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July 15, 2024
NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Throughout its 50-plus-year history, Jeff Kroening, director of sales for Robinson Inc., said the company’s roots in metal fabrication run deep.
Today, Kroening said Robinson has evolved how it works with metal to meet customers’ changing demands – particularly in the power generation and energy industries.
Nearly 600 employees in two De Pere locations and one Manitowoc location, Kroening said, deliver Robinson’s metal solutions – providing a breadth of services from engineering to complete custom fabrication for various industries.
Among many other things, Kroening said the company specializes in custom enclosures – which only joined its mix of business focuses about 25 years ago.
But these, he said, are no simple steel boxes – they are tasked with supplying the right functionality and protection to the energy and power generation industries.
“Our enclosures are four walls, a ceiling and a floor and are the size of a semi-trailer,” Kroening said. “Inside, we put equipment supplied to us by the industry, such as an engine.”
What is housed on the inside of the enclosure, Kroening said, is typically provided to Robinson, and it’s up to the team to build a custom enclosure to protect it, often through unique and sophisticated enclosure designs.
“Our expertise is in packaging it – whether (the need) is seismic, wind load, rainproofing, fireproofing, waterproofing, etc.,” he said. “An engine may be dropped off to us, and it’s important to the heartbeat of the whole package. We may wire it to control panels, clamp (a generator or engine) to the base of the floor, build an area for fuel tanks underneath or do the electrical integration – whatever it takes.”
Since starting power generator enclosure work in the mid-1990s, Kroening said custom metal fabrication for the power generation industry (as well as the energy industry that came into the mix later), has comprised Robinson’s largest part of business as it has grown.
“It’s been in the past five to 10 years (we’ve seen) the demand driven by data center business, AI, that type of industry,” he said.
Evolving with times, innovation
Growth in the AI industry, Kroening said, has created a huge influx of business.
“We chose to focus on it, improve and grow and become a viable, quality, reliable organization,” he said. “As market demand grew, (clients) pulled us along with them between data centers, electric vehicles and utility grid infrastructure build-outs.”
Work in what Kroening said he calls the “energy corridor” also prompted entry into the battery energy systems (BESS) sector – which captures and stores energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, and releases the stored power when needed most.
Growing energy demands combined with the desire for renewable energy sources, he said, continue to drive demand for BESS.
He said lithium-ion batteries, the most common choice for energy storage solutions, are housed inside the custom metal enclosures Robinson creates to protect them from the elements.
BESS storage units, Kroening said, are critical assets to utilities, developers and end users.
He said Robinson works closely with customers on integrated energy storage systems, from the design phase through product shipment.
The advantage to the customer, he said, is all aspects of BESS development and manufacturing happen with a single supplier – Robinson.
With it, Kroening said customers can simplify and streamline product development, prototyping and launch.
BESS, he said, is also top of mind for microgrids, independent energy systems common in more isolated areas – which often rely on battery energy storage systems to deliver a reliable energy supply.
Various businesses and institutions, Kroening said, also integrate microgrids into their energy portfolio to achieve greater independence from the grid and generate renewable energy credits.
Receptiveness to trying new things, he said, has opened doors for Robinson – especially in the clean energy space.
“There are some new, exciting start-up (companies) we prototype for and support, and that creates a unique place for us as some companies don’t want to cut their teeth on prototype processes,” he said. “Robinson is different. There is an entrepreneurial spirit about us.”
A core-business focus
Kroening said a look at Robinson’s company evolution is a strong indicator of that spirit.
The business started as Robinson Metal & Roofing in 1975 but shed its roofing business in 1995.
In 1998, the company formed two new divisions – custom enclosures and machining.
Kroening said the company renamed itself Robinson Metal in 2000, and to Robinson, Inc. in 2020 to reflect its growing capabilities.
In 2021, the company sold its Robinson Heating & Cooling side of the business to focus on its core business.
Today, Kroening said Robinson’s expertise in fabricating and fully integrating packaging systems has attracted increased attention – especially in the power generation and energy industries – more specifically renewable energy.
“In the last three or four years, we have leaned toward battery energy systems more, and that has changed the conversation as well,” Jim Birkholz, executive director of power gen development, said. “We have aligned with customers in those markets, and as they continue to grow and build out infrastructure, we’re growing with them.”
The company, Birkholz said, has averaged 25% growth year over year for the past three years. The process from cutting metal on the front end to shipping out the final product is about 20 weeks, and Birkholz said the business has a growing backlog as its volumes increase and certain parts – such as electrical components – take longer to receive.
“With the demand in the industry and amount of growth, we’re in discussions with major players for capacity in 2027 and 2028,” he said.
Recognition
Though the work Robinson does isn’t fueled by awards, Birkholz said the recognitions are appreciated.
In June, Robinson received the Rolls-Royce Supplier of the Year Award for the third consecutive year.
The award, Birkholz said, assesses various criteria points, including on-time delivery, customer support and product quality of its 1,200 suppliers.
Robinson, he said, was recognized for its stationary power solutions – used for engines of heavy-duty semis, mining equipment or construction equipment, for example.
“While Rolls-Royce is often recognized for its cars, that’s a relatively small part of its business,” he said. “They give us their engine generators, and we build our package around it. We take great pride in helping further Rolls-Royce’s mission to provide standby power for mission-critical applications.”
Birkholz said he credits employees across the organization with earning the award for the third time – especially as Rolls-Royce continues to elevate its expectations.
“Given the size and volume of units we create, it takes a lot of people front door to back door – from designing and engineering to shipping and receiving accepting the material to the people who go onsite to install the equipment – to make work happen,” he said.
That, Birkholz said, rings true across the work Robinsin does across industries.
He said he credits Robinson’s culture for enabling the company to do what it does, especially during a crunch time.
“People here are willing to jump in and help when needed,” he said. “We have a culture of teamwork and do what is needed to make sure we take care of our customers to the best of our abilities.”
Kroening said that includes employees holding ISO and ASME certifications to deliver on quality and standard factory acceptance testing at the end of the process to make sure everything works as it should.
“We always test a unit before we ship it, as customers trust us to ensure it’s buttoned up and the engine they supply us functions in the field,” he said. “We do the legwork so their product is a great brand in the field – our craftsmanship is exceptional.”
Birkholz said Robinson recognizes its work isn’t adorned with its name own on it, but the customer’s.
As such, he said the company is fastidious about delivering a quality product, complemented by on-time delivery, a fair price and customer service delivered to clients by dedicated teams.
“We don’t make promises we can’t keep, and that’s gone a long way with our customers,” he said. “We have a long track record, and people look to us to deliver a premier package.”
Because Robinson has a spectrum of capabilities, Lynn Jones, marketing manager, said the company can customize to meet customer needs and pivot on specific projects as needed.
“We like to say we have flexible manufacturing,” she said. “If there’s a need for something, we can flex to help meet a need.”
Today, Jones said most of Robinson’s clientele reside within the United States and Canada, with a few located in Brazil and Mexico City.
“Our brand is sought-after,” she said. “The demand is ever-increasing.”
Jones said that includes the internal brand in an industry challenged to attract and retain talent. In 2023, Robinson became an employee stock ownership program (ESOP), which Jones said adds another facet to a family-like environment and long-standing traditions, including:
- Annual fish fry
- Company-wide, sitdown Christmas dinner and party
- Annual golf outing attended by all employees
- Monthly doughnut and popcorn days
- Monthly catered lunches
“One of our best referral sources for new employees is our employees,” Jones said. “Employees are happy here and want friends and family to enjoy working here, too. That speaks volumes.”
