Lewis M Carter Manufacturing: KnowHow with Jason Creel and Matt Howell

Lewis M Carter Manufacturing (LMC) is a leader in systems, design and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) of separation and shelling equipment based in Donalsonville, Georgia. They design and manufacture processing equipment for food, peanuts, beans, seeds, grains and recycling industries. LMC manufactures a variety of machinery including food grade equipment. Last year they began to see a significant increase in the demand for their food-grade machinery. Food grade equipment is unique from their other products in that it requires TIG welding thin gauge stainless parts. This meant their process would require significantly more time for welding parts and higher skilled labor that was difficult for the manufacturer to find in the area.

The team at Lewis M Carter Manufacturing was curious about how laser welders could help them, so they reached out to the nexAir team for their expertise on the new equipment. Jason Creel stepped in along with the Productivity Team to review their process. Knowing they needed higher quality welds, and lacked people capable of TIG welding, Jason and the Productivity Team knew the IPG LightWELD handheld laser welding system would be a good fit. The nexAir team went to the shop to demonstrate the laser welder on LMC’s parts and it was an instant success. The LMC crew was able to produce finished welds without needing to grind, polish or clean their welds. They also saw an increase in the speed of production by using the IPG LightWELD. The LightWELD allowed the LMC team to increase quality and speed without having to train and hire skilled welders. Since the purchase of their first LightWELD system, LMC has gone on to purchase 5 more welding systems and is continuing to implement automation into their process.