The Peleman brothers have a growing business in TubeCo. Inc., but faced challenges handling the increased workload.
TubeCo. received a $25,000 Industry 4.0 implementation grant from Macomb County Planning and Economic Development (MCPED) to help pay for the cobot. The Warren company produces a variety of metal tubes, primarily for the automotive industry. The cobot feeds tubes into a press and other machinery. It’s multifunctional and helps shift available manpower to handle other responsibilities within the plant.
“The cobot is more efficient,” Vice President Matthew Peleman said. “It’s allowing operators to focus more on quality, rather than the manual aspect of loading parts into a machine.”
With TubeCo.’s business growing 45% in 2023 and expected to double in 2025, the company moved into a 45,000 square-foot facility in December 2023, three times the size of its previous facility. TubeCo. has about 30 employees but would like to increase that number to about 60. Along with helping them secure this grant, MCPED connected TubeCo. with MichiganWorks! and was awarded a $52,000 Going Pro grant to help them train employees.
If your company is interested in pursuing an I4.0 grant or Going Pro grant, contact our economic development team at 586-469-5285 for free, confidential assistance.
