Rebar Machine Service Inc

    By Art Nadler

    It's the skeletal steel substance that gives concrete high-rise commercial buildings and thruway overpasses their strength. Without this tubular hunk of wonder metal, which can range from a half inch to 2 1/4 inches in thickness, the construction industry would come tumbling down.

    At one time, ironworkers had their hands full when attempting to bend or cut rebar. They'd use bolt cutters or cutting torches to obtain the desired lengths. But that all changed with the advent of rebar processing machines.

    Now rebar, which is manufactured several feet long, can be loaded into a machine where desired lengths are programmed into a computer and giant cutting jaws snip off what's needed. The cut rebar is transported, via a conveyor system, and automatically dropped into corrals, where it is tied and tagged into bundles for shipment.

    There are only two companies in the United States that manufactures rebar processing machines and an estimated half dozen total throughout the world. Rebar Machine Service Inc. of Las Vegas is the only company on the West Coast making machines.

    Originally formed by Paul Green in San Diego, Calif., in 1964, he moved his entire operation to Las Vegas in 1991. R.M.S. is currently situated on 2 acres of land in the southeast region of the Las Vegas Valley.A rebar-processing machine is made in 10-foot lengths and includes a cutter and bender. Depending on how many corrals are needed, making it possible to cut several lengths for different orders, the machinery could stretch 134 feet long or bigger and weigh more than 42,000 pounds. The price tag for a system ranges from $150,000 to $200,000.

    "It takes three weeks to make a rebar processing machine," Green says. "It requires 1,200 man hours and another 40 hours in the field setting it up. It resembles a giant Lego set when finished."

    R.M.S. is a family owned and operated business. It consists of Paul, president; his wife Lea, chief executive officer; and sons Tom and Dave, both supervisors. The company also includes 14 families of loyal employees, who Green paid to move to Southern Nevada.

    Green used to be an electrician for the Southern Pacific Railroad before he got into the rebar machine business. Always mechanically inclined, he surmised in the 1960s that the premise behind hydraulics in machinery must follow the same principals as those involving the flow of electricity. In following this theory, he successfully invented the first automated rebar bender controller in 1964.

    The dial-controlled machine revolutionized the way ironworkers did their jobs, making their lives easier and improving productivity. Green grew his company by developing computerized controllers. Today, customers buy systems with computer chips created by R.M.S. that will program rebar processing machines to make whatever cuts and bends are needed. The company also designs its own computer boards to accommodate the electronic chips.

    "The idea is to get the best cut out of the steel without wasting anything," Green explains. "You can have up to eight jobs (orders for rebar lengths) going at the same time, and the machine will cut and place them (in corrals) to be tagged."

    R.M.S. sells and services machines all over the world, Green says. He estimates that most of the rebar used in projects worldwide was cut on machines he made. Many of these machines are 20 years old and still run, he says.

    For information, contact: Rebar Machine Service Inc., 5935 Emerald Ave., Las Vegas, NV. 89122. Phone: (702) 454-8688, or 1-800-798-5595. Fax: (702) 454-6645.