U.S. metalworking manufacturers face stiff headwinds in 2025, including fluctuating tariffs and inflation. However, operations that make strategic capital equipment investments in advanced scrap and fluid management systems can enhance profitability through significant savings and offsetting new purchases by effectively recycling metals and fluids.
Early investments enable manufacturers to secure lower prices and immediately reap the benefits of improved efficiency. The Section 179 tax deduction offers further incentives for timely action, and the R&D Tax Credit – IRS Section 41 – can provide additional reductions for qualified expenditures.
PRAB is here to help operations navigate these uncertain times with equipment that helps increase cost savings, maintain compliance, and improve efficiency, including:
Conveyors: The workhorse of the operation that keeps production moving.
Crushers and Shredders: Reduce metal scrap volume and maximize container fill.
Chip Wringer: Designed to increase metal scrap resale value and reduce coolant costs by separating metal from fluid.
Dualpak™ Briquetter: Condensing scrap metal into compact pucks further increases its resale value. This saves storage space and increases the value to metal recyclers!
Guardian™ Coolant Recycling System: Reduces coolant waste and new fluid expenses significantly.
Process Water Filtration & Reuse vs. Industrial Wastewater Processing & Treatment
Both strategies are complementary. A strong metalworking operation typically does both: it recycles internally and then treats any final wastewater before discharge. By investing ahead of time, manufacturers can mitigate rising costs, improve operational stability, and gain a long-term competitive advantage in an uncertain economic climate.
Benefits of Recycling Your Process Water
Recycling process water within a metalworking factory offers major operational, financial, and environmental advantages:
Proactive Industrial Wastewater Management Save Money and Increases Compliance
Neglecting in-house process water and wastewater treatment will inevitably become a costly liability. Disposal fees and discharge rates are climbing sharply due to tighter environmental regulations and rising municipal treatment costs. Robust in-house solutions can significantly reduce these expenses while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
Manufacturers adopting in-house wastewater treatment solutions—such as oil-water separators, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis systems, vacuum evaporators, and automated pH adjustment systems—achieve major operational and financial benefits, including:
The following graphic illustrates how PRAB equipment can be configured to optimize scrap handling, helping your operation achieve significant savings through metal scrap processing, fluid recycling, and reclamation.
The bottom line: PRAB is here to help metalworking manufacturers navigate current economic uncertainties and make informed equipment investments that meet their operational needs.
With more than 70 years of industry experience, we utilize our advanced engineering expertise to help operations succeed with custom equipment designed to improve production and revenue.
Contact a PRAB expert today to find the right equipment to help reduce costs and meet your production goals.
