For companies that specialize in metal fabrication, your team’s safety should be the number one priority. Metal fabricators deal with extreme temperatures, sharp tools, precise movements, and additional factors, resulting in a potentially hazardous work environment without proper safety measures in place. But what are some of the distinct factors that you should take into consideration when designing safety protocols?

Inspect Your Tools

Malfunctioning tools and equipment are some of the key contributors to workplace accidents. Before you begin any project, thoroughly inspecting the tools you’ll be using will help protect against any potential hazards. If the tools aren’t functioning correctly, then you shouldn’t use it until it is fixed. Taking the time to inspect your tools and safety protocols before beginning work can help keep your employees in a safe environment.

Cutting Hazards

When it comes to manufacturing sheet metals, your team requires sharp tools to make the precise cuts that the particular project needs. These tools can lead to severe cuts and lacerations to the workers, whether through human error or the lack of proper safety procedures. Having the appropriate safety equipment on hand, such as cut gloves, can significantly minimize your chances of injury. The right safety gear, combined with proper training, can help protect your team from potential cutting hazards.

The Right Tools For the Job

Your team will need the right tools so they can efficiently perform their metal fabrication tasks. However, an additional component revolves around how the tools are maintained. If the tools are not adequately maintained, then not only is the overall efficiency reduced, but your team member using that particular tool might try to overcompensate for the poorly maintained machinery, leading to potential injury. It’s essential to have clearly defined maintenance procedures to ensure that the tools and equipment operate at optimal efficiency.

Be Careful What Your Breathe in

Many manufacturing jobs have hidden dangers that don’t immediately present as an issue. However, if left unchecked, certain elements can lead to dire health consequences down the line. One such potential hazard is breathing in the sheet metal dust during and after the machining process. If you continuously breathe in these particles over time, they will settle in your lungs and significantly increase respiratory disease chances. Equipping your staff with respirators or dust masks can help limit or eliminate these harmful particles’ exposure.

If you’re looking for a team that is well-versed in working with the proper safety precautions in place during every work order, look no further than PennFab, Inc! Our team has the experience working within established safety protocols to deliver projects on time and keep our team as safe as possible! Contact our team today to get started on your next project!

When you take on a contracting job for a golf course or driving range, there is a nearly insurmountable amount of things to take into consideration. Between course design, zoning requirements, and the actual construction of the course, you need to be able to rely on the equipment you’re using. At PennFab, we hope to give you one less thing to worry about by fabricating the best barrier netting poles possible. As one of the best steel fabrication companies in Philadelphia, we take pride in all of the work that we do — making sure to provide only the highest quality netting poles on the market today.

What makes PennFab different? It could be our commitment to quality, our family-oriented company values, or our long list of certifications and completed products; We like to think it’s a combination of all three!

When you choose PennFab to fabricate netting poles for your golf course or driving range contracting job, you choose quality. Here are four of the most notable reasons to choose us for all netting pole fabrication needs:

Custom Size Options

Understanding that golf courses are, by nature, all different sizes and shapes, PennFab offers options for pole size that caters to the exact specifications of the job at hand. Whether you need a universal length and width or a variation of different sizes, our experienced team can make it happen with the same amount of care and precision that goes into every project we take on.

Calculated Wind Resistance

When installing netting poles to line the road or area surrounding a golf course, you require the assurance that they will stand firm amongst the worst conditions mother nature decides to throw your way. At PennFab, our netting poles are designed specifically to perform under extreme conditions such as intense wind so you can feel confident that your work on the course will remain intact.

Maximized Life-Expectancy

At PennFab, we utilize only the best materials for all fabrication projects to ensure the durability required for optimal functioning. All netting poles fabricated by our team are designed to maximize the lifespan of netting barriers, helping contractors and their customers feel more confident in the longevity of the projects they complete.

Enhanced Appearance

All of the netting poles fabricated by our team at PennFab are designed to have an appearance that helps them blend into the scenery of a golf course. Using unwavering attention to detail, we can fabricate netting poles that not only perform their function but look great while doing so.

Whether your contracting project requires netting poles, temporary platforms, or catenary structures in the Delaware, Philadelphia, or Bucks County, PennFab is the fabrication company to trust. We have spent more than three decades providing the framework for many of the tri-state area’s largest projects. Contact us today to see the difference that Pennsylvania’s best fabrication company can make!

When a business has been founded, owned, or operated within a single-family dynamic, it is a badge of honor. Not only does it provide a strong backstory for your business, but it tells customers that you don’t subscribe to the usual traits of corporate America. In other words, while the business world is often perceived as cold and calculated, family-owned businesses emphasize a company culture founded on the nurturing qualities of family life.

However, for those who have never worked in this type of organization, these types of family-oriented values may be absent from how a business can operate. As one of the top steel fabrication companies in Philadelphia that have remained family-owned since day one, PennFab can surely attest to the advantages of a family-oriented enterprise.

Just a handful of the most notable benefits of working for a company like PennFab include:

Commitment

When you start working for a family-owned business like PennFab, one of the first things you’ll notice is the level of commitment employees have to each other and the business itself. From newer employees to upper management, employees of a family-oriented company tend to feel much closer to the industry, their colleagues, and their clients. In many cases, this closeness translates to a passionate workforce comprised of people who genuinely enjoy coming to work.

Trust

A family-owned business brings out the best in everyone. Employees know the upper management well and feel like they have a voice within the company. Creating that aura of trust from top to bottom helps bring out high-quality work in the employees and provides them with an atmosphere where they can go to management with any concerns they may have without fear of retaliation.

Stability

Family owned and operated businesses benefit from having leadership that has stayed within the same family for years. They learn from each generation and apply the same values from when they first started with current business strategies to bring balance to the working experience. Additional opportunities for business development and growth exist because people that have worked with the business know who they are dealing with and what kind of work to expect daily.

Care

One of the most obvious advantages of working for a family business is the element of care that employees have for one another. This can reveal itself in various ways — from outreach programs and staff engagement activities to in-house training exercises and company picnics, businesses who have established a family-oriented culture often have some of the happiest and most caring employees out there. Not only does this make for a more pleasant work environment, but the quality of the work accomplished often increases along with it.

Pride

When run properly, everyone in a family-owned business feels like a member of the family. Each employee takes the responsibility that comes with it seriously, and it reflects in their work ethic. The more pride they feel that they are part of the extended family, the more likely employees are to keep striving to put in their best effort each day they are with the company.

Empathy

To truly connect with employees, business owners must show a level of empathy that makes staff feel like more than just a cog in the machine. This is a common pitfall in corporate organizations, where upper management is often too far removed from their staff to feel this sort of empathy. However, in a family-owned business like PennFab, this is far from the case. When employees and management are in close contact, it is much easier to feel empathy toward a given situation and enhance the level of flexibility offered to staff.

Long-Term Vision

In a family-based organization, you have a leadership team and culture that focuses on long-term goals instead of going after short-term and unsustainable goals. Family-owned businesses that have lasted have established goals with sustainability in mind. It is not just for the family that owns the company, but for the employees that help move the organization forward.

Security

Lastly, due to the family-based culture of organizations like PennFab, employee turnover is often much lower than their corporate counterparts. When employees feel like they are an integral part of the day-to-day work, their perception of job security increases, helping them complete tasks confidently and enhance overall productivity and morale.

To learn more about PennFab or the many career opportunities we offer, call 215-596-4437 today!

At PennFab, we take pride in being a veteran-owned and operated company; but did you know that we are also an AISC certified steel manufacturer and fabricator in Pennsylvania? We are proud of our certification, as it shows our employees and customers the level of our dedication to them. We work hard to provide the highest quality of products to customers while maintaining a safe and productive work environment for our employees. Here, we break down what AISC certification entails, and why it’s important for fabricators to have this.

AISC Certification 

In 1921, the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) was formed to benefit steel fabricators and erectors. The AISC has proven to be a leader in research, development, and education for steel construction. Their rigorous and ever-evolving processes that fabricators must adhere to will be hard to find elsewhere.

AISC certified fabricators assure their customers they possess the following:

• Personnel
• Organization
• Experience

• Procedures
• Knowledge
• Equipment

The Importance of AISC Certification

AISC fabricators stay true to three values: quality, safety, and accountability.

Quality

Certified fabricators are held to a higher standard as they comply with industry standard, codes, and practices. What sets a certified and non-certified fabricator apart is the ability to provide an exceptional level of quality control and quality assurance for the customer. Every process must comply with the AISC standards and be documented in a Quality Management System.

Safety

Not only are AISC certified fabricators held to a high standard to their customers, but to their employees as well. Providing a safe environment and workplace for employees is essential. Due to more rigorous training requirements for employees, the number of potential accidents and product failures is reduced.

Accountability

Maintaining detailed records to be kept on file is required of AISC certified fabricators. This is to ensure that each procedure is conducted in an exceptional manner. AISC fabricators are subject to audit and physical inspection at any time to ensure that standards are being properly met.

Since AISC certified fabricators must go through rigorous processes and formal training, they tend to be more efficient. Their efficiency can translate to savings that can be passed down to the customer.

As a leader of steel fabrication in Pennsylvania, PennFab provides valuable services and products to customers. We can guarantee your project will be executed with superior quality. Contact us today to learn more about how our AISC certification can benefit you.

At PennFab, we value the hard work and dedication that our employees put into their jobs every day. As a thank you, we have started awarding employees with plaques on their anniversary milestones.

The first award has been given to Ed Sholly, celebrating his 10-year work anniversary with us here at PennFab. Ed is a detailer in our engineering department, bringing over 35 years of experience in the steel fabrication industry. On a daily basis, Ed meticulously reviews drawings and specifications, taking them from the initial design state and transforming them into real works of art.

After executing a complete detailing and delineation of all parts and components, Ed creates thorough drawings depicting what is needed to create various forms of custom fabrications. These fabrications include catenary structures for railroads, electrical substations, and highway sign structures.

Some areas of Ed’s expertise include:

• Industrial maintenance
• Conveyor industry
• Material handling
• Structural steel equipment

• Railroad maintenance equipment
• Machine shop
• Millwright work

Every day, Ed has the pleasure of seeing his handiwork in person when he drives by the Croydon rail station. PennFab was responsible for the fabrication of the rail station, including the canopies and railings. Ed also gets the chance to appreciate his work in-person when he attends an Eagles or Phillies home game, where PennFab fabricated all of the audiovisual brackets and supports in the two stadiums.

When PennFab began 35 years ago, it consisted of just three people. Today, we have developed into one of the largest fabricating and manufacturing facilities in the tri-state area — something that wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and perseverance displayed by our outstanding employees.

From day one, Michael J. Mabin knew he wanted to build a business that would provide rewarding jobs to employees and families for years to come. From one department to the next, we consider PennFab to be one big family. To this day, we continue to invest in our employees by providing hands-on training and offering opportunities for growth within the company. It is with great pride that we can watch our employees further educate themselves, developing the skills necessary for them to achieve their career goals. We look forward to continuing this new tradition of celebrating employees who have chosen to accomplish those goals here with us. To start your career with PennFab, visit our jobs page to see available positions and apply in writing by emailing Jobs@PennFab.com.

Are you ready to start a promising career with an incredible company? PennFab is one of the largest fabricating and manufacturing facilities in the tri-state area, and we couldn’t have done it without our great employees. We are looking to expand our team with the addition of driven, hard-working individuals. Here are five reasons to work at the company that was voted one of the Best Places to Work in 2016 & 2017.

1. Veteran Owned. President and CEO, Mike Mabin, Sr. is a Coast Guard Veteran and is proud to say PennFab is a 100% veteran-owned business. Our company is built on the basic principles of Honor, Commitment, and Respect. All materials used in our facility are made in America, including 99% of our equipment.
2. We invest in our people. When Michael J. Mabin started PennFab in 1983, he didn’t build a business to sell it. PennFab was created to provide jobs for families for generations to come. We are ready to train employees and help them become the best that they can be. Not only do we reinvest in our business, but we reinvest in our people.
3. Friendly, family-oriented environment. This is a family business, and it shows. We treat each of our employees as a member of the family, because to us, they are. You’ll notice that everyone takes care of one another, from the warehouse to the offices.
4. Opportunities for growth. Our company was built from nothing, and there is no job that the President and Vice President at PennFab haven’t done before. When you work at PennFab, we provide you with hands-on experience and opportunities for education so you can develop your skills and excel in your career. We believe that success comes from hard work and determination, and if you share those qualities, the sky’s the limit.
5. Benefits. We offer a great benefits package to our employees. We provide you with health insurance, a 401k plan with a 3% weekly employer contribution, paid holidays and vacation time, along with competitive wages.

At PennFab, we’re looking to grow our company and provide the best safety and quality to our employees and clients in the railroad, manufacturing and transportation industries. We have been setting a continuous standard of excellence for 34 years and would like you to join us to continue. Visit our jobs page to see available positions and apply in writing by emailing Jobs@PennFab.com.

PennFab is proudly recognized as one of the leading fabricators in the region. As always, we give nothing but the best Safety, Quality and Production.

We are so happy to be celebrating 34 years in business and thank everyone that has been a part of PennFab’s continued growth – our employees, customers and vendors. PennFab, Inc, Setting the Standard of Excellence since 1983. Made in the USA by tremendously dedicated, talented and proud American Craftsmen and Professionals.

AISC Certified – PennDOT certified – 100% Veteran Owned – Made in the USA.

Voted Best Place to work 2016 and 2017.

Everyone at PennFab had a wonderful time working with some of our sons and daughters during Take your Sons and Daughters to work day. Held last Thursday, April 27th, the day is an annual event held at participating companies throughout the United States. The day is meant to help teach students team work, responsibilities, creating goals and more. We had a wonderful time and look forward to our children joining us again next year.

Take your kids to work at PennFab, Inc.

PennFab is so proud to receive the Best Place to Work 2017 award.

Our employees voted for us helping us win for the second year in a row!  We are so proud of our hard working employees and happy that they love being part of the PennFab team.  We couldn’t be a true success without them.

Interested in joining PennFab?  Check out our open positions and welcome to apply.