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Saving time and money
If rebar cutting and bending machines were not available, the main option for even medium sized jobs would be ordering prepared rebar from a fabricator. Contractors say this has two problems. "It would be more costly," says Mike Cuttle of The Jasper Company, where they use Multiquip rebar machines. "We would have to wait two to three days depending on the quantity. You can get your numbers in the field better and your quantity with your own machine, so this way you can be sure you have enough rebar." Otherwise, he says he would usually order extra rebar from the fabricator to be sure of having everything needed for the job.

The ability to make custom rebar is valued by Ian Giesler of ICF Builders. "Since most of our projects involve custom work, the EZE Bend system allows us to have near instant custom bent and cut reinforcing by ordering straight lengths of rebar and fabricating it on site on demand," he says. "We can use this system either in a 'fabrication set up mode,' where a person cuts and bends reinforcing as it is called out, as well as use the portability of it to bend tie-in dowels that were set in previously cast-in-place concrete walls into floor slabs. Without these machines, we would have a slower productivity on site and our cost of purchasing prefabricated materials would be higher. Using prefab materials can lead to delays caused by changes in design or improper detailing of reinforcing."

Giesler's company cuts and bends 99 percent of its rebar on site while building insulating concrete form wall systems. Some locations where the company builds do not have easy access to fabricators, making the use of their own cutting and bending equipment even more important.

Even though Sean O'Connor of Badger Swimpools says they have about half of the rebar they use in building swimming pools and waterparks prefabricated, they value their Fascut cutter and bender. "In the waterpark industry, there are so many things that are of irregular shape," he notes. "It allows us to have complete flexibility in the shape of the steel instead of having to rely on pre-engineered shop drawings to cut and bend things to size. A lot of people rely on getting their rebar pre-engineered, which works if their jobs are all standard dimensions. For us, it takes time to get drawings pre-engineered and approved and checked."

Giesler estimates that using on-site rebar equipment saves his company an average of $500 per residential project and more on commercial projects. "One guy can detail all the steel needed for a 5,000 sq. ft. floor of a condo in less than three hours, which includes cutting, bending, bundling, tagging and moving it to the floor where it will be used," he points out.