Rippa USA Sales at 817-382-3201 or visit RippaUSASales.com. We deliver nationwide with flat rate shipping, and you get 50% off attachments when you buy a machine from us.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD5v2Jgpkl4 (2 min)

After steel parts are cut, sharp edges and stray bits are ground off at three finishing stations at the Powston factory. That makes parts look better and also keeps burrs from getting in the way of the robotic welders when booms and attachments are assembled. The video also shows lathes, tool and die work, and automatic cutters that use water to keep the metal cool while cutting. Pieces range from large parts down to short sections about three inches long, still wet from cutting.

Questions? Call Rippa USA Sales at 817-382-3201 or visit RippaUSASales.com. We deliver nationwide with flat rate shipping, and you get 50% off attachments when you buy a machine from us.