MESH Automation specializes in the integration of advanced technology, including robotics, motion control and vision applications. “We were founded in 1999 as a technology firm, and our basic vision was to be a one-stop-shop for our customers, which are industrial manufacturing firms to help them with their process, product and equipment automation, and development,” explained President Mitch Larson.
~
This engineering services company is a trusted partner with its clients every step of the way, helping them to improve efficiency, productivity, output, and safety. “We design and build automated manufacturing systems and with that are all the subsets of service, support, parts, engineering studies on the front end and commissioning on the back end,” he continued.
MESH Automation professionals perform machine and controls design, machine building, and service for customers who require automation, process equipment, control systems, or advanced manufacturing software in their operations. The company has designed and built automated systems for gas and stud welding, factory automation, fluid carrying, and much more.
The company is located in Dawsonville, Georgia and works out of a purpose-built facility that is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment including a machine shop, electrical panel shop, a fabrication shop, and assembly hall.
“Inside that facility, we have our engineering/design team that consists of mechanical and electrical engineers, and they are designing the equipment; they are writing the software, and also housed in the building is our fabrication and machine shop,” said Larson.
“Once the equipment leaves MESH, it will be shipped to the customer, and that will be followed by the install team of MESH technicians. They’ll install the equipment, and they will commission it, and that’s followed up with a service technician, who will provide training and further plant support.” Customers benefit greatly from only having to write a single purchase order.
From its headquarters, MESH Automation assists customers across North America and around the globe. To date, it has completed more than 750 projects that cover both machine builds and system installations. The company boasts extensive experience in assembly processes, press tending, material removal (buffing, grinding, deburring, machining), machine tool load/unload, robotic palletizing, laminating, bulk loading, process control, and test and inspection.
Clients in multiple industries choose MESH Automation for automation needs. The company has served the aerospace, automotive, consumer products, energy, food and beverage, industrial products, medical devices, packaging, film, pharmaceutical and life sciences, and plastics markets.
MESH Automation can help increase production capacity, improving competitiveness without compromising consistency, quality or safety—an undeniable value for its customers.
“Customers will hire a professional company like ourselves to help them sort out the various solutions—which one would have the better rate of return or any other objective they are trying to meet. Every solution for automating a manufacturing process could have a dozen or more approaches to it,” noted Larson.
“Some cost more than others, and some have different benefits than others, so that’s part of the education process, which is definitely key to our sales and application process, especially when we are approaching customers new to flexible automation, and they are approaching us seeking solutions to their production challenges.”
Director of Sales and Marketing Jim Webb reflected on how the U.S. compares to other countries, “Most industries in North America in particular are underutilizing robotic automation. Japan is a little bit ahead of us. They are more of an adopter of robotic automation. Europe is a little bit ahead of us as well, but for other reasons in their case.”
“They have a tendency to invest in capital equipment so that people can be free to think rather than perform manual labor, and in Japan, they have the tendency to use automation because they have a different social structure and a different feeling about mechanics and mechatronics than we do.
“The funny thing is, we invented the industrial robot in the U.S. in 1958 and had the first patent. A couple of guys, George Duval and Joseph Engelberger, put together a patent and started the robotics industry for us, but we haven’t been the quickest in the world to adopt the technology.”
Over seventy employee work to assist customers with their automation plans. The company’s range of professionals includes designers, electrical engineers, electricians, machinists, electrical panel builders and technicians. MESH Automation provides twenty-four-hour emergency service, though it prefers to take a proactive approach.
“The after-service support is absolutely essential to make an automation project a success,” said Larson. “They need a good service provider, like MESH, that has their own service department, their own shop to build parts on an emergency basis, that has good relationships with their suppliers, so spare parts and maintenance is done in a preventative fashion.”
MESH Automation sells many of its solutions as pre-engineered automation products and systems. Though its customers’ applications often require completely customized systems, MESH Automation can integrate its pre-engineered solutions with customization to deliver exceptional results.
The automation cells offer flexibility in design options using either Fanuc, ABB, or Yaskawa robots with Rockwell, Siemens, or Omron controls. Configurable cells are ideal for use in robotic gas welding, robotic or gantry stud welding, robotic or gantry dispensing, robotic assembly, buffing, grinding or polishing, machine tending, riveting, forming or palletizing.
“By pre-engineering, there is less pressure on the user end to have a particular type of person to run the equipment. We’re trying to make the systems as intuitive as possible, foolproof, error proof with reason and making the operator interface enjoyable and easily understood,” explained Webb.
MESH Automation has a reputation as a trusted automation partner that brings value to its customers. “We’re always on the cutting-edge of technology. We’re using the latest hardware from the robot OEMs, the latest hardware on the control side, so it’s a very interesting place to work,” Larson said of MESH Automation’s dynamic environment.
