By Healthcare Facilities Today

Wausau, Wis. - As building projects continue to push the limits in vision and design, Linetec continues to expand its value-added services. Linetec will soon offer stretch forming, which allows architectural product manufactures to have their metal building components curved and finished in one location.

“Customers needing material to be curved can send the parts to Linetec or have it pulled from their material stored and managed in Linetec’s inventory program,” says Rick Marshall, Linetec’s president. “This offers customers quick-turn bending services. Utilizing the company’s dedicated fleet of trucks ensures the finished, curved material, along with the rest of the project, arrives free from damage, on schedule and backed with an industry-leading warranty.”

He continues, “Stretch Forming by Linetec alleviates the worry and hassle of multiple points of contact and brings tremendous value. Customers can ship us their aluminum for bending and then, have it finished in the same place to retain the full finish warranty. This saves shipping costs and transit time, as well as reduces material handling and packaging to minimize the opportunity for damage.”

To deliver the new stretch forming services, Linetec has teamed with Southern Stretch Forming. Southern Stretch is headquartered in Texas with production facilities in California and Pennsylvania. The company will provide a full scope of bending capabilities on Linetec’s campus in Wausau, Wis., including annealing and tempering to soften and harden aluminum. Facility site preparation, equipment deployment and other logistics are underway.

Marshall elaborates, “When Linetec realized stretch forming would be of benefit to customers, we sought out a partner with an equal reputation in their industry; a quality company with a strong reputation for customer service and reliability. We are glad to have Southern Stretch Forming and Fabrication as that partner.”

Southern Stretch Forming’s president, David Arthur, notes that the feeling is mutual, “We have very high regard for Linetec and are pleased to have established a strong collaborative relationship with their team.”

Arthur explains, “In simplest terms, stretch forming is a way of bending metal into a desired shape, usually curved, by heat treating it then pressing it over a die. Stretch forming turns a straight aluminum extrusion into a vital component of contemporary structures -- a hotel skylight, a mall archway or a skyscraper’s glass and metal facing. Stretch forming frees architects, designers and builders to realize forms as graceful as they are sturdy and functional.”

Marshall concludes, “Expanding services to enhance architectural metal components is nothing new to Linetec. We continually invest in these innovative, value-added services to support our customers’ short-term needs and long-term goals.”