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Material Handling Equipment Fabrication & Manufacturing - Custom Metal Fabrication Project Portfolio

Pen Manufacturing is a material handling equipment manufacturer that designs and builds custom carts, racks, dunnage, and structural frames used to move, store, and protect materials through manufacturing and distribution operations. Our material handling metal fabrication capabilities cover aluminum, carbon steel, and stainless/structural steel, machined and welded in-house to the load capacities and tolerances each application requires — including AS9100D-certified work for aerospace customers.

Case Study: Custom Material Handling Carts for Northrop's F-35 Program

A couple of years ago, Pen Manufacturing designed and fabricated several custom material handling carts for Northrop Grumman to transport F-35 fighter jet components throughout their facility. This project reflects the same material handling equipment fabrication capability — precision welding, custom framing, and load-rated design — that Pen Manufacturing brings to every custom material handling equipment project, aerospace or industrial.

Material Handling - material handling

Material Handling Equipment Fabrication Capabilities

At Pen, our material handling industry experts are capable of custom metal fabricating, welding and machining your material handling metal fabrication project to your specific requirements. The material handling industry requires large scale, durable equipment that can withstand the movement of heavy loads from one place to another. As a material handling equipment manufacturer, we fabricate everything in-house — from raw aluminum, carbon steel, and steel stock through welding, machining, and finishing — so your material handling equipment fabrication project has one point of accountability from design to delivery. Our fabrication capabilities for the material handling industry include:

Precision CNC Machining

High Speed Machining

Aluminum Machining

Stainless Steel Machining

Multi-Axis Machining

Prototype/Short Run Custom Machining

MIG Welding

TIG Welding

Aluminum Welding

Carbon Steel Fabrication

Stainless Steel Welding

Metal Fabrication

Aluminum Fabrication

Stainless Steel Fabrication

Structural Steel

Materials & Capacities

Aluminum Material Handling Equipment Fabrication

Aluminum is a common choice for material handling carts, frames, and racks where reducing overall weight matters — for easier manual maneuvering or lower load on facility flooring — without sacrificing structural rigidity. Pen Manufacturing's aluminum fabrication and aluminum welding teams build aluminum material handling equipment for industrial and aerospace customers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Material handling equipment fabrication is the custom design, welding, machining, and assembly of equipment — carts, racks, dunnage, and structural frames — used to move, store, and protect materials during manufacturing and distribution. It differs from off-the-shelf material handling equipment in that it's built to a customer's specific load, size, and facility requirements.

Aluminum, carbon steel, and steel are the most common materials for fabricated material handling equipment. Aluminum reduces overall weight, carbon steel handles heavier repeated loads, and steel (including structural and stainless grades) is used for large-scale racking and corrosion-resistant applications. Pen Manufacturing fabricates material handling equipment in all three.

Yes. Pen Manufacturing has built custom material handling carts for aerospace customers, including a fleet of carts for Northrop Grumman used to transport F-35 components. See our Aerospace and Defense page for more on our aerospace fabrication work.

Yes, Pen Manufacturing holds AS9100D certification, the quality management standard for aerospace manufacturing, which applies to material handling equipment fabricated for aerospace and defense customers. See our Quality page for details on our certifications.

Custom material handling equipment is used across manufacturing and distribution, including aerospace and defense, industrial, and other heavy-manufacturing sectors. Pen Manufacturing has supplied custom material handling solutions across these industries — see our full Industries Served list.

Fabrication covers cutting, forming, welding, and assembling metal into a finished structure like a cart frame or rack. Machining is precision material removal — CNC or multi-axis — used for individual components that need tight tolerances. Most material handling equipment fabrication projects use both: fabrication for the overall structure, machining for precision-fit parts.