As David Swanson talks about the new TruLaser 1030 that Projects Incorporated installed on its shop floor, he beams like a proud new papa. After all, it is his baby. When his bosses asked David to oversee day-to-day operations of the new laser cutter, there was no hesitation on his part. "I immediately said ‘Yes.'"

Projects Incorporated, a 120-employee company which spans 45,000 square feet and encompasses two facilities, is located in Glastonbury, Connecticut in the U.S.A. Today, the company that got its start as a supplier of screw machine products is a leading supplier of general machining, thermocouple and pressure probe assemblies for the aircraft, gas turbine and commercial industries. Their customer base is global.

This is the company's 50th anniversary year, and they have plenty of reasons to celebrate - with the installation of the TruLaser 1030 being chief among them.

David Swanson has heard the stories of the day when the machine arrived, several months ago, and his fellow employees gathered around it oohing and aahing.

Indeed. Even after having the laser for five months, a visitor to the shop floor can still sense the almost-palpable excitement over the technology. “It just looks so cool,” David says.

But David, a Federal Aviation Administration certified welder, was nowhere in sight the day of the delivery. Instead, he was at TRUMPF's North American headquarters in Farmington, Connecticut, where the TruLaser 1030 was conceived, created and born, receiving training.

"I had never run a laser before, and I had no previous experience operating one."

But it didn't matter. One of the benefits of the TruLaser 1030 is its ease of operation. "There was zero percent learning curve," says Paul Marchand, vice president of Projects Incorporated.

David concedes that he does have a computer background, which may have helped him become acclimated very quickly to the operation of the laser cutter; however, he said that the software loaded in the TruLaser 1030 makes it easy for anyone, with or without experience, to jump right in to the operator's seat. "My background maybe reduced my training time by a week, but that's all," he says.

And the ease of operation is just what TRUMPF's engineers had in mind when they designed the TruLaser 1030.

The company's cost analysis has shown a quick return on the investment. The TruLaser 1030 has significantly lowered the total cost of laser cutting. Although Projects Incorporated has been using laser technology for the past 10 years, before the TruLaser 1030 they had outsourced all laser cutting to another job shop.

"We're able to serve our customers at a higher level now," says Paul, noting the dramatically reduced lead time required as a result of bringing the process in-house. Turnaround time, he explains, has gone from "three to four weeks, to less than one week."

In addition, "We saw at least a 50 percent reduction in overall costs" when factoring in hourly pay rates, gas rates and electricity consumption."

Even employees who don't work directly with the laser cutter are keenly aware of its efficiency. "Why aren't we using the laser for this project?" is something, according to Paul, his employees are not afraid to ask if they think the TruLaser 1030 would provide the best process for a job.

With gross sales of $26 million, Projects Incorporated hopes to use their new laser cutting machine to generate additional revenue. In fact, they have begun to sell the technology to existing customers with the intention of broadening their product base.

The TruLaser 1030, Paul says, "Exceeds our expectations." So, yes, it's a keeper. The laser cutter is definitely staying on at Projects Incorporated

Meanwhile, over at the machine's control panel, David Swanson, who is probably one of the TruLaser 1030's biggest fans, is programming a job.  He looks up briefly, and with the kind of enthusiasm you hear in a proud parent's voice when they're anticipating a child's next big moment, he says, "I might get to learn to do the maintenance on it."