Bart and Ellie Williams have operated ProFab, Inc. from their current location at 232 Parkers Mill Rd, Somerset, Ky. since 2011. The Pulaski County husband-and-wife entrepreneurs manage their 21-year-old business together. Bart oversees the labor and contracts while Ellie handles the bookkeeping and human resources for the company.
ProFab, Inc. excels in fabrication. Its team of engineers, welders, and machinist experts fabricates many jigs and particular molds for automotive companies across the country. Many of these parts were initially manufactured outside of the United States. ProFab, Inc. and its team of professionals have brought that manufacturing back to the U.S.
Bart started the one-man machine shop in his garage in 2002. Today, Profab, Inc. employs 12 people and specializes in custom metal fabrication, 3D drafting/design, and powder coating.
Their mission is as follows:
To grow our business to a larger variety of manufacturing and offer more jobs in the Somerset/Pulaski county area.
The Williams have agreed to participate in our #Goodjob social media promotion. Below is a question-and-answer interview with Bart detailing the jobs ProFab, Inc. offers and the training required to work there.
SKED: What jobs do you offer at your business?
BART:
-Contract Labor
-Master fabrication with steel, aluminum, and stainless steel (including expert sheet metal work, shear press and hydraulic brake press)
-Master welding
-3D Printing (PLA, PETG, NYLON, CARBON FIBER, POLYCARBONATE PLASTICS)
-3D Design engineering
-laser cutting. 4KW fiber optic laser with a 5’ x 10’ cutting capacity.
-Machining
-Professional powder coating – (largest powder coating oven in Ky)
-Sandblasting
-Dry Ice Blasting
SKED: What makes your business unique?
BART: We have done a lot of fabrication for many car automotive companies that no one else in the United States is doing. We also help many automation companies with their custom robotic frames and weld cell needs.
SKED: What are the education requirements, skill sets and training required to do those jobs? Do you provide on-the-job training?
BART: We require a strong fabrication skill set. Employees need a minimum of two years of fabrication to handle what we take on. We also provide training in our powder coat department along with sandblast training and forklift operation and 3D printing.
SKED: What type of equipment do your employees work with?
BART: Mig, Tig, stick welders; grinders; press brake; metal shear; fiber optic laser, sandblaster; powder coating equipment
SKED: What shifts and hours of operation do you offer?
BART: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
SKED: What incentives does your company offer?
BART: Paid holiday and vacation after the grace period of employment
SKED: What makes your company a good one to work for?
BART: We take major pride in what we do. If you say you work for Profab, Inc., you will hear nothing more than good things regarding our work. Our facility is also like a family. Everyone is easy to work with here. Most of our employees have been here for more than five years or longer. These days you don’t see that much anymore.
SKED: Do you have any job openings, and how to folks apply?
BART: We are currently hiring laborers. We prefer for everyone to come in to fill out an application in person: Monday- Friday 8-4:430. Once the application is completed, we will schedule an interview.
