Keeping Production Moving at IMS – Without Adding Welders

In Lancaster, South Carolina, Industrial Manufacturing Services (IMS) has been building fabricated metal components for over 25 years. With more than 70 employees and over 700 active part numbers in rotation, IMS is a critical supplier to OEMs in heavy machinery.

But even a seasoned team can hit a wall.

“Ten or fifteen years ago, finding skilled welders was easy. Today? Not so much.”

Warren Earl
President, IMS

The Challenge

As the Business Grew, So Did Production Demands

With the pressure of finding talent to match production demands, the team at IMS knew automation was the right direction. But traditional welding robots were too complex to be practical.

“We had a few robotic cells already, but they were difficult to set up and took a full team to manage.”

– Matt Blowers, Manufacturing Engineer, IMS

The Solution

Simpler Automation, Right When They Needed It

IMS brought in a Cobot Welder from Hirebotics to see if it could fill the gap. At first, the team was skeptical. They had tried other cobots in the past, with little to show for it.

This time was different.

“We had welders using it confidently in about 30 minutes. It’s intuitive. You don’t need a programming degree – or even welding experience – to get going.”

– Matt Blowers

Within days, the team was running jobs with a new kind of speed and flexibility.

“Programming a traditional robot might take an hour. With Beacon, I’ve done it in four minutes. And if you’re running multiple cobots, you can transfer programs with copy-paste. It’s just faster.”

– Justin Payne, Manufacturing Engineer

Even better? Justin can troubleshoot jobs remotely – straight from his phone. No delays. No downtime.

Big Results in a Small Footprint

Since adding Hirebotics Cobot Welders, IMS has:

• Increased production capacity without adding headcount
• Shifted simpler jobs to the cobots, freeing skilled welders for complex work
• Cut setup times from hours to minutes
• Improved job satisfaction by reducing tedious, repetitive tasks

And when the team needs to move a Cobot Welder? It takes less than half a day – not three days like a traditional robotic cell.

“We can flip parts in 10–20 minutes now. With our older robots, it could take hours just to set up one job.”

Matt Blowers

The Results

Better Performance. Less Hassle.

With Hirebotics, IMS didn’t just automate. They simplified.

They didn’t need more welders. They needed a better way to get the work done. And now, when a new job comes in, the cobots are the first to be assigned.

“Honestly, I can’t believe I ever had doubts. Beacon has completely changed how we approach production.”

– Matt Blowers

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Hirebotics helps fabrication teams do more – faster.

Whether you’re running high mix/low volume jobs or looking to scale output without the hiring headaches, our cobots are ready to work when you are.

Ready to reclaim your production floor?

Let’s talk