News

My father and lifelong mentor John E. Reed, founder and Chairman of Mestek, passed away peacefully in his sleep Thursday morning, May 9^th, 2013 at his home. He died of heart failure due to advanced congestive heart disease.  

His wish was to pass quietly in his own bedroom, on his own terms, the same way he had lived his life. Until the end, he never lost his dignity, aplomb, or respect for others. The day before his death he still had a twinkle in his eye and a knowing smile. His devoted nurse Debi Garcia was at his side when he passed Thursday morning.

Mestek was always more than a business to him; it was his life and his creation. It was personal; and he cared deeply at many levels. He was intensely proud of the people who chose Mestek for their careers, our independent representative partners, and the progress of the company. He established a culture for Mestek that he wanted to last for generations beyond his life, his most cherished legacy. Whether visiting manufacturers' representative/dealer partners, customers, in his office, or on the shop floor, the people

He created and maintained Mestek's guiding culture: nonpolitical, practical, respectful, recognizing and rewarding competence, teamwork, and loyalty, recognizing independent representatives and dealers as partners, customer oriented, high integrity, evenhanded and steady leadership, and always looking for ways to improve our partnership and future. This culture will prove durable in good times and bad; it is built to last.

Mestek remains stable and secure. There is no need to sell or merge Mestek, or to change the management in any way. Death taxes are a burden for the Reed family, but not for the company. Mestek remains financially strong, able to invest in R&D, new product development, buildings and capital equipment, acquisitions of compatible businesses and product lines, financially support organic growth, and most importantly invest in people. Our business is as durable as our culture.

John Reed touched many of us in a profound way, those of us who knew him well; he will be long remembered. We can honor his memory by fulfilling his vision: a world-class American manufacturing company, with committed manufacturers' representative and dealer partners, together creating a bright future indeed.

With kind regards,

Stew Reed 

Formtek recently supplied a B&K 2DWR Supermill to a steel framing customer in Florida. The 2DWR is designed for high speed production of light gauge stud and track.  This machine was supplied with special tooling to produce an engineered stud and track profile.  Changeovers for material thickness, web width, and from stud to track can be accomplished in minutes without roll tooling change.

B&K Systems provides industry leading, high productivity steel framing systems through the use of its patented rotary punch, shear and gauge adjustment technology.  For more information visit our website, www.bkformtek.com, email 

Krasny Kaplan recently supplied a rebuild of a hex bundling system.  The bundling system can handle seamless pipe up to 7-1/2” diameter, 2” wall thickness, in lengths up to 40 feet.  The customer has seen expanded business activity related to the energy sector, so the rebuild was particularly time sensitive and had to be contained within preplanned shutdown.  Future plans include expanding the maximum length capabilities of the bundler.

Krasny Kaplan is a designer and builder of steel mill material handling equipment.  These systems are tailored to each specific application, considering the unique production and environment and needs of each customer.   More information is available on the website: http://yodermfg.com/products/Material_Handling/, email kk@formtekgroup.com or call (216) 292-4460.

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Dahlstrom recently supplied a fenestration customer a precision, high speed 360-OF model roll forming machine for the production of laser welded air spacer, used in energy efficient, insulated glass windows and doors.  Dahlstrom has provided four of these systems in the last two years, as the use of air spacer for energy efficient doors and windows increases, particularly for the home remodeling sector.  The customer’s selected this machine based on its compact design, precision tolerance and quick changeover.

Dahlstrom’s roll forming machines  and flexible fabrication systems are designed and built for a range of  light gauge, custom and high production, industrial applications.  For more information, contact dahlstrom@formtekgroup.com, call (216) 292-4460 or visit www.dahlstromusa.com. 

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B&K recently supplied a 2DWR Supermill®, Master Bundler and Accessory System to a new factory in Mexico, to produce drywall steel framing components. The 2DWR Supermill® will manufacture drywall stud and tracks from 25 to 18 gauges, in 1-5/8” up to 8” web widths at speeds up to 500 FPM, coupled with a master bundler to package stud and track for distribution.  The Accessory System produces four (4) unique accessory profiles in multiple gauges, including a continuous pattern rotary punch unit for corner bead. 

B&K’s patented gauge adjustment and rotary technologies make the Supermill® and Accessory Systems the highest production and versatile steel framing solutions available.  The Accessory System can be expanded to produce up to eight (8) unique profiles and multiple hole patterns.  For more information, contact sales@formtekgroup.com , call (216) 292-4460 or visit www.bkformtek.com.

 B&K recently updated its Accessory System for production of steel framing components.  The updated design incorporates features of the 2DWR Supermill®, resulting in higher production speed capabilities of the Accessory System while insuring greater control for the precut operation of light gauge profiles.  The Accessory System can be supplied for one (1) profile to eight (8) unique accessory profiles, as well as multiple rotary punch patterns.  The continuous pattern rotary punch utilizes quick die change features for efficient changeover when multiple punch patterns are required on one machine.  The speed and precut arrangement of the B&K Accessory System results in a high production volume, versatile roll former that offers the most up time compared to any competitors accessory machine.

B&K’s patented gauge adjustment and rotary technologies make the Supermill® and Accessory Systems the highest production and versatile steel framing solutions available.  The Accessory System can produce up to eight (8) unique profiles and multiple hole patterns.  For more information, contact sales@formtekgroup.com , call (216) 292-4460 or visit www.bkformtek.com.