Manufacturing Estimator

About Us

At Wenthe-Davidson, we’ve been leaders in custom tubular metal fabrication for over 80 years. As a 100% employee-owned company with more than 150 dedicated team members, every person here has a direct stake in our success. This means that our employees don’t just work for Wenthe-Davidson, they own a piece of it. Our commitment to continuous improvement, investment in state-of-the-art equipment, and long-term growth has fueled the recent expansion of our 109,000 sq. ft. facility with a 27,000 sq. ft. addition.

Job Summary

Prepares accurate, competitive, and timely cost estimates for manufactured parts. Reviews customer requirements, drawings, specifications, and production processes to determine material, labor, tooling, subcontracting, and overhead costs. Works closely with sales, engineering, purchasing, production, and quality to develop accurate costs that support customer needs, profitability targets, and operational capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Review requests for quotation, engineering drawings, specifications, bills of material, and customer requirements for completeness and manufacturability.
• Develop detailed cost estimates for materials, labor, machine time, tooling, setup, outside processing, packaging, freight, overhead, and other project requirements.
• Determine appropriate manufacturing methods, production sequences, equipment, staffing assumptions, cycle times, and lot-size considerations.
• Obtain and evaluate supplier quotations for raw materials, components, tooling, and subcontracted services.
• Prepare clear, accurate, and timely assumptions, exceptions, exclusions, and lead times.
• Collaborate with engineering, production, quality, purchasing, and sales to resolve technical questions and assess project risks.
• Identify opportunities for value engineering, process improvement, cost reduction, and improved manufacturability.
• Maintain estimating records, cost models, labor and machine rates, supplier pricing, and quotation history.
• Compare estimated costs with actual production results and update estimating standards based on lessons learned.
• Support customer discussions, bid reviews, change orders, and pricing revisions as needed.
• Manage multiple estimates and priorities while meeting customer and internal deadlines.
• Follow company safety, quality, confidentiality, and documentation requirements