The following is an excerpt from an article published in Fab Shop Magazine written by Chris Holt
After years of walking through fabrication shops across North America, you start to pick up on a shop’s character within moments of arriving. Some are quiet and orderly, others chaotic and tense. But the moment I stepped into W.E. Bowers’ facility, there was a sense of motion and purpose. It was obvious to me why they are a powerhouse in their market. People and materials are in constant movement, a rhythm to the workflow that just felt right. The energy was positive. Focused.
As I made my way toward the welding area, I heard it: the familiar crackling buzz of the Spool Welding Robot (SWR). That unmistakable sound of automation in action, crisp and steady. It might sound strange to anyone on the outside, but to those of us in this world, it’s a beautiful sound, a hum that signifies precision, progress and production.
The SWR was in full swing, torch dancing methodically along a carbon steel pipe. This was no show for a visitor; it was just another shift at one of the busiest, most productive mechanical contractors the team at Novarc works with.
Culture of automation
W.E. Bowers, headquartered in Beltsville, Md., has built a reputation as a top-tier mechanical construction, HVAC and plumbing contractor serving the Washington D.C. metro area. With a legacy that stretches back decades, they’ve grown into a powerhouse with more 1,000 employees and a project portfolio that spans hospitals, commercial buildings, mission-critical facilities and, particularly, data centers, where tight timelines and zero-margin-for-error welding is the norm.
What impressed me the most, though, wasn’t just the size of their operation or the scale of their work. It was how they’ve integrated automation into their culture and used it as a catalyst for evolving their entire workflow.
Before meeting us, W.E. Bowers’ pipe fabrication facility was busy, but they were looking to keep up with all of their projects and ultimately become more efficient. And now, W.E. Bowers isn’t just a customer of ours, they are a consistent performer. They are hitting impressive numbers across every measurable metric: weld inches and arc-on time are two metrics we pay close attention to.
Actively engaged
Let me explain: “Arc-on time” refers to the period when the welding arc is actively engaged, an indicator of true productivity. And “diameter inches” (DI) is an industry standard used to measure welding progress; it accounts for the circumference of pipe welded, giving a consistent metric across varying pipe sizes.
When we looked at the data from their NovSync dashboard (our real-time weld monitoring and analytics platform), even excluding setup time between welds, W.E. Bowers stood out. During a six-month period starting in late 2024 and continuing into 2025, they were averaging around 360 (DI) welded per day and hovering around 8.5 hours of arc-on time per day. But what’s even more impressive is the fact that they improved their numbers and overall efficiency during that six-month period, ultimately achieving well over 400 DI and 9 hours of arc-on time per day.
They do a significant amount of carbon steel work, and the SWR has become a key tool in maintaining high quality and throughput for these materials. In fact, their adoption of the SWR forced a rethink of their entire production flow. Instead of just dropping the robot into their existing setup, they reevaluated the relationships between workstations, especially between the cutting and welding areas. The result is a shop that’s far more cohesive and efficient. The SWR didn’t just improve welds, it improved the entire process.
Read the rest of the article HERE