Welding structural members at Owen Steel.

The underlying support structure and how it enables a building to stand up to modern-day demands for decade can be the most fascinating part of a skyscraper.

Owen Steel Co. (www.owensteel.com) of Columbia, S.C., has contributed to some great stories during its 70 years in business.

It is one of the country’s leading structural steel contractors and has been involved in the construction of prominent buildings, including high rises such as the 48-story Conde Nast headquarters at Four Times Square in New York City, the 568-foot 450 Lexington Avenue Building in midtown Manhattan, and the 54-floor Mellon Bank Center in downtown Philadelphia, and arenas for the National Basketball Association’s Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Owen Steel has also contributed to transit hubs, including New York’s JFK Airport International Arrivals Terminal and the Secaucus, N.J., Transit Station.

Over the years, Owen Steel and its projects received numerous industry accolades.

Most recently, the 250-person firm fabricated the architecturally exposed structural steel columns for the New York Times Building in Manhattan as part of its contract for approximately 7,200 tons of steel fabrications for that project, and has fabricated steel for the Bank of America Tower in New York. The Bank of America project called for 27,000 tons of steel fabrications for a 54-story tower. It also made steel fabrications for buildings for Citigroup, Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital, the Metropolitan Transit Authority Bus Depot in New York, and Xanadu at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

With such prominent projects and more in the works – the company recently was awarded the contract to build the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York – Owen Steel and its management team know that they must constantly innovate.

The company’s managers understand that in today’s competitive environment the company must focus on improving and streamlining its business practices and fabrication processes.

In 2006, Owen Steel looked to its welding operations for ways to save money and increase production. It found its answer in a material that is less than a quarter inch in diameter.

Working with welding and gas distributor Praxair and welding equipment and consumables manufacturer Lincoln Electric, Owen Steel conducted extensive on-site tests and decided to use Lincoln’s UltraCore 71C gas-shielded fluxcored wire.

“Sometimes it’s the smallest item that can make the biggest difference,” Isaac Murciano, Owen Steel chief operating officer, said.

“In a 12-month span, we can use upwards of 300,000 lbs. of weld material. This is a substantial investment, even for a firm our size. We knew that if we could find a more efficient wire, it had the potential to make a considerable contribution to our bottom line and give us a clear competitive advantage,” Muciano added.

Owen Steel’s weld department has of 45 welders and can swell to 65 welders during peak times. The company was counting on its new welding wire, along with recent welding equipment purchases, to make a substantial increase in productivity.

In initial testing, the UltraCore 71C wire in 1/16 in. diameter provided a 30-percent productivity increase.

And, with just half a year in actual usage, Owen Steel said it already has seen a 15-percent increase in productivity with the new wire in the welding bays that are using it.

The company anticipates reaching the 30-percent level after all of its welders are trained and the it makes a complete conversion to the new material in all of its bays.

Lincoln Electric and Praxair also help with training at Owen Steel.

A number of the firm’s team members visited Lincoln’s Cleveland headquarters for training on UltraCore and the firm’s four new Lincoln Power Wave AC/DC 1000 inverter power sources that are equipped with Lincoln’s Waveform Control Technology. Additionally, on site training for new and veteran employees continues.

Because every Owen Steel project is built to custom specifications, there is no “typical” project for the fabricator, so the number of welding hours can vary widely from project to project. A 10,000-welding-hour job is not unheard of and, with the Lincoln UltraCore wire, the fabricator believes it now has the potential to save 1,500 hours to 3,000 hours on a job of that size.

That has positively impacted Owen Steel’s bidding process. The company estimates welding wire at pounds used per hour, and has worked its expected savings and efficiency gains into its bidding process.

“This is one operational change that has made an immediate and demonstrable contribution to our ability to compete in today’s marketplace. The competition is fierce on every job, and Lincoln’s Ultra- Core wire gives us a competitive edge,” Murciano said.

The wire also has saved the company’s welders time by reducing the need for rework, cleanup and gouging.

Owen Steel typically welds on variety of structural steel plates that range from ½ in. to 8 in. in thickness.

The company gets raw material from U.S. and overseas sources, depending on project requirements. Finished products include everything from giant trusses to box columns.

Many of Owen Steel’s building drive cores are steel, rather than concrete, so that they can handle the multiple load variations and large amount of weight demanded by the complicated, mid and high rises the company specializes in.

Lincoln’s UltraCore 71C wire is designed to deliver superior consistency, reliability and performance for such heavy-duty applications. The wire is designed to use 100-percent carbon dioxide shielding, and provides flexibility on single and multiple pass welding applications, including fillet, lap and butt welds.

For Owen Steel, one of the primary distinguishing characteristics the UltraCore wire has delivered is increased deposition rates.

“UltraCore’s long stickout has allowed us to maximize the deposition rate, while giving our welders better arc control,” Dexter James, Owen Steel welding supervisor, said.

This extended stickout – as much as to 1¾ in. – combined with high wire feed speeds allows for higher deposition rates and arc stability, while maintaining performance and weld properties.

“It has also helped reduce welder fatigue, which our guys really appreciate,” James added.

Mike Daley, Owen Steel quality assurance manager, said that welders also welcome the decrease in spatter provided by the Ultra- Core wire:

“We’ve seen a notable decrease in spatter, clean up and rework. And with its extremely tight tolerances, there is less adjusting, less waste and greater efficiency – all of which empowers our welders to do their jobs faster without sacrificing quality,” Daley said.

“The UltraCore wire was the competitive advantage we needed. It delivers consistency, control and efficiency. We’ve decreased downtime, clean up and rework. We’re spending less time on projects, while dramatically increasing productivity. Our customers benefit, as does our welders and our bottom line,” Murciano said.