Service center executives reveal some of their favorite makes of metal processing equipment in this informal top-of-mind brand survey by Metal Center News.

Amada Cutting Technologies Inc., maker of bandsaws and blades, heads MCN’s 2008 Top 20 list of equipment brands favored by service center executives. Amada was ranked No. 5 last year.

Also moving up on this year’s list are: Red Bud Industries Inc., MG Systems & Welding Inc., SMS Demag, Kasto Inc. and Mazak Corp. New to the Top 20 this year is Hubtex, maker of forklifts and sideloaders.

This year’s Top 20 includes seven makers of saws and blades, six makers of coil processing lines, six makers of thermal/laser/plasma cutting systems and one vendor of material-handling equipment.

This top-of-mind brands list was compiled as part of MCN’s annual Outlook Survey conducted in October and November 2007. An informal poll, it does not attempt to rank companies by size or market share, but rather to measure the relative level of brand awareness they have achieved among respondents to the survey.

As part of MCN’s poll, respondents were simply asked to indicate the brands they favor by listing the suppliers they would endorse and buy from in the future. The resulting list of companies, ranked by their number of mentions, gives a rough indication of which ones currently command the largest share of mind among service center executives.

MCN's 2008 Top 20 Equipment Brands

1.    Amada—Amada Cutting Technologies Inc., La Mirada, Calif.: bandsaws, blades, www.amadabandsaw.com.

2.    Herr-Voss Stamco—Herr-Voss Stamco, Callery, Pa.: coil leveling, cut-to-length, slitting, multiblanking, packaging, www.gen-world.com.         

3.    Red Bud Industries—Red Bud Industries, Red Bud, Ill.: cut-to-length, blanking, multiblanking, slitting, stretcher leveling, SCS processing, www.redbudindustries.com.

4.    HE&M Saw—HE&M Saw Inc., Pryor, Okla.: band saws, accessories, www.hemsaw.com.

5.    MG Systems—MG Systems & Welding Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis.: CNC plasma, oxyfuel cutting systems, www.mg-systems-welding.com.

6.    Cincinnati—Cincinnati Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio: lasers, shears, press brakes, stamping presses, www.e-ci.com.

7.    Hyd-Mech—Hyd-Mech Group Ltd., Woodstock, Ontario: band saws, material handling equipment, www.hyd-mech.com.        

8.    Braner/Loopco—Braner USA, Schiller Park, Ill.: leveling, slitting, cut-to-length, blanking, multiblanking, packaging, scrap chopping, traverse winding, www.braner.com.   

9.    DoALL—DoALL Sawing Products, Elk Grove Village, Ill.: bandsaws, blades, cutting fluids, material handling, www.doallsawing.com.           

10.   (tie) Marvel/Spartan—Marvel Manufacturing Co. Inc., Oshkosh, Wis.: bandsaws, plate saws, circular saws, ironworkers, www.sawing.com.        

10.   (tie) SMS Demag/Pro-Eco—SMS Demag, Oakville, Ontario: coil slitting, cut-to-length, leveling, pickling, galvanizing, coating, annealing, strapping, special purpose lines, www.pro-eco.com.

12.   MetlSaw—MetlSaw Systems Inc., Benicia, Calif.: circular saws, plate saws, cutoff saws, cold saws, extrusion saws, remnant saws, combination saws, www.metlsaw.com.

13.   Mazak—Mazak Corp., Florence, Ky.: machining, metal cutting, www.mazakusa.com.

14.   (tie) Kasto Inc.—KASTO, Export, Pa.: metal sawing machines, automated storage and retrieval systems. www.kastoinc.com.

14.   (tie) Hubtex—Hubtex, Fulda, Germany: sideloaders, specialized material-handling equipment, www.designstorage.com.

16.   Bradbury—The Bradbury Co. Inc., Moundridge, Kan.: coil processing, leveling, shearing, punching, rollforming, www.bradburygroup.com.  

17.   Formtek—Formtek Group brands Iowa Precision, Rowe and Dahlstrom received mentions in the survey: coil processing, rollforming, www.formtekgroup.com.

18.   Flow—Flow International Corp., Kent, Wash., waterjet cutting systems, www.flowcorp.com.

19.   Trumpf—Trumpf Inc., Farmington, Conn.: laser cutting, machine tools, www.us.trumpf.com.

20.   ESAB—ESAB Welding & Cutting Equipment, Florence, S.C.: welding, plasma, oxyfuel cutting, www.esabna.com.

Honorable Mentions: Accurshear, Alcos, Avon, B&O, Behringer, Blanchard, Chicago Slitter, Comeq, Cosen, Daito, DBI, Geka, Hypertherm, Kaltenbach, Koike, Mitsubishi, Pacific, Peddinghaus, Piranha, Raymond, Scotchman, Tsune.