John Hendry is a Production Supervisor at Universal Wolf – leaders in complex metal fabrication 

Metal Bending By Working Smarter Together

With over 30 years’ experience at Universal Wolf, I owe my career progression to the business and its investment in people. I currently supervise the metal bending department, but I started out as a welder fabricator and about 15 years ago I made the switch to metal bending.  

Metal Bending By Working Smarter

At Universal Wolf, what really makes us special is the expertise of our people. Our team is made up of people who have well over 20 years’ plus experience in metal bending and through collaboration, we are able to share and benefit from this combined knowledge.  For our customers, it means that when they come to us with a problem, a member of our team has typically not only seen it before, but also resolved it before. 

Being a good metal bender is all about being able to read an engineering drawing and get to the solution with minimal waste or complications. Some of the biggest mistakes around metal bending generally come down to human error. That’s why experience is so important because without it, the risk of human error in metal bending is high.  

Metal Bending By Working Together

At Universal Wolf when a complex job comes in – where every single part is different and we’re changing machines all the time – we have the expertise to execute the job to a high standard.  That’s why many of our customers choose to partner with Universal Wolf because we bring a combination of speed, expertise and technology to the table. We not only have the ability to turn jobs around quickly, but we also have the expertise and tools, so that whatever the job, however bespoke, we can do it.  

Over the years, the company has invested heavily in the latest machinery. The result is that we have a wide range of machinery, from TRUMPF to Edward Pearson, so that no matter how complex the job, we have the right machinery to get it done. 

Another reason we stand out from the rest is our attitude. We believe that good isn’t good enough. We will not let any job leave the site if it doesn’t meet our standards and specifications. Additionally, we also work closely with our quality assurance team to review each job before it even hits the shop floor, so we know exactly what to do and how to do it. That’s why communicating and sharing knowledge is so important at Universal Wolf. 

Metal Bending The Wolf Pack Way

One of our corporate values is working smarter.  For me, this is about collaboration. It’s never just about one person doing the whole project. We draw on a range of resources and experiences to get the job done. Teamwork and our pack mentality are essential because we are in every job together. Anyone who visits Universal Wolf can see this very clearly on the shop floor. Working together also means we are always learning something new – even people who have been doing the job for over thirty years, like me.  

Another one of key corporate values is working better.  At Universal Wolf, we continuously look ahead to the future. When hiring, we look for that special combination of expertise and pack mentality. Being a team player is huge part of what we do. Candidates need to not only have the right skillset, but also the right personality and attitude as well. This ethos applies to every dimension of the business, from our graduate program to experienced new hires. It’s all about finding that blend of experience and energy.  

Here at Universal Wolf, we are not simply an experienced metal business – we are a business that is always developing, always changing, always challenging each other and always, always moving forward. Because as the great Rocky Balboa said, ‘that’s how winning is done.’