Industry Insight
New Tax Law Is Accelerating Equipment Investment in U.S. Manufacturing
Here is what that means for your projects.
If you’ve noticed fabricators and manufacturers talking about equipment upgrades lately, there’s a reason. New federal legislation signed into law this summer is making it significantly more affordable for domestic manufacturers to invest in new technology — and for the design and construction industry, that has a direct impact on what your fabrication partners can deliver.
What Changed
New federal tax legislation signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduced two provisions that stand out for manufacturers and fabricators.
100% bonus depreciation is now permanent — allowing companies to write off the full cost of eligible equipment in the year it’s placed in service, rather than spreading that deduction across years.
The second provision restores full, immediate expensing of domestic research and development costs. For manufacturers and innovation-driven industries, this provides a meaningful cash flow benefit that can be reinvested in process improvements, tooling development, and new fabrication capabilities.
Together, these changes create a real financial incentive for fabricators to upgrade equipment and invest in precision technology in 2025 — which is exactly what forward-looking shops are doing.
Why It Matters to Your Projects
The quality of what gets built is directly tied to the capability of the equipment used to build it. When fabricators invest in more precise, more capable machines, the downstream effects show up in your projects in concrete ways.
Tighter tolerances mean panels and components arrive dimensionally accurate, reducing field adjustments and rework. Faster, more automated cutting and forming means shorter lead times and more predictable delivery schedules. Better equipment enables more complex custom work — intricate patterns, tighter bend radii, cleaner edges — without the cost premium that older, less efficient processes carry.
For architects and designers, that translates to design intent that survives fabrication intact. For general contractors and project managers, it means fewer field surprises and more reliable schedules. For everyone, it means the gap between what was specified and what gets installed gets smaller.
What KorFab Is Doing With It
KorFab has continued to invest in equipment that allows us to deliver precision architectural metalwork at the tolerances and timelines commercial construction demands. Our shop includes:
- 6KW Bodor Fiber Laser — clean, accurate panel cutting across steel, aluminum, and specialty metals
- Adira Press Brake — consistent, precise forming
- Dragon A400 Tube Processing Plasma Cutter — eliminates manual layout error on structural components
- Arc 5-Axis Plasma Table — our most recent addition, and the one most directly enabled by the new tax legislation
The Arc 5-Axis changes what we can offer on a project in a meaningful way. Unlike a standard flat-table plasma cutter, the 5-axis cutting head can tilt and rotate — allowing us to cut beveled edges, angled profiles, and complex geometries directly into plate and sheet material in a single pass.
That capability opens the door to weld-ready bevel cuts that require no secondary grinding, compound angle cuts for complex architectural connections, and custom edge profiles that add visual detail to panels without additional fabrication steps. For design teams pushing the boundaries of what a metal panel or custom component can look like, it expands what is buildable without expanding the budget.
These are not just tools. They are what allow us to hold the details that matter on a project: the edge profiles people see, the finishes people touch, the dimensions that determine whether something installs cleanly or creates a problem in the field.
Legislation like this is designed to make investments like these more accessible for domestic manufacturers, and we believe that is good for the industry overall. When fabricators reinvest in capability, the people who benefit most are the design and construction teams who depend on that capability to execute their work.
The Takeaway for Our Customers
If you are specifying custom metal panels, screens, or architectural components on an upcoming project, now is a strong time to be working with fabricators who are actively investing in their equipment and process quality. The tax environment is actively encouraging it, and the competitive advantage goes to the shops that act on it.
KorFab welcomes early conversations during design development — before the bid process locks in decisions. A 48-hour budget number and a fabrication-informed review of your drawings costs nothing and can protect your design intent through everything that comes after.
Let’s Talk Early
Reach out to Jason Kessler at JasonK@korfab.us or 602-309-2009, or explore our work at korfab.us.