SIC 3451 Screw Machine Products

SIC 3451

This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing automatic or hand screw machine products from rod, bar, or tube stock of metal, fiber, plastics, or other material. The products of this industry consist of a wide variety of unassembled parts and are usually manufactured on a job or order basis. Establishments included in this industry may perform assembly of some parts manufactured in the same establishment, but establishments primarily engaged in producing assembled components are classified according to the nature of the components. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing standard bolts, nuts, rivets, screws, and other industrial fasteners on headers, threaders, and nut-forming machines are classified in SIC 3452: Bolts, Nuts, Screws, Rivets, and Washers.

NAICS CODE(S)

332721

Precision Tuned Product Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

According to the Precision Machine Products Association (formerly the National Screw Machine Products Association), during the mid-2000s more than 1,500 companies employed more than 42,000 highly skilled workers throughout North America. These companies utilized traditional methods combined with cutting-edge technologies, such as automatic screw machines, computer-controlled (CNC) single- and multiple-spindle lathes and CNC turning and machining centers, to manufacture billions of component parts to precise specifications. This industry machined components used in a multitude of end products, including anti-lock brakes, transmissions, fuel injection systems, car airbags, computer hard drives, video recording equipment, medical diagnostic equipment, and power tools, to name just a few.

The screw machine products industry is defined more by the process of manufacture than by any specific product. Although screw machine products manufacturers produce a wide variety of products for many types of industries, they all use a variation on the screw machine—a large, usually cam-driven piece of machinery that allows roughly cylindrical material to be subjected to a variety of tooling and machining operations as the material is turned about its axis. Screw machines may have as many as eight spindles that act upon the part being machined, and are able to produce highly precise parts quickly. The screw machine, by ensuring the interchangeability of manufactured parts, was a major contributor to the development of modern manufacturing and assembly processes.

Screw machine products manufacturers are located primarily in the industrialized sectors of the Northeast and Midwest and near aerospace manufacturers in the West. The industry is dominated by smaller companies employing fewer than 50 workers, most of whom are highly skilled machinists. Many of the shops are privately owned, and most are located close to the industries to which they supply parts. In addition, many larger companies that use screw machine products manufacture those products in-house. The automotive industry is the major purchaser of screw machine products and accounts for 30 percent of the industry's shipments, which totaled $8.5 billion in 2003.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

The vast majority of screw machine products...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT