The company was delisted in 2005. Here is some old company background
Full Description
Productivity Technologies Corp., incorporated in 1993, is a manufacturer of automated industrial systems, machinery, equipment and custom electrical control panels. It is also a provider of engineering services. The Company operates its business through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Atlas Technologies, Inc. (Atlas) and Westland Control Systems, Inc. (Westland). Atlas manufactures and supplies quick die change, flexible transfer and stacking/destacking equipment used to automate automotive and other metal stamping operations. Atlas primarily sells its products to automobile and automotive parts manufacturers and appliance manufacturers. Westland designs, manufactures and field installs custom electrical control panels primarily for use in production machinery and machine tools utilized in automotive, adhesive and sealant, food processing and other industrial applications. In March 2004, Atlas formed a German subsidiary, Atlas Technologies, GmbH, in order to facilitate its operations in Europe.
Atlas Technologies, Inc.
Atlas offers a complete range of products within three categories critical to the operation of metal-stamping presses: quick die changing equipment, press-automation equipment, and stacking and destacking equipment. It also sells, on a turnkey basis, fully integrated metal stamping systems comprised of components provided by Atlas and other manufacturers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998, Atlas began producing and selling finger tooling for use with third-party transfer press automation equipment, as well as its own. Atlas offers standard transfer press cells, where Atlas acts as the systems integrator. Atlas operates two manufacturing plants in Fenton, Michigan, and has sales and engineering offices in Michigan, Europe and China.
Quick die change equipment made by Atlas includes automated die carts, die tables and high-rise automated storage-retrieval systems that are used to maneuver stamping press dies and molds weighing up to 100 tons each. The Atlas-developed products allow die swapping to be accomplished in minutes as compared to hours if conventional equipment was used. Atlas storage-retrieval systems permit dies not in use to be stored in multiple-level racks and readily accessible to die carts for die swapping. Atlas' equipment can be configured for use with either manually controlled or fully automated presses.
Transfer press automation equipment is sold by Atlas under the brand names Flex 2000, Flex 3000 and Flex 5000. Transfer presses use, as many as 10 dies within a single press to form the component, including tasks, such as drawing or forming, trimming, piercing and flanging. Unlike tandem press lines, which use multiple presses arranged in a line and require multiple devices to move a component, transfer presses move the component being processed from one die station to another using a single-automation device. Compared to tandem presses, transfer presses generally operate at higher production rates, require less floor space, consume less energy and allow more component processes per press. Atlas offers standard Transfer Press Cells as a systems integrator, comprised of Atlas equipment and presses made by other manufacturers to pursue the transfer press process market segment.
Stacking and destacking automation equipment is used to handle the sheet metal in the initial stages of the stamping process. Stackers stack flat blanks cut from the coiled rolls, which are delivered to the manufacturer. Destacking equipment feeds the flat blanks into the press and includes functions to clean or lubricate the metal blanks (or strips) and to queue them to assure a steady flow. Atlas also produces and sells precision steel pallets for handling the stacks of sheet metal in order to reduce handling damage and to eliminate the need for strapping the stack of sheets together.
Primary competitors of Atlas include ABB Flexible Automation, Automatic Feed Company, Binar, Orchid International, Linear Transfer Systems, Gudel/Rapindex, Wayne Trail, HMS Products Co., Schuler Automation Group, Strothmann GmbH and Aisaku.
