Manufacturing Today Issue 197 February 2022

Manufacturing www.manufacturing-today.com

BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS

Issue 197 2022

today

Ahead of the times Murata Machinery (Muratec) is passionate about automation - it strives to connect people and processes in a continual push for increased efficiency

The sweet spot: Given all of its advantages, could 3D printing become an alternative to injection moulding for smaller batch runs?

Address the threats: The shift to digital has introduced a host of security issues.

New policies and standards could help address the challenges Set for success: There are a number of key lessons that British business leaders can take from the success of their American counterparts

Chairman - Andrew Schofield

Editor’s Letter

Managing Director - Joe Woolsgrove Editor - Libbie Hammond Assistant Editor - Will Daynes Staff Writers Daniel Baksi • Danielle Champ Jessica Olley Managing Art Editor - Fleur Daniels Art Editor - David Howard Advertising Designer - Paul Gillings Sales Director - Alasdair Gamble Business Development Director Philip Monument Research Managers Michelle Fontaine • Natalie Griffiths Jo-Ann Jeffery • Ben Richell • Basil Sharpe Editorial Researchers Adam Blanch • Victoria Burke • Mark Cowles Jeff Goldenberg • Dan Harrison Melanie Joyce • James Page • Wendy Russell Richard Saunders • Kieran Shukri Advertising Sales Johanna Bailey • Mike Berger Jessica Eglington • James Fuller Alex Hartley • Reid Lingle Theresa McDonald • Sam Surrell Theresa Stark • Gregory Waller Florida General Manager - Ryan Finn Boston General Manager - Joy Francesconi

Hello and welcome to the February issue of Manufacturing Today.

As I’ve been editing the magazine over the years, a topic that we’ve returned to is 3D printing.

I was interested to see Nick Allen’s feature on page 8 assert that 3D printing technologies have now been refined to such an extent that they are truly viable production technologies. Are you looking to introduce this approach to your process? Maybe now is the time!

I am also thrilled to be able to include such a variety of interesting and impressive companies in our pages. From Plessey Semiconductors (see page 28) and its work with Meta, to CarnaudMetalbox Engineering (page 62) and its innovation in the can making sector, it was a privilege to be given an insight into their operations and what makes them tick.

Custom Media Sales - Dan Bess Digital Sales - Mike Psimis Subscriptions - i.kidd@schofieldpublishing.com

Libbie Hammond EDITOR

libbie@schofieldpublishing.com | lhammond@finelight-media.com

Administration Rory Gallacher • Ibby Mundhir Accounts - Rachael Leftley

ON THE COVER

Manufacturing www.manufacturing-today.com

BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS

Follow us at: @MfgTodayMag

Manufacturing Today Magazine

Schofield Publishing Ltd Corporate Head Office Cringleford Business Centre, 10 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, UK Tel: (312) 854-0123 Tel: 044 (0)1603 274130

Our cover story this issue shines

the spotlight on Murata Machinery USA (Muratec) and its passion for automation.

Jeff Kalmbach, General Manager, Machine Tools Division shares details of some of the innovation embraced within its facilities – for the full story turn to page 24.

Issue 197 2022

today

Ahead of the times Murata Machinery (Muratec) is passionate about automation - it strives to connect people and processes in a continual push for increased efficiency

The sweet spot: Given all of its advantages, could 3D printing become an alternative to injection moulding for smaller batch runs?

Address the threats: The shift to digital has introduced a host of security issues.

New policies and standards could help address the challenges Set for success: There are a number of key lessons that British business leaders can take from the success of their American counterparts

www.manufacturing-today.com Finelight Media

2240 West Woolbright Road, Suite 402 Boynton Beach, FL 33426, USA Tel: (561) 778-2396 © 2022 Schofield Publishing Ltd

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and adver tisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effor t is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the proper ty of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Contents INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

22

FEATURES 6

Manufacturing

There are a number of key lessons that British business leaders can take from the success of their American counterparts

8

Equipment

3D printing technologies have been refined to make them truly viable - could they replace injection moulding in some instances?

12 Sustainability

While industrial organizations are optimistic about reaching their climate targets, they are also aware there is a long road ahead to achieving them

14 Manufacturing news Updates and announcements from the manufacturing arena

16 Safety

As production facilities become more complex, operators must manage a rapidly evolving system and consider the shifting landscape of risk

18 Security

The shift to digital has opened the door to a whole new host of security issues for manufacturers to deal with

NEVEON

38

18

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COMPANY PROFILES COVER STORY

24

28

Murata Machinery USA, Inc.

Plessey Semiconductors

44

52

Mettler Toledo Safeline

Cyden Limited www.manufacturing-today.com l 3

...Contents continued 56

William Hackett

62

70

CarnaudMetalbox Engineering

Brewer Science

74

78

Trystar Inc

Moore’s Furniture Group

84

88

Fujirebio Diagnostics

Intek Plastics

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92

Hayley Group

98

102

Nuaire

FloraCraft Corporation

106

110

Holland Pump

Forged Solutions Group

114

118

PEKO Precision

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago www.manufacturing-today.com l 5

Set for success What can the UK manufacturing sector learn from the US? By Saar Yoskovitz

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lobal manufacturers undoubtedly faced a challenging year in 2021, and the pandemic, materials shortages and supply chain disruptions will continue to impact the industry through 2022.

In the UK, manufacturing output is yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels and is currently tracking 2.1 percent below the February 2020 rate. Alongside this, manufacturers have raised concerns that Brexit will continue to hamper businesses and drive-up costs.

The picture in the US is quite different. The manufacturing recovery picked up pace in 2021, with growing demand driving US production to its highest levels in three years.

This manufacturing bounce back is set against an historic infrastructure bill. In November, President Biden signed a $1 trillion package to overhaul elements of domestic production and infrastructure – including a significant push for advanced manufacturing.

The US manufacturing industry is the second largest in the world, and therefore clearly vastly different in scale and economic influence

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to the UK. However, there are still a number of key lessons that British business leaders can take from the success of their American counterparts.

It’s all in the detail

In July, the UK Government pledged £53 million to five new digital manufacturing research centers and projects. The funding was introduced to support the development of innovative technologies and methods for manufacturers to boost productivity, efficiency, and sustainability.

A September announcement followed, with the release of the Government’s National AI Strategy. The AI strategy is set out as a ‘tenyear plan to make Britain a global AI superpower,’ promising investment and support. AI is fast becoming a key differentiator for businesses, and has the capability to transform industries like manufacturing.

The Government has rightly identified manufacturing, AI and advanced computing as some of the key industries for the UK to

Manufacturing in the manufacturing sector have struggled to take off as, according to a 2020 McKinsey survey, almost 74 percent of manufacturers are stuck in pilot purgatory and unable to scale.

The UK Government must act and follow the lead of the US with greater detail on how new pledges, investment, and support will be provided - giving manufacturers the information and confidence to roll out new plans. Biden’s infrastructure bill could act as a template here, as clear goals and full detail are already mapped out ahead of the official introduction of the new House Bill.

Embracing technology

demonstrate R&D and industrial strength globally, and the pledges of investment and support here is good news for the industry. However, without the key details on how manufacturers can access this support, or which types of businesses can be included, the jury remains out on the long-term effectiveness of these plans.

Yet to be determined is whether legacy businesses across these sectors will be able to benefit from the increased investment – not just newer start-ups.

To help the UK compete on a global scale, especially in a post-Brexit world, the government needs to work with the manufacturers that already have significant experience and customer trust. By supporting these companies with projects that champion technology and collaboration, like accelerating the adoption of Industry 4.0 and AI in manufacturing settings, the overall sector will benefit from increased innovation to deliver new solutions at scale.

Without clear guidance and access to this support, businesses will struggle to scale their digital projects effectively. Industry 4.0 use cases

With the advent of industry 4.0 in the manufacturing sector, businesses are embracing digital technologies to bring greater efficiencies and elements of automation to their processes.

The adoption of modern technologies by US manufacturers has been strong, aided by several government initiatives such as the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. A recent survey of US manufacturing executives revealed that 50 percent expect an increased operation efficiency in 2022 from automation investments, and expenditure on AI technologies is expected to see a compound annual growth rate above 20 percent leading to 2025.

Given this, it’s encouraging to see that technology investment is high on the agenda for UK manufacturers this year, with cloud, IoT and predictive analytics ranking as the top three investment priorities amongst industry leaders. UK manufacturers must proceed with digitization or risk falling behind.

Enabling digitization with IoT capabilities, for example, can provide a number of benefits to manufacturers, including real-time data analytics and operational insights. One key use case of IoT for manufacturers is condition-based monitoring and predictive maintenance. By connecting Industrial IoT sensors to their machines, manufacturers can monitor the mechanical state of each machine and avoid one of the costliest pitfalls of manufacturing – machine failure and unplanned downtime.

According to Aberdeen Research Group, the average cost of one hour of downtime across the manufacturing industry amounts to about $260,000. This can be easily avoided by pivoting from reactive maintenance, where emergency repairs are made in response to failures, to proactive (or predictive) maintenance, where maintenance schedules are driven by the real-time condition of machines.

Manufacturers that had already introduced digital elements into their business managed to navigate the impact of the pandemic with greater resilience. As we continue into 2022, embracing digitization can set businesses up for success while long-term uncertainty remains. v For a list of sources used in this piece, contact the editor.

Saar Yoskovitz Saar Yoskovitz is CEO at Augury. Augury is building a world where people can always rely on the machines that matter. Augury supports its customers by enabling Digital Transformation through superior insights into the health and performance of the machines they use to make products, deliver services and improve lives. www.augury.com

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The

sweet spot Is 3D printing an alternative to injection moulding asks Nick Allen

3

D printing is unique as a disruptive technology in one key respect, and that is, having disrupted the manufacturing paradigm through the introduction of rapid prototyping some 25-30 years ago, it is now disrupting manufacturing again.

This is based around the fact that today, 3D printing technologies have been refined to such an extent that they are truly viable production technologies. Now the conversation among manufacturers is around the most judicious use of 3D printing for production, what its

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advantages are, where the sweet spot is in terms of preferable volumes, what are the opportunities that exist through it use, and what are the barriers to entry?

Make or buy

There will be few manufacturing enterprises that will have either not used or only flirted with the adoption of 3D printing at some level in 2021, be it as a complementary technology to existing legacy

Equipment

manufacturing processes, or indeed as an alternative. Many OEMs will be using desktop 3D printers for rapid prototyping, purely to get an early reasonably accurate 3D model of their product designs, but these printers are not designed for more exacting production applications, where repeatability and accuracy / tolerance attainment are vital.

The 3D printing machines that achieve production level repeatability and accuracy are typically costly beasts. Because of this, many potential users are put off by the large capital outlay required, and therefore

approach 3D printing subcontract specialists, which not only have the levels of necessary high quality 3D printing machines in-house, but also have the experience to get the most out of them. The idea that 3D printing is a plug and play technology is a myth, and while entrylevel desktop model printers only require a modicum of knowledge to operate, for production applications, to get the necessary build parameters, and to optimize quality, costs per part, and timeliness of build requires a heap of experience, which subcontract agencies have in spades.

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Injection moulding – pros & cons

When it comes to the production of plastic parts, 3D printing is working in a space where the conventional processing technology is injection moulding.

Injection moulding is still the go-to technology for high volume plastic part production, but it is characterized by significant upfront capital investment in tooling, which is also time-consuming, and difficult and expensive to adapt. The technology can use several molds at the same time, which means that it is ideally suited to the mass manufacturer of parts and components cost effectively, its cost effectiveness also promoted by the fact that there is minimal wastage as material is precisely dosed to match specific mould requirements.

In addition, while there is an increasing number of material options that can be used with 3D printing, it still cannot match the choice of materials that are compatible with injection moulding.

A significant drawback, however, is the fact that there are design limitations inherent in injection moulding, with some geometries being difficult to remove from the mold, and precise and delicate designs being difficult and expensive to mold accurately. Also, it is difficult, costly, and sometimes impossible to correct tooling mistakes or

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change tooling to optimize or iterate new designs. Often new tools are required, with all this implies in terms of cost and time, tools often taking weeks if not months to fabricate.

3D printing for plastic part production

3D printing exhibits a number of advantages when compared to legacy processes such as injection moulding.

The most important of these is the added flexibility 3D printing allows in design. Most obviously, 3D printing can make components either impossible or expensive and difficult to achieve using injection moulding, such as components that are hollow in certain areas. This is possible, as in 3D printing material is added in layers, and material density of the core can be altered. So, not only can some areas be hollow, but other critical areas can be reinforced. This means that 3D printing is a key facilitator when it comes to light-weighting but with increased strength. With 3D printing, ideal material conditions throughout a part are dictated by design not by the vagaries of various production and post-production processes used.

3D printing also promotes what can be called the consolidation of complexity. This is done as the technology can combine parts

Equipment manufacture of parts where the design will frequently evolve or where customization is required, as design changes can be accommodated even in production.

These respective sweet spots are quite discrete and play to the fact that forward-thinking manufacturers could in fact be looking at 3D printing and injection moulding as complementary processes rather than competitive processes. When used constructively together, for example, pre-production cycles can be dramatically shortened before large volume production is undertaken.

Conclusion and features in one build that would otherwise have to be postprocessed or assembled using conventional injection moulding and allied technologies, again driven by the design flexibility that 3D printing offers. Parts can be produced using 3D printing that are more ergonomic and which incorporate multiple parts and features which would be impossible or prohibitively expensive to achieve via the fabrication of highly complex tooling required for injection moulding.

3D printing requires no tooling and is agile, which facilitates quick production turnaround. With 3D printing, part cost is not connected with part complexity. As soon as complexity is introduced to an injection moulded part, the requirement is for more and more expensive mould tools, which leads to an exponential increase in costs until part production is no longer viable. As 3D printing adds material, complexity of design and different incorporated shapes do not affect the amount of time that it takes to produce a part, and therefore does not lead to increased costs.

Beyond non-costly part complexity, using 3D printing for production also facilitates nearly unlimited geometric freedom, exhibits very low to zero iteration costs, and has low downtime in the production cycle.

Conversely, injection moulding makes design iterations costly, and beyond the high cost of upfront tooling which as mentioned increases with increased part complexity, means that production is restricted to the location of the production tooling. 3D printing technologies manufacture direct from 3D CAD files, so the location of manufacture is much more flexible.

Also, as 3D printing is a digital process, it can be stopped post-part build or post-run and started again without punitive cost, meaning that production volumes can be exactly aligned with demand dayto- day, week-to-week, month-to-month. With injection moulding, once the production process is initiated, it needs to fulfill the full run immediately to remain economic, which therefore necessitates the need for warehousing which itself increases the cost per part.

3D printing is a highly reliable, cost-effective, and relatively easy-touse production technology for short- to medium-volume applications and can rival injection moulding.

The best fit

Injection moulding finds its sweet spot in large batch production where the requirement is for the manufacture of many thousands of identical products simultaneously. It is also best suited to robust designs based on one continuous form, and the process can produce products with superior smooth surface finish without the need for post-processing (which is typically needed with 3D printing parts).

3D printing finds its sweet spot in the area of prototyping, and smallto medium-sized production runs of geometrically complex parts and components with gaps, holes, or voids. It is also the best fit for the

It seems likely that moving forward, runs of perhaps 10,000 and below will soon be the domain of 3D printing, which for such volumes will render injection moulding if not redundant, increasingly irrelevant when looked at through the prism of cost and time of production. However, injection moulding will never be replaced, as it will typically be the technology of choice for higher volume runs.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of the use of 3D printing, however, is that although per part it is slow compared with injection moulding, its advantages in terms of design freedom, creation of geometric complexity, and part consolidation all stimulate innovation. These factors alone may be a spur to using 3D printing for multiple smaller batch runs rather than bowing purely to the economics of using injection moulding for high volume manufacture. v

Nick Allen Nick Allen is MD at 3DPRINTUK, a specialist in low volume production using state-of-the-art powder bed fusion (PBF) 3D printing systems with polymer materials. The company bridges the void that exists between prototyping and injection moulding, such that if tooling costs are prohibitively expensive for an application that does not require the volume demanded by injection moulding, 3DPRINTUK can provide a high quality, cost-effective and fast solution.

3DPRINTUK has mastered the process of 3D printing with polymer powders, with no need for support material, virtually no layer lines and short turnaround times. The company is an ideal partner for producing one-off prototypes through to production runs of tens of thousands of parts - on demand. www.3dprint-uk.co.uk

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From climate ambition to action How industrial organizations are ramping up to reach net zero. By Mark Yeeles

M

anufacturing and supply chains have played a key role during the pandemic and will continue being the foundation of the modern economy. However, the need to adjust operations quickly over the past 18 months has highlighted glaring vulnerabilities. FMCG manufacturers and Life Sciences suppliers have struggled to ramp up production to meet rapidly changing demand while dealing with supply chain gridlock.

At the same time, factory downtime for operational improvements has been hard to justify, making aggressive targets to increase energy efficiency and achieve net zero while maintaining production seem even further away.

Yet, on the surface, many large industrial companies seem fairly upbeat about their ability to decarbonize. Around 64 percent of large industrial companies in the UK and Ireland say that reducing their carbon footprint is a top three top priority for this year. A further 68.2 percent are 80 percent+ certain that their carbon reduction goals will be achieved.

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So, is this optimism farfetched or can industrial organizations turn their climate ambitions into reality?

Breaking down barriers

It’s true that industrial organizations are optimistic about reaching their climate targets, but they are also aware there is a long road ahead to achieving them. This comes as four in ten (44 percent) have set a goal to become carbon neutral before 2030, yet only six in ten (61 percent) believe they are on track to meet carbon reduction targets and, a huge 72 percent said they need to act more quickly to reduce their footprint.

Making net zero a reality is imperative for businesses, which is why it’s important to put the groundwork in place. However, only a third (33 percent) have mapped their entire carbon footprint and one in six (17 percent) businesses are yet to map their carbon emissions at all.

It’s time to focus on sustainability and climate change objectives and be able to measure progress against those goals, to ensure the business becomes carbon neutral in time.

Sustainability

same breath. Energy is more than a commodity or a utility. It’s a vital ingredient for achieving net zero. Our climate action needs a smarter approach, tackling how to make industrial operations faster, better, and at the same time, save energy.

Technology will be a key enabler for a sustainable business, and nine in ten (88 percent) agree digitizing the business can increase efficiency to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions that they produce. For the UK and Irish industry to thrive, organizations must embrace new, ultra-high-performance motion and robotic controllers and IIoT technologies including Augmented Reality (AR), as well as the software needed to manage industrial operations efficiency. Only then will businesses be able to realize the longterm benefits Industry 4.0 can bring to business.

Bridging the gap to net zero

While businesses have the appetite and enthusiasm, many may not even know what assets they have or what to measure. Tellingly, 62 percent of the large industrial companies surveyed don’t consider Scope 3 emissions – created up and down their supply chain and outside of their direct control – to be the single most significant cause of their greenhouse gas emissions. Only seven percent believe that their supply chain is one of the biggest contributors to the total carbon emissions from their business. In reality, supply chain emissions are likely to account for 70 percent of an organisation’s carbon footprint (according to Deloitte).

Building the factory of the future

Furthermore, a key challenge for large industrial companies is their ageing infrastructure. Factory infrastructure is increasingly complex and like in many organizations, responsibility for sustainability is unclear or siloed in a specific department. When we talk about smart factories, we’re talking about operational effectiveness and sustainability in the

The industrial world has been hard hit by one of the most challenging years to date. From supply chains, right down to the factory floor, the industry has had to adapt to stay on top and meet customer needs and government regulations while keeping costs under control.

However, this year has also proven just how agile and fast-paced industry could be.

As the industry looks to rebuild and grow after the pandemic, there is an opportunity for the industrial world to change its outlook and focus on a sustainable, resilient, and people-centric green recovery.

Safeguarding the environment through new policies and solutions and investing in technology will be key to ensuring we remain on track to achieving ambitious net zero goals.

Sustainability has now penetrated every industry, and every C-suite in every business. The accelerated adoption of digital technologies will ensure industry can spearhead a green recovery, business profitability and productivity in the future. v

Mark Yeeles Mark Yeeles is VP Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric UK & Ireland. Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of its energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. It calls this ‘Life Is On’.

The business’ mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. It drives digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, endpoint to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. www.se.com/uk/en/

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NEWS IN BRIEF Maximizing returns In a bid to assist its customers to automatically identify repetitive tasks that can be automated or streamlined to maximize efficiency and increase business return on investment, task mining company UlimateSuite has added Robotic Process mining to its platform to enhance Task Discovery.

“While there is massive interest across the industry in Robotic Process Automation and the organizational efficiency and employee benefits it brings, the reality is that many customers are struggling to achieve effective returns on investment,” said Robert Samanek, CEO and Founder at UltimateSuite. “The challenges lie in understanding the activities and whether they can be automated, particularly across large numbers of employees in an organization. Our Robotic Process Mining Product for Task Discovery provides the solution, automatically identifying tasks at scale to help target those best suited to streamlining and therefore maximizing ROI.”

Hitting the mark Tescys Inc. (Tecsys), has revealed that kitchen and bath cabinet manufacturer, America Woodmark Corporation, has commenced with a national supply chain transformation initiative to drive operational efficiency across its major warehousing and distribution facilities by leveraging Tecsys’ warehouse management software, Elite™ WMS. The Tecsys solution will be progressively deployed across all American Woodmark Corporation’s distribution facilities, optimizing intra-network logistics and streamlining warehouse and delivery management. This project improves business intelligence for benchmarking industry KPIs, breaks down warehousing and distribution silos, and provides endto-end asset and inventory visibility. The rollout will afford American Woodmark Corporation the functionality to be effective stewards of supply chain resources in the context of market and global volatility.

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Powering the future An impressive, multi-year agreement has been signed by machine learning pioneers Secondmind and Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) for the latter to license Secondmind Active Learning for Powertrain. The goal for the two businesses is to increase engine calibration efficiency, and help manage the increasing complexity of powertrain design and development.

Mazda is initially using Secondmind to calibrate ECUs that control the company’s next-generation SKYACTIV engine technology, and expects Secondmind advanced machine learning to more than double the efficiency of its conventional engine calibration process.

Commenting on the agreement, Gary Brotman, CEO of Secondmind, said: “Mazda is a leader in model-based design and a pioneer in the adoption and successful implementation of advanced machine learning. We’re excited that Mazda has chosen us as a partner to help take its innovations in powertrain design and development to the next level.”

Secondmind and Mazda are also extending a two-year research and development collaboration to focus on advanced hybrid and electric powertrain control systems, and strategic CASE applications.

Eiji Nakai, Executive Officer in charge of Powertrain Development and Integrated Control System Development from Mazda, added: “Secondmind unique active learning technology will enable us to automate the engine calibration process, and we expect to more than double efficiency in this area. We will utilize Secondmind machine learning technologies to help us evolve and develop more efficiently. We are convinced that Secondmind technology will effectively solve the most complex optimization problems faced by many companies.”

Capital gains Global aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus has officially selected Capital™ electrical/electronic (E/E) systems development software from Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio to accelerate the development of commercial aircraft.

In coming to its decision, Airbus revealed that the Capital platform’s comprehensive digital thread and openness were key elements that drove its selection, as this facilitates integration within the broader engineering enterprise. It is also felt that Siemens’ strong support, along with its technical workshops, will help to accelerate new process design and adoption.

“Capital enables customers to establish digital continuity within the electrical domain to compress development cycle time and deliver significant cost reductions,” stated Martin O’Brien, senior vice president of Siemens Integrated Electrical Systems business group. “This is a game-changer in an industry looking to recover quickly from unprecedented challenges. By realizing the benefits of a model-based development process, Capital helps world-class companies like Airbus reduce complexity, lower risk and boost overall productivity.”

Capital delivers a configuration-controlled E/E system digital twin, supported by a comprehensive digital thread throughout the E/E system development, manufacturing and operational life cycle.

Additionally, the open IT architecture and multi-domain integrations within Capital will enable straightforward deployment into Airbus’ Lean PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) environment and provides the backbone for E/E systems design and electrical harness manufacturing engineering across its multi-country development team.

Manufacturing News Going with the flow Designed to connect the factory frontline, the next-generation SaaS digital work-instruction platform for web browsers – WorkfloPlus-Web – has been unveiled by digital workflow provider Intoware. This new iteration enables manufacturers to quickly and easily transform paper-based procedures into smart digital workflows that are now accessible via a web browser, while opening up the platform to operating systems such as Microsoft Windows for seamless integrated working.

“Our developers have listened to customer feedback and found new ways for workers to create, access schedules and manage maintenance tasks using WorkfloPlus,” said Lee McDonald, Chief Technology Officer, Intoware. “While already available on Android and iOS, WorkfloPlus-Web gives accessibility via your web browser, so workers will be able to do everything they can do on their mobile or wearable device, now via their desktop or device browser.

“WorkfloPlus is built with Open API’s that connect the platform with third-party systems such as ERP, PLM, CRM and asset management. As it’s unlikely that WorkfloPlus will be the only digital ‘tool’ within your business, as work being carried out may require information held in existing systems, which means they need to connect so data can flow easily. WorkfloPlus-Web simplifies this process integration further still.”

With WorkfloPlus, procedures such as asset inspections can be carried out as a workflow. Then, when completed the data is formatted to satisfy a required system such as IBM Maximo and SAP, which in turns allows for documents to be easily extracted and converted to complete tasks.

On cloud nine

Global chemical company, Scott Bader, has announced its selection of Infor’s Infor CloudSuite Chemicals – including Infor Operation Services (OS) – solution to replace an existing Infor M3 ERP solution. Delivered by Infor Consulting Services via a multi-tenant cloud deployment, the initial six-year agreement between the two parties will allow Scott Bader to standardize and harmonize a variety of core business functions for approximately 380 users throughout North America, Canada, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Australia, and South Africa.

Scott Bader chose Infor due to its commitment to cloud, the chemical industry vertical, and the planning and production scheduling functionality of Infor CloudSuite Chemicals. As there are plans for third-party software integrations in the future, the superior integration capabilities of the Infor OS cloud operating platform were also a key factor in its decision.

“Chemicals leaders such as Scott Bader recognize the benefits of our industryspecific functionality in combination with the improvements that deployment in the cloud brings,” said Anwen Robinson, Infor general manager and senior vice-president for UK and Ireland. “This transition to Infor CloudSuite Chemicals is the latest stage in our relationship that will help deliver better planning, scheduling and processes to keep Scott Bader at the forefront of a demanding global market.”

The initial phase of the deployment is set to be completed during 2022. “Seven strategic goals drive Scott Bader,” said Mike Findlay-Wilson, Group CIO at Scott Bader. “These include striving for excellence, developing excellent partnerships with customers and suppliers, protecting our environment and going beyond the demands of compliance. To achieve these goals, our business demands the best processes and an ability to stay continually up to date with the supporting technologies. Therefore, we have chosen to move to the cloud with Infor.”

Expanding at pace DuPont Interconnect Solutions – a global innovation leader within DuPont’s Electronics & Industrial segment – is celebrating the completion of a significant expansion project at its Circleville, Ohio, manufacturing site.

The $250 million investment expands production of Kapton® polyimide film and Pyralux® flexible circuit materials, ensuring a committed supply to meet the growing global demand in the automotive, consumer electronics, telecom, specialized industrial and defense segments.

The new manufacturing line at Circleville uses DuPont proprietary processing capabilities to produce advanced Kapton® polyimide films, which have set industry standards for more than 50 years, offering high performance, reliability and durability. Kapton® polyimide films provide a unique combination of electrical, thermal, chemical and mechanical properties that withstand extreme temperature, vibration and other demanding environments. The Kapton® polyimide film is also at the heart of DuPont’s Pyralux® line of flexible copper-clad laminates that are available in a wide variety of copper types, thicknesses and construction options, all of which offer excellent thermal, chemical, electrical and mechanical properties.

With the expansion completed, DuPont has started qualifying products for customer adoptions. “This is a really important milestone for DuPont and the Electronics & Industrial business,” said Avi Avula, vice president and general manager, DuPont Interconnect Solutions. “With this expansion, we can elevate our service levels to our customers to help them grow. This new plant is an indication of our renewed commitment to our customers’ growth agenda, and enables us to meet their aggressive demand for new products with higher reliability and supply assurance.”

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A matter of risk Paul Taylor takes a look at a dynamic approach to safety in smart manufacturing

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Safety

W

hile Industry 4.0 (I4.0) introduces new opportunities for increased productivity and radical innovation, the implementation of new technologies must also maintain the overall trustworthiness of production lines.

While I4.0 sees reduced risk in several areas, the range and flexibility of connected interfaces introduce a new set of risk issues. As production facilities become more complex, operators must manage a rapidly evolving system that incorporates multiple interdependencies, while minimizing downtime. It is therefore vital to consider the shifting landscape of risk, which is why I4.0 requires a new risk management approach that is customized to each individual actual use case.

As the increased flexibility created by I4.0 systems introduces new complexities and challenges, there is a shift from static risk assessment to one of dynamic risk. Analyzing and assessing the underlying physical and cyber risks to humans, property, and the environment is therefore a challenging task. Tackling safety issues by using a conventional static risk assessment approach would require time-consuming reiterations for every changing condition, which could potentially result in operational downtime.

Machinery safety standards define a set of general physical hazards that are used during type certification. However, current standards, such as ISO 12100 - Safety of machinery - General principles for design - Risk assessment and risk reduction, have not been designed around the concept of machine connectivity and interoperability. While hazards depend on the intended use and other limits of the machine in the physical world, conventional safety concepts do not consider the sources and effects of cyber threats that could create new hazards.

Another limit related to hazards is that safety measures are designed to protect only human health using a ‘worst-case’ approach.

Given the connective complexity of interacting assets, applying worst-case assumptions can have an extremely negative impact on productivity and efficiency - preventing manufacturers from reaping the benefits.

In practice, when a machine operates in an application-specific context, its limits and applicable hazardous situations may differ significantly from those considered under worst-case and stand-alone scenarios. Additional hazardous situations may also arise from machineto-machine interaction. They can be related to human health, property and environment, as well as to undesired operational downtime or bottlenecks.

To give an example, an automated guided vehicle (AGV) navigating towards a machine in an operating area with a human presence represents a ‘collision risk’. This risk may be mitigated by using three safety measures incorporated in AGV design (according to ISO 36914 - Industrial trucks - Safety requirements and verification - Part 4: Driverless industrial trucks and their systems): 1. Personnel detection system 2. Speed control system 3. Braking system control In current practice, speed limitations due to a human presence are therefore applied even if there are no humans in the actual AGV operating area.

Likewise, in a confined area, with no human presence allowed, an AGV making its final approach to a machine for docking may pose a

collision risk between two industrial assets. This unsafe docking event risk may be mitigated by using two safety measures incorporated in AGV design: 1. Speed control system 2. Parking braking system control Although there is no risk for humans in a confined area, the measures are necessary to protect industrial assets from expensive damage.

The use of a context-sensitive safety approach could achieve the goal of property protection combined with higher system efficiency.

These scenarios demonstrate the need for adaptive production systems capable of monitoring and recognizing hazardous situations during runtime, to ensure that residual risks are handled within current practices. To meet the new needs of I4.0, a new eventtriggered, dynamic risk assessment and automated validation of safety measures approach is therefore required. This would assist system designers and operators to navigate complex risk landscapes, in both virtual simulations and real-world applications.

This requires a continuous and holistic risk assessment to ensure stable operations, increased productivity and reduce downtime in a smart manufacturing environment, which necessitates a digital representation of the physical manufacturing system, using digital twins and asset administration shells.

When faced with the challenge of navigating a complex new risk landscape, effective safety and security are key challenges as this can build trust with asset owners and operators. However, it is becoming increasingly impossible to apply existing risk assessment criteria to a dynamic I4.0 operating environment that is characterized by multiple interactions and data flows.

In today’s I4.0 domain, digital twins operate in parallel to the realworld factory, where thousands of sensors constantly collect and process data, either locally or on a larger scale. It is therefore vital that the digital twins have customized safety and security profiles.

A safety profile should be modelled to describe asset safety from a general and an application-specific perspective. These profiles should then be processed by an inference engine against actual application constraints to define limits and risk-mitigation capabilities in a realworld application, thereby providing automated risk evaluations at runtime. v

Paul Taylor Paul Taylor is Business Development Director for Industrial Services at TÜV SÜD, one of the world’s leading experts in product testing and certification, with 150,000 product certificates in circulation globally. Its Product Service division analyses over 20,000 products each year in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, using its technical expertise to help customers optimize market access.

TÜV SÜD’s Machinery Safety Division is the UK market leader in machinery safety, providing a range of services on a world-wide basis, and TÜV SÜD BABT is the world’s leading radio and telecommunications certification body with EU based Notified Bodies and UK Conformity Assessment Body status. www.tuvsud.com/uk

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Address the threats Digital manufacturing – the importance of security standards. By Altaz Valani

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here is an increasing number of manufacturing companies choosing to go digital in an effort to not only improve their operational efficiency, but to also offer new products and services to their customers. However, whilst the shift to digital has been the right choice for many manufacturers, it has also opened the door to a whole new host of security issues. Many security threats such as ransomware attacks have been on the rise in many different sectors, however it’s the manufacturing industry that has experienced the biggest spike in cases with a 156 percent increase quarter on quarter since 2019. This of course will likely raise concerns for manufacturers who are targeting greater market shares.

It also does not help that given the strong appetite for digital manufacturing solutions, solutions providers are accelerating the release of these applications to achieve better time to market and gain greater market share. However, this comes at the risk of leaving their digital solutions wide open to a variety of cybersecurity threats. Manufacturers

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and solutions providers need to consider the available solutions to ensure greater levels of security for these systems. A big part of the answer to this lies with security standards and policies.

Industrial Control Systems and rising cyberattacks

Manufacturers rely on digital tools such as control systems for production management, processes automation, and reporting.

Industrial Control Systems or ICS are used at manufacturing plants to help monitor complex manufacturing processes that support critical infrastructure, such as power and transportation for instance. It is easy to see why manufacturers are looking to benefit from this convergence between operational and information technology.

Any security vulnerabilities with these digital tools could compromise the integrity and availability of data, and as a result have a serious impact on their business. What’s more, any downtime in factory operations can result

Security

Greater security protection: standards and policies

in a loss of productivity, and by extension revenue.The advancement of technology and the increased digital connectivity has a large part to play in broadening the attack vector for cyberthreats.This is because an increasing number of ICSs are being connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the cloud where a considerable amount of data exchange is taking place.

The more sophisticated cybercriminals are also looking to take advantage of the new opportunities that IoT brings as sensitive data is being shared through IoT at a much higher volume. As a result, the risks of data being compromised is exponentially higher in ICS’ that leverage the power of IoT technology.

As such, creators of these digital tools need to take an approach that is both fast and safe when it comes to developing these solutions that manufacturing companies rely on. In addition to this, they also need to carefully examine the security implications of these tools via a multipronged approach to cybersecurity that includes adhering to set security standards and policies.

In addition to having a robust cybersecurity infrastructure, manufacturers also need to adhere to certain security standards and policies specific to the safe and secure use of Industrial Control Systems.

One of the said security standards is the ISA/IEC 62443, which is a series of standards designed to regulate and ensure the security of ICS by identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities. The standards are combined with existing enterprise security to ensure adherence to the necessary requirements needed for business IT systems along with unique regulatory security requirements. The ISA 62443 series clearly defines the complete security requirements needed throughout the software development lifecycle for ICS solutions, ensuring that product security is considered at every stage in the application development.

Another security standard framework for ICS is the NIST SP 800-82, which provides guidance for manufacturers on how to best secure their digital control systems whilst also addressing specific reliability, safety and security requirements. This security standard can be used to identify and outline typical threat vulnerabilities as well as recommending the most effective security safeguards and countermeasures required to neutralize threats.

In addition to security standards, manufacturers also need to consider policies and procedures related to the software development lifecycle that go beyond the development and deployment of systems and applications. The need for a security policy is paramount as it enables you to define the roles, implementation, and enforcement of the system’s security program. A lack of security policy can often introduce security vulnerabilities in ICS’. Both the ISA/IEC 62443 and NIST SP 800–82 cover the topic of policies and procedures in-depth.

Security standards are vital for the development of highly efficient manufacturing ICS’ and the type of standard framework to adopt will mainly depend on the industry itself and its requirements. Digital manufacturing solutions require robust security protection, especially as system connectivity is a key feature in many solutions, which will continue to be susceptible to new threats.

Since connected systems are always prone to new threats, a multifaceted approach is required to address the varying threats. Following a security framework can help guide organizations into such a holistic approach. Regardless of which security standard is being used, each framework provides a wealth of information about protecting industrial control systems. v For sources used in this piece, contact the editor.

Altaz Valani Altaz Valani is Research Director at Security Compass (SC), a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions. SC enables organizations to shift left and build secure applications by design, integrated directly with existing DevSecOps tools and workflows. Its flagship product, SD Elements, allows organizations to balance the need to accelerate software time-to-market while managing risk by automating significant portions of proactive manual processes for security and compliance. SC is the trusted solution provider to leading financial and technology organizations, the US Department of Defence, government agencies, and renowned global brands across multiple industries. www.securitycompass.com

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The future of foam is here here

Oliver Bruns

O Photo credit Robert Maybach

At the dawn of its first anniversary, NEVEON celebrates its growth, new industry partnerships, and exceptional working culture 22 l www.manufacturing-today.com

n February 1st 2021, NEVEON was founded by unifying the six Greiner companies, Eurofoam, aerospace, Multifoam, Perfoam, PURTEC and Unifoam under one umbrella brand. Since then, NEVEON has grown into a multi-disciplinary operation with an expansive footprint and industry-leading portfolio of foam products. Despite being such a new company, NEVEON benefits from years of experience and expertise, as the operation was formed of numerous smaller companies with existing market niche’s and supplier connections. Now celebrating a year of success, NEVEON is making major investments into new facilities and technology, including robotics and data science.

“NEVEON was founded as a merger between several previously independent foam companies. Greiner owned a number of different businesses that were part of the foam products industry; these companies had different strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes they found themselves competing with one another.

As a result, they were all merged into an

integrated foam company at the start of 2021,” details Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Bruns.

Since its genesis, NEVEON has been a company dedicated to being the best, as Oliver reveals: “What is very interesting about NEVEON is that it was planned and founded with a blueprint approach. We sat down together and thought about what assets the world’s most successful foam company might have; for example, how would it be organized?

What kind of culture would we put in place?

What kinds of products and services would we need to offer? What would our footprint look like? We also thought about things like applications, and different industries that use foam. We brain-stormed like that for a while, without restricting our thoughts, and that helped us gain an understanding of what we wanted the brand to look like.

“Once we had the blueprint ready, it gave us the starting point we needed in order to integrate all the different businesses. That’s how we created NEVEON as it is today. It’s a very exciting time, because NEVEON is

NEVEON Photo credit Bene GmbH

already running like a well-oiled machine; we talk to partners along the value chain, as well as suppliers and customers, and it feels like those relationships and this company have always existed, even though in reality it’s only one year old.”

Putting the company together in this way allowed NEVEON to retain strong relationships with pre-existing customers and suppliers, whilst also making operations leaner and more effective. The collective now covers a vast area, and numerous industries, as Oliver confirms: “NEVEON operates in many different industries, and has more than 60 locations in 18 countries.

This means we have an extensive footprint and a product portfolio that allows us to continue growing and succeeding.”

In addition to its impressive portfolio and manufacturing reach, NEVEON has a strong, respectful and effective working culture. “Our biggest strength, and what we see as our USP, is our culture and our people. We have so many fantastic people with great characters and a huge amount of talent. The culture

is really the umbrella that puts everything together, so this is where you might see us as being a little bit unconventional.

“Speed is essential in what we do, so we are always taking the lead and making decisions quickly. Fun is also an integral part of our daily working lives, because we believe that having a strong working environment attracts the brightest and most talented people, which is to our competitive advantage,” says Oliver.

These characteristics have helped NEVEON thrive, despite the fact that its first year in business was characterized largely by the effects of Covid-19. “Things like the pandemic certainly have been a challenge for all of us, but at the same time, part of our culture is that we constantly need to adapt. We need to be fast and flexible; one thing the pandemic has done is made a lot of the industries we serve a lot more difficult to predict. In addition to many other industries, we serve the aviation, automotive and retail industries, all of which have seen periodical shut-downs and surges in demand during the pandemic.

“Our generally great atmosphere has been an advantage for us in comparison with some of our competitors. It’s in our DNA to always strive for the best. Our tight-knit culture also helped with things like remote working. We have very strong bonds within our team, which makes it all the easier to work from home, as communication is clearer and people are more conscious of each other,” Oliver discusses.

As it completes its first year in business, NEVEON continues to grow and flourish. In addition to its 61 locations, the company has recently invested in a molded foam plant in the Czech Republic. The new unit is just one element of NEVEON’s projected growth, as Oliver highlights: “Over the next year we will continue to focus on developing the new facilities, with an eye toward Lean management and organization. In 2022, we are putting an operations plan in place for world class manufacturing; this includes more standardized processes and further automation. We will also be investing further in the effective use of robotics and data science.”

Overall, the future looks bright for NEVEON, as it continues to expand its portfolio and operations to meet the demands of new and emerging markets. “Our business is performing well. We are serving new industries, which of course provides new challenges, but we have been doing extremely well. We have been outperforming the industry growth a lot, and we see positive feedback from the market place on all our products and services. We as an organization are optimistically looking at 2022; we know it might be a challenge, but that’s something we are more than prepared for,” Oliver concludes. v

NEVEON www.neveon.com Services: Foam and foam products www.manufacturing-today.com l 23

Ahead

of the times times

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Murata Machinery USA, Inc. Leading the manufacturing industry in innovation, Murata Machinery USA is excited to share its best practices with its customers and remain a dependable name for their automation requirements

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he automation specialist in machine tool technology, logistics and automation systems, clean factory automation, and textile machinery, Murata Machinery (Muratec), is taking its passion for automation to the next level. “One of the key pillars that this community stands upon is integration; it’s a huge part of today’s manufacturing environment and something that our company has really worked hard to excel at. Since we began this journey, we have strived to strengthen that connection between automation and people to make the manufacturing processes more efficient, no matter what it may be,” shares Jeff Kalmbach, General Manager, Machine Tools Division.

“In 1935, we started in textile machinery. Through the years, the company has evolved into a provider of material handling, machine tool and fabrication, and clean factory automation. Muratec is known as an innovator and often times first onto the market, committed to advancing innovation, and trusted by global brands and suppliers across the world. We focus on identifying and solving the customer’s productivity challenges with machines and systems built for expansion and performance,” Jeff informs us.

As we learn, Muratec’s automated machining processes are custombuilt for users to produce parts across various industries, allowing them to shift to market demands and improve operations. “With regards to our turning machines, our legacy has come from higher volume automotive customers, but the demand for our products today has significantly changed. We are building more products to also support the general job shops producing parts for lower volume, short-run production shops.

“Aerospace was a heavy focus for us a few years ago. Obviously, there have been difficulties with the downturn in the travel industry due to the pandemic, but we are starting to see some turnaround, so this industry remains a focus for us,” Jeff says.

Introducing innovation

Muratec’s ability to service such a wide range of industries requires an operation that is innovatively bold and ready to push the limits, and this is where its strengths truly shine. “We have always been experts in the automation of our products. Our machines are designed with integrated gantry automation – not an afterthought. We can manage both small and large part productions, and offer automatic handling of sheet metal with our fabrication laser or punch press machines. Even when it comes to the distribution and transportation of raw materials from the warehouse, we can automate the entire process when it comes to manufacturing,” Jeff expresses.

When asked about the details of the technology housed under Muratec’s roof, Jeff is proud to share how the diversity of its specialism is where customers will find the company’s best practices. “Within our machine tools business, there are two sub-business units. One is the turning machines, and the other is the fabrication machinery; both have a unique range of integrated systems to satisfy different needs within various industries. Again, the connection that ties them together is the engineering that goes into the systems and the automation that is built in.

“Our turning machines are designed and built around reliability, providing customers with the most efficient and productive turning machine available. Bringing cutting-edge technology to our operations is really the driver behind who we are and the products we provide. We

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capabilities, and we will continue adding innovation based on market needs. Ultimately, helping customers build ‘lights-out’ manufacturing processes to combat labor shortages by fully automating their production in small footprints is really a strong area of the business for us.”

Integrating automation

strive to keep customers as productive and profitable as they can be,” he shares.

Tying in with its innovative advancements, Jeff announces that the company has recently introduced the first multifunction hybrid fiber laser at FABTECH 2021 to reinforce its fabrication capabilities. “It launched into the market in November 2021 and was one of our more significant investments as an organization, not only here at Murata Machinery USA, but for the company as a whole. We are first to bring a

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multifunction laser to life that integrates tapping, forming, and laser cutting for all-in-one processing of sheet metal products,” Jeff expresses.

Following this, he continues to share how the company boasts a passion for introducing new operations to the manufacturing industry. “We have designed a new, high-speed parts feeding system to support the aerospace manufacturing industry that will be introduced soon. In addition, we offer universal robotic arms that can be added to further increase automation

With this technology bolstering its capabilities, Jeff is optimistic that 2022 will prove to be the start of exciting developments set to take place at Muratec, despite the obstacles that loom over the manufacturing industry. “There has been a need for adjustment in our business to support other markets. We are certainly challenged with changing who we are as a business, how we design our products to support new markets, and adapt systems to meet those demands.

There is so much opportunity for customers to realize the benefit of the products that we bring to market, and it is our job to educate our customers on the value of our integrated automation.

“We are seeing an increase in companies that previously would never have considered automation but are now happily bringing it on board because of the labor shortages.

Fortunately, our system solutions are designed to integrate automation across the entire supply chain. We are focused on helping companies expand existing systems, upgrade them, engineer them and build them out. We look at every possible solution to help them automate, like transporting a pallet with an AGV from one end of a facility to the other, versus having to hire someone, allowing for that resource to be deployed elsewhere within an organization,” Jeff emphasizes.

Murata Machinery USA, Inc. On top of these targets, Jeff has a specific goal to inventory machine units based on new market entry forecasts, and in doing so, allow Muratec to ship quickly across North America, strengthening its brand as a reliable and dependable partner for any automation need.

“I believe that if we focus on this, the company will continue to increase organically. At the heart of what we do is our passion to produce parts that assist in our customers’ success, and we are determined to do this in the most efficient way for us and most prosperous for our customers.”

As we round up our conversation, it is clear that Muratec’s value is closely intertwined

with integrating automation across the supply chain. From integrating how it can make any part on its turning centers, move, and store the raw materials, to servicing the equipment for the life of the system, Murata is a complete turnkey solution provider, determined to deliver more parts on the dock at the end of the day. “Our company is focused on becoming the expert in manufacturing automation and increasing our reach within many industries.

Perfecting our ability to penetrate new sectors with machines and automation to meet the growing and unexpected demands is a big target for us, and one that we will absolutely achieve,” Jeff concludes. v

Marposs Marposs is a worldwide leader in measurement, inspection, and testing. Since 2010, Marposs has been working with Murata to integrate Marposs electronics onto gauges that were designed and built by Murata. These gauges were created to inspect the part and send feedback to the machine for automatic tool compensation. Depending on the application, Marposs supplies the electronics to Murata for gauge stations that can inspect parts with multiple inside and outside diameters, as well as distance measurements. These gauges are normally loaded and unloaded by the Murata machine gantry system.

The Marposs E66E Industrial Computer provides critical information to the machine, as well as the operator, to keep the process under control.

Murata Machinery USA, Inc. www.muratec-usa.com Services: Machine automation

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Seeing life differently Plessey Semiconductors is at the forefront of microLED technology, delivering innovative display solutions that can be easily integrated into the next generation of AR/VR displays, wearables, and other consumer electronics devices

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Plessey Semiconductors

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t a time in our history where virtually every single digital electronic device in use runs thanks to semiconductors, it is perhaps not too strong of a statement to claim that these much-talked about products have helped to change the world in which we

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now live. Indeed, without the semiconductor concept, we would not have the microchip, and without this the digital revolution would not have been possible.

Semiconductors themselves can be either a single element or a compound that are conductors. The key property that they share

is allowing conductivity between traditional conductive substances – i.e. metals – and non-conductive materials, for instance ceramics. The advances in the technology have allowed for the miniaturization of electrical components and opened the door to more cost-effective production of electronics, making technology available to a much larger percentage of the world’s population. It means that everything around us today that needs to compute or process any information requires semiconductor technology. From electronic devices, to everyday appliances and automobiles, the semiconductor is now ever-present in our daily lives.

Plessey Semiconductors (Plessey) has a long-standing record of semiconductor process development and production at its fabrication facility in Plymouth, historically across a range of silicon Integrated Circuit (IC) technology but including Gallium Nitride LEDs over the last ten years.

Today, Plessey works with world leaders in consumer technology, who are helping to

Plessey Semiconductors pave the way with innovative next-generation Augmented Reality (AR) and wearable applications, based on advanced microLED display solutions. Drawing on its enviable semiconductor and optoelectronics expertise, Plessey has developed an award-winning, unique and proprietary gallium nitride (GaN)on-Silicon platform and monolithic process at its state-of-the-art manufacturing base.

Leading platforms

Plessey’s microLEDs enable compact displays that enhance the user’s experience, for both entertainment and informative content, and are the first brand new display technology to be commercialized in more than a decade.

Demand for microLEDs is accelerating, with research consultancy Yole Développement forecasting the market could reach up to 330 million units by 2025.

Plessey’s microLED displays are ideal for untethered consumer electronics, offering OEMs new degrees of freedom in product design where power-efficiency and highdefinition graphics are paramount. The small

form-factor of microLED displays transforms typical bulky AR headsets to something more akin to a pair of glasses, changing the design paradigm of the next-generation of AR/MR wearable devices, HUDs and other consumer electronics.

Plessey’s AR-Vµ microLED display allows a high-frame-rate video with perfect daytime viewing clarity to be shown in a wide variety of applications, from augmented reality glasses to other wearables and head-up displays.

Incorporating over two million micro-level bonds between pixel and backplane, it produces a high brightness, fine resolution

display with wide color gamut and reduced power consumption in a smaller formfactor ideal for replacing incumbent display technologies such as OLED and LCD. Plessey’s GaN-on-Silicon is recognized as one of the leading technology platforms capable of addressing all the challenges involved with manufacturing microLED displays in high volumes cost-effectively. The company’s microLED’s come with several key advantages. When it comes to the use of Silicon substrate, GaN-on-Silicon technology offers larger wafer sizes, less wafer bow, better wavelength uniformity, and ease of substrate

Materion Corporation Materion Corporation (Materion) has been a strong partner to Plessey Semiconductors since 2013, supporting advanced material supplies for both new product development and final production phases.

Materion is a strategic supplier to the semiconductor industry. It provides highly engineered precious and nonprecious metals, including evaporation materials and sputter targets, as well as a one-stop place for refining and precision parts cleaning services – maximizing cost efficiency. With its recent acquisition of H.C. Starck’s Electronic Materials portfolio, the company is well-positioned for growth in semiconductor manufacturing. This vertically integrated company also supplies advanced chemicals and microelectronic packaging to some of the world’s leading high-tech companies.

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removal compared to conventional sapphire substrates. The ability to manufacture pixels on larger 200mm or 300mm wafer sizes will lead to a substantial reduction in manufacturing costs, higher yield and throughput, which are critical elements in a commoditized display market currently dominated by LCD and OLED technologies.

Meanwhile, Plessey’s monolithic process is the only viable approach towards manufacturing ultra-fine pitch pixels (< 5 µm) microdisplays, as conventional pick and place process is still plagued with yield issues and extremely challenging for pixel sizes less than 10 µm. Coupled with Plessey’s 200mm epiwafer growth and wafer-level bonding

technology on 200mm CMOS backplanes, this results in an efficient and economically scalable manufacturing solution.

Significant partnership

CEO Keith Strickland provides Manufacturing Today with a more in-depth look at the company’s accomplishments over the past decade. “In 2012 Plessey acquired IP from the University of Cambridge to enable development of GaN-on-silicon LED technology on its six-inch processing line.

Development of the technology continued through to 2016 to establish GaN-onSilicon to best-in-class and competitive with incumbent sapphire-based LEDs. This

Drew and Co Drew and Co have been working in partnership with Plessey Semiconductors in the development of their Plymouth manufacturing facility.

The ability of Drew and Co to deliver a fully coordinated range of Mechanical and Electrical infrastructure services has been central to the success of the relationship.

Plessey are a high quality organisation with exacting standards and have challenged Drew and Co to deliver the best possible quality of design and installation.

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was market driven initially through the potential for significant cost reduction and latterly through specializing in specific

Plessey Semiconductors solid state lighting markets to leverage the technical advantages offered using a silicon substrate, and to differentiate from what was

increasingly a commoditized product.”

Despite this move it proved difficult to compete with the ever-increasing production and LED scaling in China, and in 2017 Plessey took the decision to solely focus on the nascent but potentially substantial market opportunity for microLED displays. “Crucially,” Keith continues, “this market opportunity was one in which GaN-on-Silicon was considered by many to be a critical enabler.

“In the subsequent period, Plessey developed a GaN-on-silicon microLED technology process, demonstrating monochromatic monolithic solutions to the market with an eight-micron pixel High-Definition display in 2019. Product

demonstrators were developed with several partners covering numerous applications ranging from TVs, mobiles, AR and Virtual Reality (VR), to Head Up Displays (HUDs) and wearable devices. It became clear however, that if the technology was to be developed further to meet challenging product specifications and manufacturability requirements, that major tool investment would be needed and thus a strategic partner was sought.

“Meta, formerly Facebook, subsequently engaged with Plessey in March 2020 to develop semiconductor processing solutions for microLED displays. Under a new commercial agreement, Plessey’s

Mega Fluid Systems, Inc. Mega Fluid Systems, Inc. has served customers around the world as an independent company for over 30 years.

Mega Fluid Systems, Inc. is well known for its state-of-the-art systems that deliver the most difficult and sensitive chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) chemistries and slurries to process tools. Mega Fluid Systems, Inc., is part of Kinetics, which has approximately 2,000 employees in 24 regional offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Kinetics can support the challenging requirements of global clients in all regions of the world across multiple disciplines.

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Microgas Systems Microgas Systems, a British engineering company with sister companies Puretech Process Systems and Medical Gases, all providing world class process pipework solutions, is proud to have delivered the M&E design process, procurement and build elements of Plessey’s semi-conductor facility upgrade. This large-scale, complex project, with Microgas acting as principle contractor, consisted of infrastructure upgrades and tool installations, which will enable uLED prototyping and manufacturing capabilities at Plessey’s site in Plymouth.

For more information about Microgas, Puretech or Medical Gases bespoke turnkey process pipework solutions for pharmaceutical, semi-conductor, medical gases, laboratory gases, purified water and pure steam system applications, contact sales@microgas.uk.com

LED manufacturing operations were dedicated to helping Meta prototype and develop new technologies for potential use in the AR/VR space,” Keith explains.

This partnership is ideally placed to help Meta achieve its vision of the next computing platform centred around people. With consumer devices like Oculus Quest and a continued legacy of breakthrough research, Meta is one of the companies best-positioned to make consumer-ready AR glasses a reality. Plessey shares that vision for a future where technology and the barriers between people disappear, and in working with Meta, the business is charting an exciting path forward.

Commenting at the time of the announcement in 2020, Keith declared his delight at the deal. “This agreement recognises the significant advances in our capabilities that we have made in recent years and we very much look forward to working with Facebook to help bring their vision to life,” he added.

Microgas, Puretech & Medical Gases deliver industry leading ‘turnkey’ process pipework solutions, taking full responsibility for the design, installation, commissioning and validation. Every system is designed to deliver precisely what the client requires and our skill, knowledge, and commitment to delivering excellence, sets us apart.

microgas.uk.com

Design, engineering and installation of pharmaceutical-grade high purity water and steam systems. puretech.uk.com

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Gas delivery systems for medical, pharmaceutical and research facilities. medicalgases.uk.com

Plessey Semiconductors Plessey’s background and experience of CMOS semiconductor knowledge and that of LED manufacture makes it somewhat unique and thus provides advantage in the development of this novel future display technology. Indeed, the integration of these different semiconductor material platforms is key in the production of high performance and manufacturable solutions.

Green agenda

“Micro LED display technology for future applications, particularly in the AR/VR space requires significant development of LED technology together with the integration of the technology with advanced CMOS control electronics,” Keith goes on to state.

“Our semiconductor processing knowledge from silicon IC technology through to LEDs is leveraged to achieve the best of both worlds in unique and ground-breaking developments.

“Over the last 18 months, Plessey has invested significantly in the infrastructure and tooling for our microLED technology. This is to provide advanced equipment to support the

challenges of developing novel and advanced high-definition microLED display technology, and also to enable the technology to be transferred more readily into mass volume, manufacturable production.”

In order to create the groundbreaking components at the heart of its operations, the manufacturing space at Plessey features some of the most sophisticated and state-ofthe equipment and solutions available today.

From smart factory automation to the very latest in information technology, the company embraces forward-thinking approaches and

is dedicated to investing in industry-leading products that enable it to maintain its dedication to innovation.

A further interesting aspect of Plessey’s operations is the company’s approach towards sustainability and its efforts to formulate and expand its green strategies.

“Being an advanced manufacturing company, and being on the edge of a National Park, we are fully cognizant of our responsibilities to the environment,” Keith affirms. “Our manufacturing processes, we acknowledge, do take a lot of resources and energy, however,

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we work hard with both our suppliers, and the design of our facilities and technology to minimize the impact as much as possible.

We run variable speed drive systems on much of our equipment to ensure optimum efficiency is maintained. This coming year we are planning to generate some of our energy needs through the installation of a solar PV system on the roof of our facility, supplementing our battery system that we installed a few years ago. We will also be installing our first EV charging system for employees to utilize with cars and bikes! We are also exploring the use of a water reed bed on site to provide for an effluent filtration system.”

Talented workforce

Turning our attention to how Plessey has managed to continue to operate during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Keith offers some important insight. “The pandemic has clearly had a devasting effect on many sectors and has impacted our business too, although in a different way to many. With significant expansion of the clean room facilities and new tooling, the pandemic has impacted lead times and installation services and support from vendors due largely to travel restrictions.

“We are, however, fortunate in having a large site and so social distancing measures have been straightforward

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Plessey Semiconductors to implement, and of course within the actual semiconductor fabrication rooms the extreme cleanliness and air conditioning system provide an inherently safe environment. During some periods we have implemented a working from home capability for some of our supporting departments but have in general, given the nature of our facility and our belief in being more effective together, encouraged our employees back to the workplace.”

On the subject of said employees, Keith clearly holds each and every one of these men and women in the highest of regards.

“Our people are key to our success and our number one asset,” he declares. “In effect, while we are investing significantly in our facility and equipment, this is generally open to others too and therefore it comes down to our people that will make the difference and enable us to succeed ahead of our competition. In the last 18 months, we have grown our workforce by over 50 percent to approximately 230, and we expect to continue growth throughout 2022 and

beyond. We are hiring many apprentices, graduates and young engineers, and so it is key we have in place good development programs, training and career paths if we are to attract good talent and also retain them. To suppor t highly specialized skills, we hire from across the world and thus have a multinational, multi-cultural workforce. This we are mindful of and of par ticular note, in recent times is suppor ting our workforce through the pandemic and the many challenges that presents to us as individuals as well as a company.”

As Keith alludes to, the company has every intention of growing in the coming years, and concludes by providing an

outlook for what the immediate future holds for Plessey. “Currently, we are firmly in development, but will move in the coming months and years into a production mode and all the disciplines that entails. Our development roadmap is long-term and I expect to see our display technology advance to meet the requirements of a whole new generation of products and applications.” v

Plessey Semiconductors www.plesseysemi.com Products: MicroLED solutions

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A flying success A bright spark within a troubled sector, Ontic is thriving thanks to its engineering expertise, commitment to customer support, and partnerships with some of aviation’s leading original equipment manufacturers

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t was only in 1974 that Ontic was established in Southern California, just outside of LA. Little more than 45 years later, and the business boasts revenues of $430m, with an employee base of approximately 1150 people across six locations. Specializing in the repair and production of new parts for both new-build aircraft and the aftermarket, it’s a company with a unique business model. As opposed to developing new products of its own, the focus of Ontic’s attention is the acquisition of established intellectual property from other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) within the aviation sector.

“It’s a distinct approach, which we believe solves two fundamental problems in the market,” says Ontic CEO Gareth Hall. “As OEMs continue to bring new products to market, they develop a very large and extensive product

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Ontic

We’ve got a very strong team both in the UK and the US, with high levels of competency. Although we have only a relatively small number of technicians in each facility, their ability to switch from product to product based on their competence is really important to us. Combine that with our engineering capability for sustainment and obsolesce management, it allows us to work on a vast range of products effectively and maintain that for the long term

portfolio. As demand for those products wanes, we provide a strong exit route for those OEMs in cases where they may not want to continue to support that product themselves, but still want to offer customer support. We acquire or license the product line, and then fulfil everything for the customer - from part production and supply chain management to the full technical support and configuration management of the parts.”

The second problem Ontic hopes to solve is a simple one: keeping aircraft flying. “As certain models become fewer in number and parts more difficult to source, our commitment is to continue to provide customers with solutions wherever they have a need,” Gareth insists.

“Often, that will be through the provision of a new part. When that’s not possible, we’ll find an alternate solution, either through a repair of the

existing unit, or by developing a creative solution with the customer.”

Over the years, Ontic has solidified relationships with a range of aviation OEMs,

including GE, Honeywell, Rolls Royce and Curtis Wright. “Those are the people we’re dealing with when we acquire non-core intellectual property,” Gareth explains. “Alternatively, we

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have the manufacturers and end-users who actually purchase our products. Within the civil base, that includes Boeing and Airbus, as well as the major airlines, such as British Airways, American Airlines, United and Emirates. But more significantly, 70 percent our work is military-focused. The Defense Logistics Agency, US Air Force and US Marine Corp are all very big customers of ours, as are BAE Systems, who support the UK’s Hawk and Typhoon fleets.”

Unlike many aviation OEMs, Ontic’s expertise covers every aspect of the aircraft. Such a broad scope requires a distinct set of competencies.

“Primarily, we need to ensure excellence in transition management,” Gareth believes. “As we continue to acquire intellectual property from other OEMs, we transfer those product lines, supply chains and customers from an OEM facility into one of our own. We need to be able to execute that flawlessly to support the customer and to free up the engineers, technicians and floorspace for the OEM.”

Proactive approach

Equally important is Ontic’s supply chain management. “We’re often dealing with high-mix, high-complexity, low-volume and frequently obsolete components,” Gareth tells us. “It’s everything you don’t want in a supply chain, so we have to be able to organize ourselves differently. That means using partnerships to work in concert with our suppliers. More often than not, we’ll have our specialist engineers

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Ontic or supply chain professionals in the suppliers’ facilities helping them to work through an interpretation of a drawing or manufacturing process.

“Thirdly, our sustaining engineering capability is essential,” he continues. “While we don’t have an R&D function, we do have very extensive engineering capabilities across our business, which is almost entirely engaged in ensuring that the parts we do have under production can be sustained. About 40 percent of that is electronics, and when you look at avionics designed in the 80s/90s, they’re riddled with obsolescence. It’s vital that we have the in-house expertise to deal with it pro-actively.”

Now approaching half a century of operation, Ontic has thrived on an ability to remain relevant to its target market, and for its promise of quality service. “Among aviation OEMs, there’s a continued quest to harness technology to develop new products and drive things forward,” Gareth says. “More often than not, when we acquire a product line from an OEM, the customer base that transfers with it will still continue to buy products from the

OEM. Emirates, for instance, rely on us for the fuel-gauging systems in their Boeing 777s, but will continues to source their engines from GE. What GE must have, therefore, is a reliable partner who will continue to produce quality parts and support that customer. Ontic can absolutely be relied upon to do exactly that.”

New ideas

The last decade has been a particularly notable one for Ontic. As recently as 2009, the company employed just 75 people at its lone LA site - a far cry from the Ontic of today, which boasts five offices across three continents, and a workforce that has grown more than 15 times in size. Today, the company is working to leverage that footprint in the market.

“We’ve got a very strong team both in the UK and the US, with high levels of competency,” Gareth notes. “Although we have only a relatively small number of technicians in each facility, their ability to switch from product to product based on their competence is really important to us.

Combine that with our engineering capability for sustainment and obsolesce management, it allows

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us to work on a vast range of products effectively and maintain that for the long term.”

The expansion is showing little sign of a slowdown. “In late 2018, we acquired a business in North Carolina with really interesting intellectual property,” Gareth states.

“But more critically, it had a very strong team and plenty of room to expand. Over the course of the last two years, we’ve placed four additional product line transitions into that facility, and we announced in November 2021 that we would be making a $6 million capital investment to increase the available floorspace and improve the manufacturing area. That’s now underway, with the expectation that our employee base in North Carolina will increase

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from about 110 today to in-excess of 200 within the next 18 months.”

To realize this vision, Ontic relies on attracting the best and the brightest talent from across the sector. “We don’t necessarily have the brand recognition that other aviation OEMs have,” Gareth concedes. “Therefore, we need to offer something different. It’s always our intent to maintain a diverse and inclusive working environment, and it’s evident when you visit our facilities. Whether you’re placing purchase orders or fixing a fuel probe, you have other things you can bring to the business.

We’re always seeking opportunities to have those conversations and for new ideas to come forward, whether that be about exploring different products, or changing how we work.”

Positive prospects

There’s no hiding from the fact that the last 24 months have posed a particular challenge for the aviation sector. Nevertheless, Ontic has emerged relatively unscathed. “Covid-19 has had a massive impact on nearly everyone, with civil aviation bearing the brunt of that,” Gareth comments. “We’re fortunate to have a large military component within our business. We’ve capitalized on that financial health to support our OEMs as they’ve looked to reshape their product lines and identify non-core candidates.

“We partnered with Triumph Group in the UK in 2021, and then signed and completed a deal to acquire their operations in Cheltenham last October,” he continues. “We’ve maintained

Ontic all of the existing employees and customer contracts, and in doing so Triumph has been able to shift focus on to its core product range for the future. It’s a good example of a partnership rather than a transaction.”

The partnership is already delivering benefits for Ontic’s product portfolio. “As a result of the Triumph acquisition, Saab has become one of our significant customers through the parts we now supply for the Gripen fighter and T-7 Red Hawk,” Gareth says. “Added to that, it’s given us a new hydraulics systems capability in the UK, a gap that we’d previously been keen to fill.”

As we emerge from the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ontic is positive about its prospects. “It feels like we’re at the start of

the end,” he suggests. “We’re starting to see positivity in different aspects of aviation, with load factors improving and increasingly full flight schedules.

United recently announced that they’re bringing their 777 fleet back up, which is hugely important for trans-Atlantic traffic. We’re also hearing the right noises from Airbus and Boeing in terms of improving build rates, with

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an intent to accelerate. On the military side, demand remains consistent. We saw after 9/11 and in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis that whenever there’s been a shock to the economy, aviation has bounced back strongly. We’re optimistic that will be the case once again.” v

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Mettler Toledo Safeline

Detection and

inspection Having continued to grow throughout the pandemic, Mettler-Toledo Safeline is leading the market when it comes to innovations in metal detection technology developments

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s the world ground to a halt in early 2020 with the arrival of Covid-19, life at Mettler Toledo Safeline kept on going. While the pandemic sent whole cities and countries into lockdown, restricted people to their homes and forced business to close, the business for Mettler Toledo continued to grow as sales soared. “In 2020, we didn’t really see a downturn at all,” admits Mettler Toledo Safeline Head of Sales Mike Bradley. “Then in 2021, we had even better news, as we saw a sizeable upturn in business and rode out the whole pandemic with virtually a full shop floor.”

As a specialist in the supply of metal detectors and detections systems for food and pharmaceutical companies, the vast majority of Mettler Toledo’s customers saw neither a decline in demand, nor a halt to their operations. “We play a crucial role within the food and pharma safety industry, and as such we were deemed to have keyworker status,” Mike explains. “Fortunately, most food manufacturers can’t cut corners when it comes to food safety.”

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Mike Bradley

But Mettler Toledo Safeline encountered a new challenge: How best to guarantee the safety of their workforce of 300 employees?

“Our office staff were able to work from home, but our employees on the shop floor didn’t have that luxury,” Mike says. “To protect them, we instigated a very rigorous lateral flow test program in partnership with the local council, testing everyone at least twice a week, doing a total of about 14,000 tests, in addition to temperature checks on arrival, mask wearing

and maintaining a two metre plus distance from others at all times. That made everyone feel comfortable entering the building, and gave them the confidence that we were doing everything within our power to make it safe for all our employees who had to work onsite.”

But the company didn’t forget about those working from home. “A hybrid working situation causes its own challenges,” Mike explains. “In my team, we ran a weekly quiz on a Friday, checking in to see how everyone was coping, and helping them all to feel involved. As restrictions have loosened, we’ve not put too much pressure on people to return to the office yet. However, with over 300 people here, we recognize the importance of getting people together to meet, network, and to be reminded that they’re not working as individuals – they’re part of a bigger team, so we’re keen to take advantage of those opportunities to collaborate and network faceto-face in the near future.”

A proven innovator

Little could have prepared Mettler Toledo for the shock of the pandemic. Nevertheless, one of the implications of the last two years has been the acceleration of pre-existing trends.

“Even before Covid-19, there was a clear desire among the global multinationals to drive efficiency by taking people out of the process where possible,” Mike explains. “As a consequence, we’ve been firmly developing our metal detection portfolio with a number of features to allow our customers to reduce their hands-on time with our machines.”

One such feature is clustering, a process in which similar products are grouped for inspection on a single setting, circumventing the need for manual adjustment. “Clustering came about a few years ago, driven by a desire at one of the biggest bakeries in the UK,” Mike says.

“Every task that a person has to carry out on the production line takes time, costs money, and carries a risk of something going wrong. The introduction of clustering means that when a company is switching from product A to product B, its one less interaction, and one less risk.”

As businesses worldwide saw employees vanish from their factory floors, Mettler Toledo’s clustering emerged as a critical labor-saving innovation. The same is true of another of its offerings, known as Emulation, launched in 2017.

Originally envisaged as an ease-of-use benefit, the company had no idea of the role that the product would play only a few years later.

“Rather than step onto the production line itself, Emulation allows customers to replicate the screen of the metal detection system on a device such as a laptop, mobile phone, or

Mettler Toledo Safeline Image left: M30 R-Series GC allows users to enhance system capability over time as requirements change

Arnott Handling Equipment Limited Arnott Handling Equipment Limited celebrates 2021 as a significant year of achievements. Graeme Jones, Managing Director, says, “The hard work and dedication of our team at Brixworth has really paid off this year. Not only have we seen record sales and gained an ISO9000 accreditation, but we have also made a significant investment in additional CNC capabilities with a new Doosan Puma CNC lathe. We are committed to working with our customers, such as Mettler Toledo, to provide the best one-stop machining business, combining over 45 years of knowledge and investment.”

tablet,” Mike explains. “It therefore came in extremely handy within a pandemic scenario: all of a sudden, quality managers could operate the metal detector from the comfort of their office or home, and access all the data they need using a very simple tool.”

A proven innovator for major technology manufacturers, Mettler Toledo is now hoping to deliver similar benefits for mid-market food and pharma companies, with a close eye on sustainability. “Very often, small- and medium-sized food producers have high-end aspirations,” Mike says. “In the UK, for example, you might be a medium-sized producer supplying pub chains with ready meals, with a goal in three- or four-years’ time to supply Marks & Spencer, where the requirements in terms of metal detection will be a little bit higher. But, because you’re at that SME stage, you can’t necessarily afford the higher-end product inspection systems that can support the strictest retailer standards straight away.

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Mettler Toledo Safeline “Therefore, six months ago we launched our M30 R-Series GC, allowing our customers to upgrade equipment over time through simple add-ons, rather than to invest in equipment that might soon become obsolete for their purposes,” he continues. “If that mid-market customer does then secure a high-end contract, it then becomes a very simple task to enhance that metal detection system and make it compatible with their needs.”

Mettler Toledo’s recent success has cast greater focus on the company’s relationship with its suppliers. “Much of what we receive are bespoke fabrications and products that are very metal-detection specific,” Mike notes.

“Therefore, as we look to drive efficiencies, we’re actively partnering with businesses who can add value to our operations. At the front end of our manufacturing, that involves utilising a partner approach, in which our key suppliers will work with us to understand and assess our needs, and to explore what elements they can add before shipping their parts to us. If they can achieve that successfully, then by taking operations off our hands they’re adding to the efficiencies in-house.

“We’ve also worked closely with some of our customers to manage the supply chain issues we’ve encountered,” Mike continues.

“As suppliers to some of the biggest food

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manufacturers in the world, many of whom also have connections to our component suppliers, we’ve been fortunate enough to utilise their strength in some situations to fasttrack our shipments. Thankfully, that’s nowhere near the challenge today that it was just sixto-nine months ago, but it’s proved essential to keeping us on track. Now, we can say with confidence that there’s light appearing at the end of the tunnel.”

Remote service capacity

Mettler Toledo envisages that many of the innovations to have come out of the pandemic will remain integral parts of its business moving forward. “Looking at the landscape pre- and post-Covid-19, things have changed,” Mike confirms. “One of the things we developed within the last two years was remote service capability, giving our customers the option to have our trained engineers diagnose faults over the phone by using remote diagnostic tools.

As key businesses, our customers had to keep working all year-round, but the last thing they wanted was external people on-site. Into 2022

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and beyond, we’re confident that’ll become the norm.”

“Only a couple of weeks ago, we won a big order in Europe for ten Gravity Fall metal detection systems for the inspection of a sugar-crystal product,” Mike continues. “A key contributor to that success was what we call the eDemo, in which we’ll use MS Teams or Zoom, combined with television screens installed throughout our premises, in order to place potential customers directly in front of the products they’re looking to buy. Thanks to the eDemo, they can virtually touch the product: we can run tests, they can inspect the design of the equipment, its quality, cleaning or methodology, and ask us any questions they need. It’s a powerful tool, driven by Covid-19, and focused on exactly what we’re hearing from our customers.”

As it eyes up further growth, Mettler Toledo reflects positively on its position within the sector. “I always consider us lucky in that we sit down with the biggest global food and pharma manufacturers very frequently,” Mike admits. “Above all, it’s our customers telling us where they’re trying to go, and what they see as important, that drives our development and the way we go to market. As we settle into the decade, we’re developing a completely new product inspection portfolio to be introduced in the next 12-to-24 months. As long as we keep listening, we’ll be in the right place.” v

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Mettler Toledo Safeline Image below: Automatic Test System helps to reduce production downtime and product waste

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Smooth growth

As a leader in the IPL hair removal device industry, Cyden Limited is passionate about sharing its products with the world. Accordingly, the company has been working exceptionally hard to make this possible, as we hear from its CEO 52 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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hen we last spoke with Cyden Limited (Cyden), the company was making big moves across the world, with a focus on increasing its footprint in Asia and Eastern Europe. Despite the pandemic, it has continued to improve its efficiency through a scaling up of its product quality. We speak with CEO Giles Davies about how the business has navigated the last two years, and what lies in store for its future in manufacturing.

Since its inception, the company has been a proud expert in intense pulse light home-use hair removal devices, maintaining an assurance

that it holds leading validation of the highest regulation. “This is an exciting category,” Giles begins. “Because it’s an emerging category, it has a high growth with low penetration rate, and everyone’s now seeing its potential. We just need to make sure we take advantage of that. It can be a challenging sector of course, because quite a few home-use devices that are made are not necessarily the safest, and certainly don’t have properly validated claims.This is absolutely why we continue to try to make the best devices we can that are approved by all the global regulatory bodies, particularly as it gains popularity as a medical device across the world,” he summarizes.

Cyden Limited

“Since we last spoke, we’ve upgraded our facilities, and moved into 135,000-square-feet manufacturing and assembly unit in Swansea. We have also significantly increased our number in staff, and employ around 400 people, which is fantastic. We’ve seen continued growth within the business as we’ve pushed ourselves to keep up with demand,” he says.

Technology advances

Surprisingly, one of the factors driving this growth forward was owed, partially, to the pandemic. “Because people couldn’t go to beauty salons, more and more customers began

using at-home hair-removal devices, which they might not have tried before. So, our product was quite well suited to how people were spending their time during those lockdown periods, and I believe that consequence was highly beneficial to our continuation,” Giles explains.

However, on the flipside to how the company was affected by the pandemic, sustaining efficient operations became incredibly challenging, as Cyden attempted to navigate global logistics and supply chain shortages. “We’ve suffered from that. Being able to import and export is becoming increasingly expensive and difficult. It’s been a bit of a double-edged sword; we’ve seen

a significant amount of growth, but it has also become more expensive to satisfy.”

Subsequently, being able to overcome these hurdles has required tact, caution and patience.

According to Giles, although it was tricky to stagger people coming in, and having to isolate people as far as reasonably possible, Cyden went further than the guidance stipulated to prioritize the safety of its employees without jeopardizing its operations. “As a business, our way of approaching these obstacles is to keep going, and try to ensure we still have a business when we come out of the pandemic, which, as far as I’m concerned, was absolutely the right

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thing to do. Everyone pulled together, we kept the factory in production, and we continued to supply customers,” Giles adds. He then goes on to share how proud he is of his team for sticking by the business, and how the work invested is beginning to pay off as it starts to

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normalize in new economic conditions.

“I think the real effect is beginning to take shape now. We are getting a lot of people off work at present with the omicron variant, but compared to the rest of the world, this is quite benign and nobody’s health is at risk, which is

reassuring. As I mentioned before, we’ve tried to maintain the business, and grow it, in the hope that when we come out of this, we’ll be in a good position to push on.”

Going into further detail about how the business has continued to expand its footprint, Giles informs us of the extent to which Cyden pushes itself, as well as the plans in the pipeline for future growth. “We started in a 26,000-square-feet facility, and now we’ve more than doubled that.

During the peak of the pandemic, we actually refurbished an old supermarket, and made it into a state-of-the-art facility to produce medical devices. It was a fantastic achievement, and most of the credit is owed to those who worked during those difficult circumstances to pull it off, and get it running efficiently.

“I feel that one of the features of manufacturing going forward is going to be geared to localized supply. Moving everything around the world is extortionate, and above that, the environmental impact of moving parts around isn’t great, and I think everybody realizes that. So, we’ve taken the decision to build a

Cyden Limited factory in China to service our customers in South East Asia.

“This project is another example of the great efforts that go into keeping our business rolling.

Our team in China managed to set up the factory without us ever having to actually visit, because no one was able to fly. So, again, I’m just really grateful for the excellent work that goes into maintaining our operations,” he says.

Considering the new site in China, as well as the upgrade in Swansea, Giles goes on to share details of the technological advancements that have needed a high level of consistency in order to manage across these two sites. “We had to put in a new enterprise system, SAP, by design and that’s just gone live. Additionally, there’s the Philtone Litho We have a very good relationship and work closely with the Cyden team. They are open and honest, which allows us to have full trust and enjoy working with them.

Their growth over the last few years has been exceptional, and we are proud to work with them.

QMS, which has to work both in China and Wales, without anyone being able to visit the one across the ocean.

I am incredibly proud that this was made possible despite significant challenges; it was a pretty big achievement by the team.”

Throughout our discussion, it is clear that the primary focus areas for Cyden are growth, bringing new products online, and carrying out more clinical work to ensure the company remains the best of the best. “Global regulatory requirements are becoming a much bigger area of concentration for us, they’re certainly becoming increasingly important in this category. So, we’ve restructured slightly to address that, and we’re determined to continue to supply our customers, which is challenging still in the current market, where we face shortages of electronic and other components.”

Looking further ahead, Giles predicts his company will gain a stronger presence in the US, as it is a market showing great potential for IPL products, as well as explore opportunities

in countries further afield. “There are some big emerging markets. We’ve seen what’s happened in China, and I expect that will happen in other countries like India and Brazil.

For the time being, these are just thoughts to keep in mind, but the scope in which to grow is enormous, and it would push Cyden forward massively,” he concludes. v

Cyden Limited www.cyden.com Services: Manufacturer of IPL hair removal devices

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Experts in the

offshore

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William Hackett Celebrating its 130th year of operation this year, William Hackett is setting new standards in the design and manufacture of equipment for offshore marine environments

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t felt like a very difficult year,” admits William Hackett Sales & Business Development Director Ben Burgess, as he reflects upon the last 12 months. On the surface, you wouldn’t know it. One of the world’s most respected designers and manufacturers of hoisting, lifting and rigging equipment, William Hackett has been a success story of the pandemic, combining steady domestic performance with phenomenal export growth of more than 45 percent in the years 2021-2022.

“Typically, when you deliver one of your best years commercially, you’re enjoying it as it goes through,” Ben says. “But every day there were huge challenges. A year ago, we were deep in the midst of Covid-19. There was still a lot of uncertainty in the world, and a lot of logistical challenges remained post-Brexit.

Even now, the commercial world is still faced with significant challenges.”

As it celebrates its 130th anniversary this year, William Hackett continues to be indebted to its founding principles. “There’s an alignment between the original owners, the current owners and the staff in terms of cultural values,” Ben explains. “Yes, we set ourselves goals and budgets for each financial year, but primarily we’re looking to take decisions that work for our customers, our company and our colleagues. That might entail investing in the workspace to ensure job satisfaction, efficiency and safety, investing in welfare facilities, or in giving our employees the ability to grow and develop within the business. It’s a long term, continuity perspective.”

More recently, the secret to William Hackett’s success has been a willingness to tackle the challenges of the pandemic head-on. “When the market encounters turbulence, you can either reduce exposure, or you can capitalize on an opportunity for market gain,” Ben says.

“That’s exactly what we’ve done. We took the key decision to double the warehousing and manufacturing capacity at our Lifting Centre of Excellence in Northumberland. That gave us a bigger buffer of product and raw material, and meant we could ensure continuity of supply to our customers. In addition, we also invested 20 percent of our overall budget into additional

“

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quality management systems for the testing of tensile attributes, hardness, and other features relating to safety and procedures, which allowed us to scale further.”

In the execution of this strategy, William Hackett benefited from a highly agile business structure. “Quicker than our competitors, we were able to anticipate our customers’ requirements and maneuver around emerging market trends,” Ben states. “That comes down to our systems and balance sheet as a familyowned business, and the fact that we could afford to make those investments in additional stock at a time when the market was facing uncertainty.”

One such investment is William Hackett’s real-time asset management and delivery capabilities. “It’s something that our competitors don’t have,” Ben tells us. “When I speak with the major oil companies and manufacturers, I can demonstrate that if they’re looking on our system enquiring about a certain widget, I can make a commitment to them because I know the precise stock levels. Likewise, if someone pre-orders or pre-allocates that widget out of stock, I could revise that immediately.”

By providing its customers with accuracy and consistency of delivery, William Hackett is setting higher expectations within the market. “These are features that we’ve come to see as normal

in the personal retail marketplace,” he continues.

“If you order something from Amazon, you know exactly where your delivery driver is and when your order is arriving. We’ve been able to introduce that to the B2B environment.”

Amid the ongoing disruption of Covid-19, William Hackett’s success is even more remarkable. “There are certain tasks within our business that require a physical presence in Alnwick,” Ben indicates. “If you’re manufacturing hoists and other lifting products, there’s not an option of working remotely, and so the challenge for us has been looking at the working procedures to ensure we’re taking the appropriate measures to ensure social distancing and reduce the likelihood of infection.

“On the other hand, we’ve digitized a lot of the sales collateral and systems,” he goes on.

“As we engage with new customers in Asia, Australia, Indonesia and the Middle East, rather than conduct those meetings face-to-face as we might have previously, we’ve now transitioned to video-conferencing software, making use of YouTube and other social media channels to extend the physical experience online via the use of technology.”

Design expertise

The company has put this technology to good use, consolidating its distribution relationships across Australia, Brazil, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Hong Kong and beyond. “Previously, if we wanted to open up a distributor abroad, I would’ve researched who those distributors were, written to them, arranged a visit, and flown over to spend a couple of days visiting their premises,” Ben notes. “All this is now happening electronically in a new, smarter and more environmentally-friendly way of working.

We still haven’t met face-to-face with some of the new distributors we’ve opened in the last year. At some point, I hope to do so, and I’ll invite them to the UK as needs dictate.”

For the fulfilment of William Hackett’s product and delivery, the importance of these distributors cannot be understated. “Our distributors are the local point of interface for our end-users,” Ben believes. “They’re the ones who will supply our products, deal with the commercials, and satisfy any lifting and rigging requirements that go beyond our remit.

We have a number of strong relationships in Aberdeen with regional-focused companies as well as global distribution partners who operate across locations including Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Middle East.”

The bedrock of William Hackett’s reputation lies in its expertise in the design and manufacture of solutions for offshore

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William Hackett marine environments. “Conventionally, when a product complies with onshore standards and regulations, there’s an assumption that it’s appropriate for use offshore,” Ben comments.

“We believe that’s not the case, and it’s not bestpractice. We’ve composed several white papers addressing that issue, and because we’re agile and boutique compared to some of our bigger competitors, we’re able to develop products and bring them to market specifically for that niche marine requirement.”

To that end, the company has launched a number of products within the last year specifically targeted to marine application. “The first is a very simple product: a lifting chain,”

Ben outlines. “Typically, when steel-based lifting solutions go offshore, they corrode, with which comes a risk of hydrogen embrittlement, and the potential for the asset to fail. If you can minimize the onset of corrosion, then you’re dealing with those risks in the best possible way. With our lifting chain, we implemented developments across the steel, heat treatment and finish of the product, and it’s now certified as suitable for marine environments by DNV, a specialist marine verification organization.

“We’ve also designed, launched and now delivered into the market successfully an offshore suitable hoist ring,” Ben proceeds. “If we take an old-fashioned eye-bolt, it’s only designed

Ketten Wälder GmbH cromox® – the new dimension of stainless The cromox® products can be divided into the segments lifting, nautic, custom, play, and trading. cromox® uses high-alloy stainless steel components, which are designed for a wide variety of applications where low particle-emission, corrosion resistance, and cleanliness are elementary requirements.

For many years, William Hackett Ltd has provided the range of cromox® products by Ketten Wälder GmbH, Germany, manufacturing exclusive stainless steel technology.

With over 70 years of experience and continuous developments, Ketten Wälder GmbH offers state-of-the-art solutions by selecting the finest materials through its Lloyds Register certified laboratory to provide world-class stainless steel lifting products.

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William Hackett to lift in a single plane – it’s not equipped to rotate or move from horizontal to vertical, as is often required in marine environments.

Onshore products also use typically hard bolts, which are vulnerable to corrosion when they go offshore, and have been the subject of various safety alerts from operators and contractors around the world. Our hoist ring is corrosion protected, with a speciallydesigned load-bearing bolt component, known as an L7 marine specification. In all, it’s been very well received.”

In a shifting environment, the company is also eyeing up new applications for its products outside of its traditional sectors.

“The historic offshore oil and gas sector and the onshore manufacturing and construction sectors are, in a way, merging to deliver the burgeoning offshore wind farms,” Ben argues.

“We’re seeing the products we’ve developed for oil and gas and marine applications adopted by the likes of Siemens for their offshore installations. Moving forward, we’re expecting to see two of those sectors in terms of energy provision – traditional and

new – operating alongside each other, which is very promising.”

As it moves into these new sectors, William Hackett is supported by a set of longstanding and trusted suppliers. “We have four or five strategic suppliers for about 95 percent of our products, all of whom we’ve been dealing with for over 20 years,” Ben reveals. “In the same way that we have long-term customer and employee relationships, that also transpires to our supply chain.

“For instance, we work closely with South Africa’s McKinnon Chain for the manufacture of our master links and offshore marine-grade chain,” Ben remarks. “They have an expertise in terms of access to raw materials, and they’re globally competitive within steel-based manufacturing, but what they lack is product development and feedback from end-users. In effect, we’re their sales and marketing partner: we have a global distribution agreement for some of their products, and we have a responsibility to suggest product innovations that will keep us ahead of our competitors.

Their responsibility is to develop industry-

leading products at the most competitive price.”

As it looks to build upon the success of the last two years, the company is hoping to accelerate its online product delivery. “The new generation of users expect to go on their phone or computer to design and purchase our products, and to get them delivered,” Ben maintains. “The challenge for us to align with that experience, and to vertically integrate our partners within our ecosystems, working to ensure that our product availability and information provision is seamless across online and through our distributors. We’ve already made a start with the launch of our customer portals, which offer access to our systems, media, documentation and traceability information. It’s a trend we very much expect to continue.” v

William Hackett www.williamhackett.co.uk Products: Hoisting, lifting and rigging solutions

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CarnaudMetalbox Engineering

A can-do attitude As market trends continue to demand sustainable packaging alternatives, CarnaudMetalbox Engineering offers the ultimate solution in the form of expertly formed and finished metal cans

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Marc Hoche - General Manager

S

ince it’s founding in 1930, CarnaudMetalbox Engineering (CMB Engineering) has been an industry leader in the can making machinery sector. Having made contributions to the design and construction of some of the industry’s most cutting-edge machines, the company now looks to play a vital role in the renewability revolution, by offering a recyclable packaging alternative to its customers in the food, beverage and lifestyle sectors.

Based in West Yorkshire, England, CMB Engineering serves an international market, with innovations in the best metal forming

Our relationships have been strengthened in many ways by the pandemic, as navigating those challenges together has helped us communicate more effectively. Keeping a steady flow of components available for our assembly teams is of paramount importance, seconded only by the safety of our people, and so we have a lot to thank our suppliers for

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machinery and products. The company is part of Crown Holdings Incorporated, one of the world’s leading producers of metal packaging. The operation is an innovative, customer-driven company that is dedicated to efficiency, quality and sustainability every step of the way.

The company’s first ever can making machine was built using the long tradition of manufacturing and engineering excellence that CMB Engineering is known for. The completed device was called the Bodymaker, and it was designed to be easy-to-use, whilst keeping safety at the forefront. The Bodymaker is capable of combining both the can making and trimming processes, and this hybrid approach has since offered a convenient alternative to manufacturers seeking a more streamlined operation. Despite being launched over 40 years ago, the Bodymaker design remains effective, and the machines continue to run like clockwork in each of its customers production plant facilities across the world.

CarnaudMetalbox Engineering CMB Engineering continues to be inspired by its long history of engineering excellence.

The company is not only responsible for advanced can making machinery, as it also develops decorating systems and technologies; its latest designs harness the technical prowess and industrial knowledge with which the Bodymaker was conceived, and as a result the company continues to thrive, despite the challenges of recent years.

“Overall, our performance has remained strong over the last year. Growth has continued in the aluminum beverage can market, and this has been driven by the fact that, despite the pandemic, people are not

demanding more plastic; in fact, they are demanding quite the opposite. Brands are listening to this change in consumer behavior, and choosing to respond. Food and beverage companies are looking to shift their packing materials away from plastic, and towards a more sustainable container: the can,” asserts Marc Hoche, General Manager at CMB Engineering.

“Demand for cans has also increased because of newly emerging, widely popular products, such as hard seltzers, choosing cans from the outset. Similarly, energy drinks are usually contained in cans, and there is considerable demand for those. There is also

HEINZ AUTOMATIONS-SYSTEME GmbH We, HEINZ AUTOMATIONS-SYSTEME GmbH, are manufacturers of cams and index drives for a wide variety of applications. For example, our indexers are used for the manufacture of metal packaging products to achieve the highest level or accuracy and reliability.

Our indexers are also used in the food industry, medical technology, assembly technology and many more.

Together with our UK agent Lancereal Ltd, who are specialists in the design, selection and supply of power transmission solutions, we would be happy to support you in finding the optimal solution for your application.

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an increased interest in developing new sizes and shapes for cans, which has come up as more companies are choosing to package their products in reusable metal. All of this means an increase in global demand for metal cans, and a corresponding increase in capacity that has resulted in different companies needing to use our machines,” he continues.

Facility investments

It’s clear that cans are playing an everincreasing role in the food and beverage market; in response to this spike in demand, CMB Engineering has invested in a brand-new facility. “We have decided to act swiftly to position ourselves in the best way possible, in order to meet the demands of our customers, who we call ‘the Canmakers’. This has resulted in us making significant new investments into a new facility in Leeds. Located in Wortley, the former Tata Steel Northern Headquarters is 160,000-square-feet, which allows us to double our manufacturing footprint. We had some financial assistance from the local government as well as a contribution from the

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landlord, which helped us breathe life into a factory that had been empty for five years.

“We are extremely excited about the new facility, as well as the many jobs that it will bring to the local area. We initially undertook a significant refurbishment program, and our first machines will be fully assembled on site in just over six months,” says Marc.

The company will also be making further investments, in the hopes of facilitating organic

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growth, and increasing ease of production, as Marc details: “Bringing Wortley online has enabled us to reconfigure our site in Shipley, in order to create more space. We wanted the additional square footage to make further investments in various new machining centers, for the parts that we manufacture. Throughout the coming year, these investments will be deployed, and in turn they will increase both our capacity, which we need to meet growing

demand, and our capability, as we add new machines to our product line.”

Significant support

Providing an answer to the problem of sustainable packaging has sparked CMB Engineering’s growth over recent years; however, the company’s success is also supported by its dedication to quality, and team of hardworking experts, as Marc

CarnaudMetalbox Engineering “Our products are known for outstanding quality, and for running continuously at high speeds in the most demanding of environments. This is backed up by global product support, and our ability to work closely with customers in order to provide solutions. Our people are, by far, our biggest asset; whenever I walk around the factory or talk to our people I get an immense sense of pride. Many organizations will say they are customer centric, but we truly are! In a world where our machines are measured in cans-per-minute, response is everything.” confirms: “We have benefitted from the fact that this is a fast-growing industry. Our product meets emerging demands for recyclable, durable packaging materials, and as a result the company has continued to grow steadily over the last few years. That being said, industry growth is just one factor; to turn that into success you need great products and a great team, both of which I believe we have here at CarnaudMetalbox Engineering.

Ortlinghaus UK Ortlinghaus UK have been supplier partners with CarnaudMetalBox for many years.

Ortlinghaus clutch brakes have been installed on CarnaudMetalBox machinery, and have been providing reliable and consistent service week in week out, ensuring end user reassurance of having a dependable clutch brake installed.

Ortlinghaus products have evolved with CarnaudMetalbox over the years to improve canmaking machinery performance, economy and user experience.

We are proud of the service we provide, and of our association with CarnaudMetalbox, and their customers and look forward to continuing for many years to come.

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Shipley site

CMB Engineering also maintains strong relationships with its network of suppliers, as Marc discusses: “Working with our suppliers is key, as we need them to have the confidence to make the necessary commitments to support our growth. We have many projects underway, and we are working with our suppliers to streamline all of our various processes. For example, we have been putting effort into improving our supplier portal and sharing best practices.

Market opportunity

“Our relationships have been strengthened in many ways by the pandemic, as navigating those challenges together has helped us communicate more effectively. Keeping a steady flow of components available for our assembly teams is of paramount importance, seconded only by the safety of our people, and so we have a lot to thank our suppliers for.”

Thorite For over 50 years, Thorite has been supplying goods and services to Carnaud Metalbox Engineering. It works in partnership with CMbE teams to design and manufacture a full range of sub-assemblies and control systems to meet today’s demand for innovation and productivity. Thorite’s common goal is not only to improve production levels while managing overall cost savings, but to deliver the best quality and service it can to meet both CMbE and its customer’s expectations.

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CarnaudMetalbox Engineering The company’s dedication to customer centric service, and engineering excellence, will no doubt continue to bring it success in 2022. “Above all, we will continue to support our customers,” Marc affirms. “Whilst I do not believe that we are in the clear as far as Covid-19 is concerned, I do believe that we will eventually come out the other side with stronger relations, not only with our customers and suppliers, but with our people as well, who have gone through this with the company every step of the way. In the meantime, we will continue managing the situation, and responding to challenges as they occur,” he adds.

In the long-term, there are even bigger things on the horizon for CMB Engineering, as the industry hopes to corner the filtered water market, and contribute to a more sustainable future for the manufacturing industry. “Should consumer demand continue to grow, then we will continue to make our investments as wisely as possible to support that growth. The real prize would be for bottled water to follow the current trend, and move from plastic to aluminum cans.

“According to Euro-monitor International’s global packaging trends report, the number of plastic water bottles consumed in a year

T & G Engineering “T&G have been supplying the canning industry for over 40 years. In recent years this has grown to see us supply most of the canning companies all over the world. We work very closely with CarnaudMetalbox for machine builds, spares and quick turnaround modifications when needed. The close collaborative approach with buyers, engineers and quality makes it a great working relationship for both parties. I personally started my career with Metalbox and have spent 35 years working in and around the canning industry, which along with my team, gives us a greater understanding of canning.”

Tony Smith, MD, T & G Engineering.

will have increased to 583.3 billion by the end of 2021. That’s a lot of plastic to recycle, and unfortunately a significant percentage of that will inevitably end up in our countryside, oceans and rivers; moving to a more sustainable container would have a huge environmental impact, and we are here, ready to support that movement,” Marc concludes. v

CarnaudMetalbox Engineering www.carnaudmetalboxengineering.co.uk Services: Metal forming and finishing machinery

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Terry Brewer

The science of innovation

W Celebrating its 40th year of operation, Brewer Science continues to set the benchmark when it comes to the development of next-generation materials and processes 70 l www.manufacturing-today.com

hen Brewer Science first launched in Rolla, Missouri in 1981, it was the start of a revolution. With his innovative use of anti-reflective coatings, Terry Brewer overhauled the global microelectronics industry, with Brewer Science materials ushering a new wave of high-speed, lightweight electronic devices.

Brewer Science quickly emerged as a global leader in the development and manufacture of nextgeneration materials and processes - a status it retains more than 40 years later.

Today, the company continues to focus on creating the most advanced materials, systems, and

solutions to solve the most difficult lithography challenges within the semiconductor industry.

It’s replicated this success, too: in the areas of advanced packaging materials and printed sensor systems and inks, further enabling the development of cutting-edge microdevices and unique monitoring systems for industrial, environmental, and air applications.

Setting Brewer Science apart is the company’s focus on win-win customer solutions, and a commitment to the highest standards of social and environmental performance. “We build quality into every stage of our processes, whether it’s selecting raw materials, validating

Brewer Science

through enhanced metrology methods, or deploying world-class process engineering and chemistry optimization,” says Brewer Science Executive Director, Manufacturing Quality and Logistics, Tom Brown. “Our high-intensity product development teams work on targeted, nearterm improvements to our products, delivering consistency to our customers, and inspiring confidence in our fundamental technology.”

In this, Brewer Science depends on the close collaboration of its R&D and manufacturing teams. “Our integrated engineering designs ensure that products created in Alpha level equipment have the same consistency and

performance as they move into Beta level, and then into our full production equipment,” Tom explains. “It’s a seamless transfer, and one of our greatest assets.”

Continuously evolving

Another pillar of Brewer Science’s success is its commitment to delivering materials and solutions right the first time, with zero defects.

“Our ‘Zero Defects’ program continues to encourage innovation within the company,” Tom states. “It’s not simply a company initiative, it’s a mindset: Zero Defects is how we approach our jobs and how we move forward in our

continuous improvement efforts. It’s all about our employees and their desire to be better today than they were yesterday.

“We’ve adopted a Zero Defects mindset in our operations activity, eliminating as many potential defect contributors as possible from our production environment,” he continues.

“To achieve the next level, we’ve rolled out that approach within our product development, adding a ‘Design to Zero’ and a ‘Test to Zero’ approach to our pre-existing ‘Make to Zero’ initiative. We’re no longer focused on cleaning our products up. Instead, we’ve taken things back to the beginning and said: ‘We don’t want anything to clean up later.’ ” In May 2021, Brewer Science became the first company in the semiconductor industry to become a Certified B Corporation™: a for-profit, corporate entity that seeks to positively impact society, the community, and the environment. Brewer Science joins a worldwide network of almost 4000 Certified B Corporations across 150 different industries and 74 countries, all of whom have demonstrated a spirited commitment to high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

To become a B Corp, Brewer Science completed a meticulous assessment process conducted by B Lab, examining over 170 factors from Brewer Science’s record of inclusion to its community involvement, corporate governance, and environmental impact. B Lab also analyzed average employee tenure, charitable giving, energy savings plan, recycling policies, employee volunteer service, and employee upward mobility.

Achieving B Corp status is a testament to Brewer Science’s commitment to continuously evolve its global footprint for the benefit of its employees, community, and customers, and signals the company’s alignment with its stated mission of being ‘of the people, by the technology, for the customer, to achieve fulfillment.’ “It’s the first line of our vision statement, and it really is as simple as that,”Tom admits. “To create a world class manufacturing company, we knew we had to invest in our infrastructure, but probably most critical to our success are the investments we’ve made in our people.

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“Before a new employee starts in operations, I talk to them about our three pillars of impact and how they need to embrace these attributes if they are to be successful,” Tom explains. “They are: having the courage to challenge, expecting excellence in themselves and others, and empowering others. Living these pillars allows our teams to own their products and processes.

It’s about creating and practicing a mindset of employee ownership.”

Recently, Brewer Science was recognized as Intel’s ‘Preferred Quality Supplier’. It’s a relationship that remains extremely valuable to both parties. “Our approach to innovation and growth as a privately-held employee-ownership and B Corp company is different than what you’ll find in most Fortune 500 companies,” Tom reflects. “It took time to gain an understanding to how each organization works and to fully grasp the value that each can bring to the relationship.

“As we increased our transparency, it

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established trust, and from there we’ve worked towards the creation of new expectations,” he tells us. “It’s no longer about adding capacity or capabilities, but expanding what we offer through innovative process improvements and design from our engineers and chemists.”

But Intel isn’t the only customer relationship of value to Brewer Science. “We’re able to educate our employees with regards to customer interest thanks to the summits and trainings offered by those customers,” says Brewer Science Director of Quality Materials, Julie Ply. “We also partner with our customers on projects to identify data sharing practices, with the intent of identifying and improving consistency in key parameters to drive improvement across the customer process.”

Like most companies, Brewer Science has been forced to take a number of difficult decisions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with the aim of reducing risk for its essential

workers and continuing to fulfil customer demand.

Luckily, the company proved well-prepared for the challenge, quickly pivoting the vast majority of its employees into a remote working environment thanks to a prevalence of web-based computing, strong VPN and networking systems, and a robust infrastructure for communicating with international and remote employees.

“We had an already-established Work Team format, giving us a head start when it came to creating functional socially-distanced workspaces and adjusting schedules to minimize interactions,” Tom notes. “Prior to the pandemic, we’d recognized the risk of something taking out the whole team. At that point, we began implementing cross-training between teams, adding an extra layer of risk management. In the early days of Covid-19, we also had office staff volunteer to be part of the cleaning crew, allowing us to dramatically increase cleaning and wipe-down activities across the company.”

In all, Brewer Science passed the challenge with flying colors. “Despite the absence of senior leadership on-site in order to minimize risk to essential staff, we saw an increase in our productivity levels each year,” Tom reports.

“Even more significantly, we’ve not had a single workplace transmission, and not once was a shipment to our customers impacted because of Covid-19.”

Targeted expansion

Critical to this success was Brewer Science’s host of reliable suppliers. “Although we’ve been impacted by a high number of discontinuations and force majeure situations in the last two years, in most cases we’ve seen our suppliers respond quickly to find alternative solutions,” Julie explains. “Often, this resulted in an improvement to the supply chain, and has helped our ontime delivery to remain consistently at or above targets, often exceeding industry average performance.”

One such improvement was a significant reduction of nonconformances in supplied raw materials. “Through effective problem solving, our suppliers took systemic corrective and preventive actions to ensure that the products we received could be used in a timely manner as planned,” Julie adds. “Since the pandemic, we’ve also used virtual supplier audits in place of onsite audits very effectively, and we initiated an annual strategic business review to give us greater insight into our suppliers’ business activities. Both of these have

Brewer Science served to strengthen our supplier relationships.”

As Brewer Science looks forward to 2022, the company is laying the groundwork for targeted expansion within its production and warehousing, with a focus on metrology.

“We’ve been growing our wafer-level packaging business (WLP), utilizing the knowledge we’ve gained working with world leaders in our front-end materials business, and applying those same standards to our back-end materials,” Tom reveals. “This is positioning us extremely well in light of our expected growth and the ever-tightening quality requirements we anticipate. Likewise, our smart devices and printed electronics

foundry business continues to gain traction, and we are integrating our manufacturing and R&D teams to speed up the rate of commercialization.

“In the longer term, digitization and modelling will help us change the landscape of our manufacturing footprint,” he reflects. “We have several programs underway that we feel can help improve how we do business. Within that, a commitment to positively impacting the environment will remain at the forefront. By expanding our use of alternative energy sources and continuing our equipment revitalization initiative, we hope to drive down our carbon footprint and increase our energy efficiency.” v

Brewer Science www.brewerscience.com Services: Materials research, development and manufacture

GreenCircle Certified GreenCircle’s Zero Waste to Landfill certification demonstrates absolute commitment to waste minimization and diversion as it requires 100 percent of waste to be diverted from landfill, making our certification the gold standard in transparency. The goal of our audit is to help companies understand where they are with waste minimization and zero waste programs in order to reduce waste, decrease carbon footprint, and achieve sustainability goals. Our certification analysts assess every waste stream generated in the facility and go the extra mile to audit the company’s material management organizations (MMOs) to ensure that all materials are being managed as promised by the MMO. Brewer Science has gone through our robust audit and has achieved our Zero Waste to Landfill certification for their Rolla, MO and Vichy, MO facilities for seven consecutive years. This achievement demonstrates their commitment to sustainability, continuous improvement, and to being a brand their customers can trust.

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Trystar Inc, headquarters - Burnsville

Taking charge 74 l www.manufacturing-today.com

Trystar Inc

Trystar Inc is determined to keep customers from going dark. With its core specialism in reserve power supply, the company is striving to be the goto name for industries across the United States

T

rystar, headquartered out of Minnesota, USA is passionate about powered solutions. The business, which specializes in providing emergency and backup electricity, has spent the last 30 years refining its manufacturing capabilities to be a leader in the energy supply industry. Andrew Smith, also known as AJ and the company’s CEO, discusses more about Trystar’s competencies, and what makes it a stand-out name for its customers in the US. “We began as a family-founded organization selling wholesale cable. That was an avenue that we went on to specialize in and manufacture ourselves, providing power, welding, different types of small and large gauge cables, always maintaining the importance of listening to our customers.

“We then started expanding our vision for where the applications of cables could be used; whether it was for events, or in remote areas like in mining operations, places where the grid couldn’t reach, or just for emergencies.

This led us to the opportunity to be an even better partner to our customers by providing customized power distribution panels.”

Client focus

According to him, Trystar jumped on every new opportunity to help its customers succeed.

Consequently, multiple variables have led to the company’s success. “As I mentioned, we have always maintained a focus on the customer; what are they actually looking for? What do they need and how can we accommodate that?

We’ve learnt that to make this happen, we have to be willing to be flexible and adaptive to do things that other companies wouldn’t normally do. That is really critical to both the Trystar culture and its success,” he explains.

“An additional advantage, and from a technical expertise point of view, is the fact that we have such a highly skilled team. They

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bring a combination of dedication, insight, and motivation to be a solution provider to our customers, and our success has been able to thrive on that,” AJ shares.

Tying in with its organic growth, the business has also been able to expand its already impressive facilities in order to improve its efficiency significantly, as AJ notes. “We are a vertically integrated organization. We buy raw copper from suppliers, have it shipped to the stranders, and as I mentioned, we extrude our own cable here. The same sort of process goes for our power distribution panels: we start with raw sheet metal and that is how our power distribution products start in our factory. We do all the cutting, bending, the welding and painting within our facilities. This ensures the product meets our high quality expectations.

“We have a brilliant and robust 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that we have built up to since we started in a pretty small establishment. Of course, the rate at which we’re growing is a good problem, but very soon after moving into that facility, we are already implementing plans to add another 75,000-square-feet to it,” AJ explains.

He then continues to discuss the recent acquisitions that have allowed the company to sustain its plans to keep growing. “In these

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two-and-a-half years, we have acquired three different companies; one in particular does complementary electrical power equipment for rectifiers, inverters, UPS and other backup power sources like power conditioning transformers.

“Then the most recent acquisition is a modular building integrator, which is down in Houston, Texas. They really integrate all of these electrical elements into a modular as well as portable enclosure, whether its tailored types of applications or even full buildings that can be mobilized out to site – all these capabilities are incredibly complementary to Trystar.

“Very often those are in remote areas that don’t have the building infrastructure so they need all of this electrical switch gear and distribution equipment and controls inside a building, despite not having the necessary equipment there to do so, but that’s where we come in.”

Creative team

AJ informs us that there has also been a substantial number of upgrades concerning its extension of products, for example a Triple Breaker Docking Station as well as portable and permanent Automatic Transfer Switches.

“Those are excellent examples of how we

listen to our customers, and they have been implemented as they have been needed.

Everyone wants to take control of their own destiny with respect to their backup power and its distribution. Our culture has always been about appreciating that they want Trystar right alongside them to design the types of products that enable them to do that.

“This new product pipeline started with the capabilities that we have gained from our load banks business, which was another acquisition, then from the Controlled Power Company in Troy, Michigan with the rectifiers, inverters, and power conditioning equipment. Finally, being able to integrate all of those into even more comprehensive solutions through the Total Plant Management Group acquisition down in Houston brings it all together,” he says.

Trystar is also keen to continue its movement towards becoming a ‘one-stop shop’ for its clients, as AJ explains: “Through organic growth and acquisition, we continue to expand our offerings to solve more and more of our customer demands. This makes it easier for our customers to buy from one place.”

Heading into the new year, AJ takes a moment to reflect on 2021. He shares how the industry has performed, and how incredibly proud he is of the way in which his business has succeeded

Trystar Inc when it comes to innovation, team work and dedication. “We’ve been really proactive, I truly feel like Trystar managed through the pandemic much better than most organizations. Earlier on, we began making investments to ensure we would still be there to serve customer expectations and deliver on them, which worked to our advantage brilliantly.

“Above that, I cannot emphasize how fantastic our team is. They are continually coming up with creative solutions to get clients what they need in a short time frame, and despite the hardship of 2021, I was really proud of them for being able to keep up that momentum.

They have excelled over the years in being

flexible, responsive to customer demands and addressing the needs of our clients, while we have sought out ways to bring in some of these complimentary companies to add on to the overall Trystar portfolio,” AJ expresses.

Now, his outlook on 2022 is one of excitement for new developments underway, and he is hopeful that Trystar will continue to accelerate in strengthening its capabilities, with further plans of growth on the horizon. “We have a robust basket of projects for 2022. We are expecting nothing other than the same strong growth that we’ve exhibited over the last number of years. We’re going to complete the facility expansion with all its new capabilities,

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and I think 2022 is going to be a year where we blow out even more from a new products perspective, leveraging the capabilities while also putting a significant amount of time and investment into new product development as well, so I am really looking forward to it,” he concludes. v

Trystar Inc www.trystar.com Services: Portable and industrial power solutions provider

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Moore than meets the eye Entering their 75th year, Moores Furniture Group Ltd has come back from the brink to re-establish themselves as an award-winning kitchen manufacturer

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Moores Furniture Group

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t’s been a long journey for Moores.

Operating from its factory in Wetherby, Yorkshire, the company first began making furniture nearly 75 years ago, supplying kitchens for public sector housing throughout the 1960s before expanding into private development and retail markets. Today, the business has become recognized as one of the UK’s leading kitchen manufacturers, with a reputation built on quality craftsmanship and superior customer service.

Despite its longevity, recent years for Moores have not been without difficulty. Like many businesses, the company grappled with a fall from profitability coinciding with the prolonged aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. A management buyout backed by Hilco Capital in November 2017 put Moores on the fast-track to recovery, with two years of phenomenal growth culminating with its receipt of ‘Turnaround of the Year’ at the 2019 Turnaround, Restructuring & Insolvency (TRI) Awards.

However, the challenges kept coming. March 2020 brought with it the arrival of Covid-19

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in the UK. But for Moores, unlike many, the pandemic has served to underline its resilience.

“We initially closed down for a period of six weeks,” says Moores CEO Steve Parkin. “Very quickly however, we bounced back to work, and within weeks had returned to delivering our usual service, with our customers seeing very little impact. Despite the limitations on trade, we’ve grown in that two-year period overall, with a dip in 2020 followed by growth of 23 percent last year. This year, we’re

expecting to grow by over 20 percent, putting us back in line with our 2019 trajectory.”

Whilst other businesses may have been inclined to reduce investment during this tough period, Moores recognized that if they were going to achieve their ambitious growth plans following the pandemic, it was key to make crucial investments across their infrastructure. “It sounds crazy,” Steve admits.

“We invested around £3 million in a brandnew fleet of 25 tractors, along with containers,

We’ve taken on nearly 50 people in the last quarter alone, with considerable recruitment still to come. As we move out of the pandemic, it’s clear that consumer confidence across the UK is growing, employment levels are rising, and that positivity is only going to benefit business

Moores Furniture Group and a further £1 million on upgrades within the factory. From scratch, we also purchased and installed an environmentally-friendly boiler – a £2 million investment, helping us to burn our own waste wood and support our sustainability roadmap. Added to that, we upgraded our saw cutting technology, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds rewriting software to make the systems more effective and to improve the quality of the operation. We are opening a fifth line in the factory to meet the rising number of orders.”

Crucially, Moores’ success has come without sacrifice to its employee base. “Not one Moores employee lost their job during the pandemic,” Steve says. “Everybody received 100 percent of their pay during the shutdown, and our company was featured on the BBC news as a case study of how a company in West Yorkshire had responded to the challenge of the pandemic. It gave us the opportunity to talk about how we’d looked after our people, and to share information about our health and safety procedures, including sending masks and gels to our

employees’ homes, helping them to not only look after themselves, but their families as well.”

Keeping confidence high

For Moores, the pandemic has underlined the value of communication. “We held virtual meetings with a crisis team every day and sent out weekly communications to let everyone know what was going on, a practice that worked so well we have kept it in place,” Steve explains. “We also communicated closely with our customers and our suppliers, keeping them informed of everything we were doing, and keeping confidence high.”

In particular, Moores expects their embrace of virtual communication software to be one for the long term. “There’s a new, efficient way of meeting people now,” Steve says.

“Just yesterday, I was able to gather all of my customer service and customer care staff together on a screen for 30 minutes.

Previously, that simple task would’ve taken significant effort, whereas now we can do it almost instantaneously. Face-to-face remains the best way to build a relationship, but

for quick, instantaneous work, using Teams or Zoom has been great. We’re also now very open-minded to more flexibility in the workplace where it works for both parties, such as working from home. Of course, we still have 250 people who work in a factory for whom that isn’t an option, but on the other hand, after a long time apart we’ve seen that many people do want to come into work and enjoy the camaraderie the workplace has to offer.”

In a period characterized by precarity, what’s the secret behind Moores’ success?

“There are several key elements to our success. We have a great relationship with Homebase,” Steve says. “Under the leadership of CEO Damian McLaughlin, they’ve been an unsung turnaround story in the market. We continue to provide them with products and services of the highest quality, and they’ve embraced us in turn. Together, we’re now set to sign a new five-year agreement, so there’s still room for growth.

“In the Private Developer Housebuilder and Public Sectors, we’ve also really developed

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Steve Parkin, CEO and Michel Roux Jnr

arrives and makes everyone’s chin hit the floor,” Steve explains. “Instead, it’s lots of incremental changes taking place which, when combined, make a kitchen exciting. In color, for instance, where the majority of consumers typically play it safe with white or grey, more and more people are starting to be braver, opting for in-vogue colors like dark greens or dark blues.

“Similarly, storage is becoming more important, as people recognize the need for more space in their kitchens,” he continues.

“We’re also seeing the expansion of the kitchen into a communal area – people are adding multi-functional installations like kitchen islands, which can be used as workstations as well as preparation or dining areas. For us, this means working hard with the likes of Blum and Kessebohmer to develop new and innovative components to satisfy these demands for optimized utilization.”

Great new ideas

our service proposition, winning new business across both new builds and refurbishments,” Steve says. “About ten years ago Moores lost their way with the major house builders. It takes time to rebuild that confidence, and we’ve been working really hard to regrow our market share. We’re already big with Barrett, Persimmons and Redrow, and in the

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last 12-to-18 months, we’ve been embraced

by Bellway, one of the top five builders in the country.”

Part of the challenge for Moores is matching the ever-evolving demands of their customer base with exciting innovations across their product ranges. “Rarely is there a single paradigm-shifting development that

In 2021, Moores was awarded the ‘Ideal Home Storage Solution of the Year Award’ for their Roux Kitchens collection and was shor tlisted for the ‘Made in Yorkshire’ Awards in the same year. “Throughout our time, Moores has always been a leader in the market, and we’ve worked with some fantastic supply par tners to introduce great new ideas,” Steve says. “Wilsonar t, for instance, have an on-trend range of really thin worktops developed using a new

Moores Furniture Group polymer, and we’re working with them to fit those into our kitchens.

“We launched our Roux Kitchens collection some years ago now, as a premium proposition in collaboration with Michelin Starred Chef, Michel Roux Jr,” he continues. “We introduced that to Homebase back in 2020, and in Guildford we developed a whole shop filled exclusively with Roux Kitchens, as a means to showcase the range. Over time, our plan is to gently roll Roux into more and more Homebase stores, alongside the House Beautiful and Country Living kitchen ranges we already supply.”

Beyond their production line, Moores are increasingly turning their attention to

sustainability to hit carbon neutrality by 2025.

“This goal is very important to us,” Steve says. “Gradually, we’re transitioning our fleet of vehicles into hybrid or electric models, and we’re actively encouraging electrification through the installation of chargers across our site for people and visitors to use freeof-charge. We’ve appointed dedicated people to analyze our environmental credentials, whose sole role is to ensure that we’re doing all we can to control and utilize waste, and to avoid the unnecessary burning of fossil fuels.

Of course, there’s always more to be done, and we’re always looking to bring new ideas onboard.”

Blum Blum is proud to support Moores Furniture Group Ltd Blum has been supplying Moores since 1977 and it has forged a valuable working relationship with the group. It is proud to be associated with such a premium brand and knows that Moores uses its products in the full knowledge that they will receive not only top quality fittings - hinges and drawer boxes - but also a reassuring lifetime guarantee on all its products. For the lifetime of your Moores kitchen, you can rely on Blum to help provide new ideas and solutions for a better quality of living in your home.

Blum UK | T: 01908 285700 | www.blum.com

As Moores look to an exciting year ahead, they are putting a strong emphasis on customer service. “We’re recruiting heavily in order to fulfil our ambitions, and to meet our customers’ requirements,” Steve explains. “We’ve taken on nearly 50 people in the last quarter alone, with considerable recruitment still to come. As we move out of the pandemic, it’s clear that consumer confidence across the UK is growing, employment levels are rising, and that positivity is only going to benefit business.

When it comes to our sector, people are getting used to investing in their homes. Our order book is the highest we have seen it in two decades, and we’re experiencing a Q1 that is way above anything we have seen in over ten years. It’s fantastic to see business flowing in our direction once again.” v

Moores Furniture Group www.moores.co.uk Services: Kitchen Manufacturing

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Fighting the good fight

With a deep care for the medical industry, Fujirebio Diagnostics aims to utilize its leading technology to equip its customers with the necessary tools to detect and combat disease 84 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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ujirebio Diagnostics (Fujirebio) started back in the late 1970s, as Centocor, with an objective to take what was then a relatively novel technology

known as monoclonal antibodies, and develop the therapeutics required to target disease.

By the early 80s, the concept was still fairly new, and so the business had to establish the

Fujirebio Diagnostics

complementary diagnostics that would mark certain diseases, proving that these antibodies could be used to target life altering diseases such as cancer.

Once the company began down the path of developing pharmaceuticals, it then divested the diagnostics aspect to a company in Japan, that was one of its customers, Fujirebio Inc. It

was then renamed to Fujirebio Diagnostics.

“From that point, we became a contract development manufacturer of raw materials and finished goods in the diagnostics industry,

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with a heavy focus on oncology. Our antibodies are considered the gold standard for these tests, and we supply them to most of the industry globally,” Monte Wiltse, who serves the company as its President and CEO, notes.

Fujirebio then continued to expand into developing the finished test and manufacturing for four of the five leading companies in its industry.

“Then in 2006, we acquired a business in Gothenburg, Sweden. We were able to leverage that into the contract development and manufacturing business that we had structured. We started to build that out for them as well, so they have become Fujirebio Diagnostics AB,” he says.

Monte discusses with us how his business has since remained determined to grow organically by expanding its reach across the manufacturing sector, innovating the medical industry, as well as what plans lie ahead to continue Fujirebio’s legacy.

Increasing automation

Owing to the fact that the business works in a highly regulated industry, Fujirebio is required to meet a high-level of quality standards across the countries to which it supplies. This continuous refinement to guarantee excellent products is what keeps it a leading name.

“One of the reasons we have developed the rapport we have with the industry leaders

is through the profile that we maintain with the regulators. We have ISO13485/MDSAP certification at all three of our manufacturing sites, which demonstrates our ability to deliver high quality products. As you can imagine, if you have quality issues in cancer or cardiac tests for example, that is an incredibly detrimental problem, and so we maintain really high-quality profiles to ensure that does not happen. At this site in the United States, we manufacture over one million test kits a year, which amounts to roughly 150 million patient tests,” he says.

On the topic of its manufacturing capabilities, the reason the company is able to support production of this capacity is owed to its state-of-the-art facilities, with the largest of its three sites in Malvern, Pennsylvania. “We have about 350 employees of the 450 in total. It is a 190,000-square-foot facility, and what we’ve focused on is increasing the level of automation within our manufacturing processes.

“We were in a position where, as the business continued to grow, we were having to bring in more and more people, and in our industry the largest quality issues come from human error. What we needed to do was figure out how to eliminate those mistakes.

Now, we are about half way through the implementation of a Manufacturing Execution System, and the benefit is capacity in certain operations. For example, when we have a paper batch record, chemical additions to a reagent have to be observed by a second technician so we have to have two people to actually do one job effectively. However, when it is electronic, the scale is tied to the system, allowing exact amounts to be added, and eliminating the need to have the extra observer. We can then pick up the capacity of that second person, and they can, in turn, run their own process,” he shares. An additional benefit of automation means it can also reduce non-conformances that could lead to quality issues, which may occur during the production process. Monte adds that this consequently enables the company to continue to deliver high quality products.

New contributions

Despite the move towards automation, he elaborates on how the business still boasts a unique company culture, filled with dedicated experts who are passionate about making a difference to the medical industry. “We have an incredibly engaged workforce. About a month ago, we completed a satisfaction and engagement survey to get a pulse of what people are actually feeling about working with us. The results showed that our workforce is

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Fujirebio Diagnostics 90 percent engaged, and over 25 percent are what’s classed as highly engaged.

“We exceed all the industrial norms regarding satisfaction levels, and a lot of it is because we operate the business in an environment that behaves like a smaller company, and so people enjoy working here. We try to focus on what is going to be good for both the company and our employees, because ultimately, they are our greatest asset. If they are not satisfied, or really engaged in their work, we are going to have quality issues, which we just can’t afford.”

In bringing our discussion to a close, Monte shares plans for the future, and how

the company is determined to remain a leader in the industry, with prospects to bring new contributions to Alzheimer’s and Dementia research. “We are still working to increase automation in our processes, and our manufacturing execution system still has another two years before it is fully implemented. The other thing we are focused on, which began during the pandemic, was moving towards a Lean manufacturing approach, as well as a continuous improvement mindset, and we are starting to see some of those benefits. We are becoming a little more efficient in how we do things for our people,

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ESi services are performed at the customer sites or in its 17025 Accredited Metrology Lab. ESi provides comprehensive technical services on equipment such as bioreactors, fermenters, autoclaves, water stills, steam generators, process equipment, general laboratory equipment, and process instrumentation. ESi is a proud technical service provider to Fujirebio Diagnostics on their cell culture bioreactor equipment and processes.

and I truly believe it is making their jobs more enjoyable. We are eliminating some of the waste in our processes, which makes their life a little easier,” he expresses.

“If we look even further down the line, what we want to concentrate on is trying to bring new technologies to healthcare, and right now the big focus for us is in Alzheimer’s/Dementia.

We are investigating a number of different markers, and we have two that are in front of the FDA right now that we hope to have on the market later this year,” Monte concludes.

Fujirebio’s approach, as a contract development manufacturer, is to equip all its customers with the necessary tools to fight against disease, which is why Monte is passionate about making its technology available to everyone, and it will continue to do so for as long as the medical industry continues to care about the world’s health. v

Fujirebio Diagnostics www.fujirebio.com/en Services: Medical diagnostics

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Reliable supply As it looks to venture into new industries, Intek Plastics Inc. is breaking the mold with an employee-first focus and emphasis on sustainability 88 l www.manufacturing-today.com

Intek Plastics

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ntek has a long history in Hastings, Minnesota. Originally founded in 1961 by engineer Lyle Ward, it began life as a vinyl extrusion company before its sale to family-owned cereals provider Malt-OMeal. In 1989, then trading as Weather Shield Manufacturing, the company parted ways with its parent before rebranding under its present name in 1997. Now in its third-generation of family-ownership, and with a team of more than 200 associates, Intek has emerged as a major supplier of engineered thermoplastic

extrusions, fabricated sub-assemblies and value-added services to original equipment manufacturers.

Like many businesses in the US, Intek’s development throughout the last decade has occurred within the shadow of the financial crisis, which saw extreme stress across banking systems worldwide. The catalyst for that stress was a downturn in the US housing market, a fact that had major implications for Intek’s business. “A critical part of our business was, and continues to be, supplying the window and

door industry,” says Intek CEO Jill Hesselroth.

“Following the downturn, we ended up consolidating two plants into one. It was a difficult time for all plastic extruders, and for anyone in or supporting construction.”

Fast forward to the year 2020, and the US faced further difficulty – with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, closely followed by one of the most severe winter seasons to impact the country in several years. The chaos continued in 2021, with prolonged disruption to supply chains undermining recovery efforts. “We’ve

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had a couple of significant years,” Jill continues.

“Fortunately, we were able to work together with our customers, employees, suppliers, and board of directors to come up with some excellent plans.”

Leadership team

Servant leadership

Intek’s priority throughout the period was the retention of its employee base – by no means a certainty amid a hostile trading environment.

“We have a unique skillset at Intek, one that takes a substantial amount of time to develop in our extrusion operations,” Jill explains. “We didn’t want to lose that experience, and we’re happy to report that we saw no layoffs throughout 2020-21. At the same time, our leadership team worked closely with all our employees to develop a plan to keep everyone safe.”

As employment cuts became the norm across the US and beyond, Intek capitalized on its labor force in order to enact vital improvements to its operations. “We were actually able to expand capacity during the last couple of years,” Jill says. “It’s one of the really good stories to come out of the pandemic, giving us a strong foundation to implement further expansions in the near future. It serves as a testament to the hard work and resilience of our employees.”

The company prides itself on cultivating an open and rewarding culture throughout its operations. “Over the last seven years, we’ve pivoted towards a culture based on servant leadership,” Jill explains. “What that means in practice, is that every single employee – whether they’re a leader, mid-management, or on the shop floor – is expected to help one another in order to be successful in their work. To make that work, we rely on excellent strategic planning and execution. The people we hire are those who share our values.

We have a very talented and collaborative leadership team, who work tirelessly with focused recruiting, retention and recognition to fill our vacant positions.”

Integral to Intek’s culture is the company’s investment in continuous learning and improvement. In 2021, the company was the proud recipient of two ALIGN Awards from online education provider Biz Library, including ‘Best Measured Results’ and ‘Training Program of the Year’. Intek followed this up in December 2021, being awarded the Hastings Chamber of Commerce ‘2022 Business of the Year’ Award, nominated and voted for by the chamber members and committee.

“We’ve found that for the current generation of new hires, opportunities for development are a key priority,” says Intek

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Vice President of HR and Service Operations, Sonya Prange. “We drive that through a number of training, development and engagement programs. Within our production area, for instance, we’ve explored how employees can move up in level within the business. Similarly, we’ve also partnered with local community organizations to implement our on-site English as a Second Language training, as part of our focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). That’s run for a few years now, but we’re continually making

improvements in order to benefit employees whose English might need improvement, and to ensure that we’re providing everyone with the same high-quality experience.”

As trade gradually returns to normal, Intek is readying itself for a series of new projects.

“During 2020, the biggest growth activity was found within housing,” says Intek VP of Sales and Marketing, Paul Pedersen. “People were still building, and the need for windows and doors remained strong. Other markets and industries were on hold a little, but in 2021

Intek Plastics

they started to bounce back very strongly.

Intek recently won some very important profiles with a big lighting customer. Their initial designs were challenging from a manufacturing standpoint, so we worked closely with them to come up with a new design that would meet their needs, and which could be extruded more efficiently and cost effectively.”

Carbon-neutral products

Efficiency is more than a buzzword. An Energy Star partner, Intek has long been a proponent of measures to make its operations more sustainable. “For years, we’ve been set on reducing our energy consumption,” Jill explains. “We actually partner with our energy providers to set goals annually, focusing on the installation of energy efficient equipment wherever possible. Along the same lines, we’ve employed recycled materials here for some time, achieving near-zero plastic waste sent to landfills through a mix of re-grinding and using this ourselves, or by selling it to someone who can do the same.

“More recently, as the scarcity of recycled materials has pushed up costs, we’ve begun testing carbon-neutral products and bio-based materials derived from plants,” she continues.

“We recently hired a PhD material scientist to support our technology development.

He’s already worked with our customers and supply chain teams to identify substitutions for materials that have the same characteristics as those we were already utilizing, but which were more widely available. With this addition, we now have more opportunities to work with our customers on understanding the characteristics that they’re looking for in an end product, and to supply them with better engineering results and alternatives.”

Despite a challenging year, Intek succeeded in meeting its on-time delivery target, underlining the company’s commitment to its customers. “That didn’t happen magically,” Jill says. “It’s the product of a lot of research, and a total team effort – across our material science

people, our sales and operations teams and our supply chain people.”

“This year, we’ve had several customers tell us that we’ve done a much better job supplying them than their other suppliers,” Paul confirms.

“We can see that in the quoting behavior, where customers are coming to us because they can’t get material elsewhere.

“As we turn to the new year, we’re confident that we’re going to see continual increases across our fenestration business, as the demand for housing remains high,” he

continues. “We’re also focusing more heavily on the controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) market, an area that’s typically very demanding of positive environmental solutions. We’re working with that market space, coming up with new materials to suit its needs.” v

Intek Plastics www.intekplastics.com Services: Thermoplastic extrusions and sub-assemblies

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Engineering the essentials As a distributor for hundreds of leading name brands across the UK, Hayley Group is known for its unrivalled stock capabilities and leading technology solutions 92 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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stablished in 1976, Hayley Group is one of the largest and most diverse manufacturers and distributors of components and consumable goods in the UK. The company has a strong focus on building positive and productive relationships with its customer base, and as a result works

successfully as an authorized distributor for numerous big-name brands including Shell, 3M and Siemens. Known for its industrial vending solutions, stores management systems and mechanical engineering services, Hayley Group now places an emphasis on its energy efficiency and decarbonization systems, in

Hayley Group John Holden

order to promote more sustainable industry to its customers.

Since being acquired by Dexis Europe four years ago, the Hayley Group has joined a larger network of manufacturers and distributors, and grown exponentially. “As part of the acquisition we actually grew from a single UK operation, to

the business which extends across 14 different countries,” explains John Holden, National Accounts Director for the Hayley Group.

“We record a turnover in excess of £3.8 billion as a group. We have over 1000 employees throughout the UK, and, even through the pandemic, we have actually increased our

employee count by 6.6 percent over the last two years,” he adds, highlighting some of Hayley Groups most recent accomplishments.

As an expert in distribution, stores inventory management, and engineering, manufacturing and repair, Hayley Group is able to serve a diverse range of industries, including food and drink, transportation, utilities, construction, paper, pulp, packaging, steel, aggregates, rail, and much more. “We work extremely hard with our diverse product and engineering offer. We

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do so many different things, and our model is so malleable, that it’s hard to comprehend,” John observes.

“We stock a vast range of engineering components, and have manufacturing facilities as well. Our manufacturing/rebuild facilities have a lifting capacity up to 50 tons, with 400 tons press and spray booths etc. we are able to turn products up to six foot in diameter, carry out on site removal and installation, in-situ repairs, reengineering obsolete units, precision machining, breakdown manufacturing and reclamation.

“Also as part of our engineering facilities we have Lamond and Murray (gear cutting specialist), DMS (drive management services, engineering reliability experts), WMH (linear motion and collaborative robotic specialists) as well as our gearbox and pump refurbishment divisions with full test facilities, which makes our entire process more comprehensive,” he continues.

Diverse portfolio

Some of Hayley Group’s core products include bearings, fluid power, power transmission, seals, fasteners, lubricants and vending machines, however the company also runs numerous product specialism divisions, which work with bespoke customerspecific components to improve efficiency and sustainability. “We have also redesigned equipment for our clients in order to increase their productivity, and help them through the pandemic,” highlights John.

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Hayley Group Many of these services are invaluable for companies trying to improve their operations in light of recent events in the UK and abroad. “One of our strengths is the diversity of our product portfolio, and also the diversity of industries that we actually supply; the pandemic certainly hasn’t stopped us expanding our business.

“We supply anything from bottled water up to braking systems for trains. We also helped to design some of the products that supported the NHS during the height of Covid-19. We actually designed a ventilator through our fluid power division,” says John.

The adaptability of Hayley Group’s model, as well as its value-driven approach, made it an invaluable resource for a number of businesses and institutions over the last two years. “2020 was a record year for the Hayley Group; because we are such a diverse operation, with so many manufacturing capabilities, when Coronavirus hit we were in a good position to start providing PPE product to the NHS and anyone else who needed it,” John confirms.

“We worked directly with the NHS to supply them with PPE products during the

pandemic, and we also gave PPE to local care homes. We wanted to help any way we could, and fortunately we were able to help by redesigning a number of machines to assist in the cleaning process of theatre clothing to make it more efficient and safer.

“This enabled mass production, and got products back to the NHS much quicker than before. We’ve had a good two years to be honest with you, and we don’t see it ending,” he elaborates.

Playing such an important role in a national crisis has helped Hayley Group continue to grow its operations across the UK. As a result, the company is now looking to expand a number of its facilities. “The rail division moved into its new site at Oldbury and that will give it its own facilities. With a purposebuilt show room, it will enable us to show customers what we can offer them, and exhibit exactly what the division does. We will also be using the nearby rail station in Oldbury to bring in customers,” explains John.

“With the Hayley smart vending side of the operation, the vending solutions team have

overhauled its technology platform.That’s going to make us much more efficient and effective when it comes to supplying our customer base; we now actually have everything that is required for that side of the business under one roof.”

Established for almost a decade, the team has overseen hundreds of successful installations of Hayley SmartVend machines at customer’s sites, right across the UK. The machines have enabled businesses to reduce inventory, improve productivity and efficiency, and gain valuable insight into the usage behaviors and expenditure associated with their stocks of tools, consumables, and PPE. The brand-new range of machines comes as part of a newly-strengthened partnership with a UK-based technical partner. Customers can therefore be safe in the knowledge that they are supporting British manufacturing at this vital time. The partnership will allow Hayley SmartVend to keep pace with the continually diversifying industrial vending market. As a result of the refresh of the Hayley SmartVend offering, customers will be provided with enhanced technical and service support

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capabilities, Hayley SmartVend will continue to deliver cloud-based connectivity, further amplifying the positive impact that the solutions are able to have on the day-to-day operations of customers.

“To support the expansion, we have hired people who specialize in logistics, so that they can help us analyze our operations from a logistical perspective. We are looking to elevate the way we store, move, and supply stock across the entire business, all the way from our head office to our 50-branch network and the new facility in Oldbury,” he adds.

Strong relationships

Much of this expansion is geared towards improving Hayley Group’s customer experience, and making its entire supply chain more direct and localized. As John comments: “Because of the growth we have had over this period of time, we have had to get the new premises in Oldbury, and we are also seeing a need to expand our facilities here in Halesowen. It’s all about getting the product to the customer as and when they need it.

“At the moment, we are working on a number of other significant contracts, for example we have been working with utilities, steel and aggregate companies, to supply them with the products that keep their businesses running. We are looking at technical solutions for customers, and expanding our operation in that direction as well.”

For tifying strong customer relationships has always been an impor tant par t of how the Hayley Group does business.

With changing market demands meaning many businesses now need to reassess the sustainability of their operations, Hayley Group has stepped in to provide its customers with additional suppor t in this area. “If you think about what is going on now, not just in the UK but across the whole world, it’s becoming more and more apparent that in order to move forward, businesses need to operate more sustainably.

“A lot of the time it comes down to an individual businesses’

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Hayley Group technical ability; a lot of companies don’t have the expertise and knowledge to decarbonize themselves. That’s why our engineering division is so important to us; we are able to design, manufacture and install equipment, and different processes, which we can then offer to our customer base,” John explains.

“We are already working with customers’ sustainability teams to help them to reduce their carbon footprint. To achieve this, we are looking at what they do from a process perspective, and we are also evaluating what they actually use in terms of product.

“To do specific types of jobs, reducing water usage for instance, we utilize our design team.

Their ideas usually end up significantly reducing our customer’s carbon footprint. There are lots of ways we can assist people in decarbonizing their operations, and at least ten areas in which we have specialists,” he goes on.

This focus on sustainability hopes to ensure the future of industry, and in turn, the future of Hayley Group itself. “In the years to come, I want to see Hayley Group as a business that adds value to its customers experience through high quality products and sustainable

CRC Industries CRC Industries and Hayley Group have enjoyed a highly successful partnership for over 15 years, delivering ‘best in class’ solutions to engineers working in the industrial MRO sector. Up until now they have been benefiting from the CRC Ambersil range of industrial aerosols, but now that partnership has become even stronger thanks to the introduction of the CRC SmartWasher to the range.

Using bioremediation technology, the CRC SmartWasher delivers exceptional cleaning power for workshopbased cleaning and degreasing, as well as delivering cost savings. But, most significant in a world where sustainability and safety are ‘must haves’, the CRC SmartWasher will reduce hazardous waste by 99 percent when compared to a traditional solvent-based parts washer and it is completely safe for the user: sustainability that doesn’t cost the Earth.

manufacturing,” asserts John. “It’s not just about selling our product, it’s about how we want to work with customers, by building strong relationships and working alongside one another.

“I don’t expect us to necessarily double the size of the branch network, because being efficient and effective in our business, and working closely with customers, is really going to be the priority.”

With a core focus on people, sustainable practices, and customer relations, Hayley Group steps confidently into what will undoubtedly be a bright future for the company. As John concludes: “I think, ultimately, our recent successes just show that we are doing something right when it comes to working with our customer base. We hope to continue that work into the new year and beyond.” v

Hayley Group www.hayley-group.co.uk Services: Component and consumable manufacturer

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A breath of fresh air 98 l www.manufacturing-today.com

Nuaire

As Europe’s leading designer and manufacturer of ventilator solutions, Nuaire has innovated at the forefront of air movement technology for over 70 years

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enowned for exceptional quality and industry-leading innovation, Nuaire has shaped the commercial ventilation industry for decades with its groundbreaking products, and drive towards greener manufacturing practices. Backed by a loyal and highly skilled workforce, the company provides whole-life support for its ventilation systems, as it continues to invent new, energyefficient ways of maintaining airflow.

Established in 1948 as the Tack Corporation, the company initially supplied the ‘Tack 41’ extractor fan to local shops and small industrial buildings, before rebranding as Nuaire in 1966.

With a new name, and a clearer vision, Nuaire relocated to a 50,000 square-foot production facility in Caerphilly, Wales, where a group of innovators worked on the company’s first landmark invention: the Positive Input Ventilation system.

This system is an endurance-based ventilation strategy that became an industry staple once being introduced by Nuaire.

The market-leading Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) range is trusted by a number of official bodies, including social housing providers, new-build developers and private landlords.

The technology is not only cost-effective, but it is a whole-house system, which prevents condensation and black mould from damaging homes and the health of occupants.

Industry leader

The PIV unit has been hailed as the cure to condensation, and is installed as both an energy-efficiency and safety measure in over a million homes across the UK. It has been nearly 50 years since Nuaire invented the system, and since then it has undergone a series of developments, and enhancements.

The original unit draws fresh air in through the loft, filters it, and distributes it throughout the home via a ceiling diffuser. This creates a

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The company has even gone on to work closely with the Welsh government to promote sustainable manufacturing processes, gaining £2 million worth of government funding to produce a new sheet metal forming system. This machine has now reduced oil consumption on a number of sites across the region, and is actually more efficient than traditional forming operations.

Nuaire is an industry leader in more ways than one; as the first fan manufacturer in the UK to achieve ISO9001 quality standard, the company continues to prove its dedication to the integrity, durability and longevity of its products. Currently holding the ISO45001 standard, it has been recognized on numerous occasions for its dedication to local, ethical and sustainable manufacturing; for example, winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2004, and most recently, the ‘Best Air Movement Product of the Year’ award in 2020, for its XBOXER Hybrid model.

To ensure this level of quality, all Nuaire products undergo a rigorous testing process in a state-of-the-art testing facility, which is considered amongst the most advanced and comprehensive in the world. These tests include reverbant chambers testing, aerodynamics evaluations, and acoustic performance monitoring, to ensure each product is comprehensively analyzed before being installed. Nuaire even allows clients to ‘witness test’ their products from observation laboratories, making the entire process 100 percent transparent.

positive pressure within the home, which forces out air pollutants through natural leakage points.

The Drimaster Eco range builds on this, creating a unit suitable for larger homes. As a ‘fit and forget’ technology, the PIV unit is energy efficient, and only requires minimal maintenance; the result is always cleaner air, and a healthier living environment.

Following the invention of Positive Input Ventilation, the company continued to invest its time in refining the safety and reliability of Nuaire ventilation systems. In 1973, the company made a second invention: twin fan technology.

Using this technology, Nuaire was able to guarantee its customers continued ventilation, even in the instance of fan failure.

With two major innovations in technology and performance under its belt, Nuaire continued to strive for constant improvement, and in 1993 emerged as a forerunner of environmentally conscious manufacturing, with the creation of Microsave Netlink. This controller helped manage energy consumption, making

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all Nuaire products more efficient, and cleaner to run. Today the Microsave Netlink is a refined piece of eco-smart technology, which is still used in the vast majority of Nuaire ventilators.

Today, every part of the Nuaire operation involves some consideration of how the business impacts the environment, the surrounding communities, and the end customer. Run with respect, integrity and fairness, in line with a unique ‘Code of Good Business Practice’, the company has built a reputation for its high levels of corporate social responsibility.

In 2009, Nuaire became the first UK manufacturer to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard; this award was the result of the company’s efforts to measure, manage and reduce its carbon emissions by 2.5 percent in just one year. Nuaire achieved ‘zero waste to landfill’ status on the Caerphilly manufacturing site in 2015, and it was also the first company in the UK to implement the use of a new design screw compactor to process timber recycling on-site.

Creativity and ambition

Supporting Nuaire in all its successes is its parent company, the Genuit Group. Previously known as Polypipe, Nuaire’s parent company underwent a rebrand in early 2021 that placed a renewed emphasis on the importance of ingenuity in manufacturing. Since being acquired

by Genuit in 2015, Nuaire has been able to invest even further in the creativity and ambition of its business; this includes Nuaire’s recent investment in Haven ventilation, a new range of systems that focus on filtering targeted air flow to occupants in commercial spaces.

Constantly striving to be the best, as well as the first, Nuaire has always cultivated a company culture that is dedicated to attentiveness, agility, trust and personalization. Armed with these assets, the company has been able to foster generations of innovators able to anticipate the changing needs of the market.

Nuaire prides itself on training, educating, and supporting true pioneers of industry. Having led the way for air quality innovation in built environments for decades, the company has

Nuaire become renowned for its dedication to radical improvement on all fronts.

As an equal opportunities employer, Nuaire seeks to employ people from the local area, and support surrounding communities, through an involvement in various charitable events and other educational initiatives. Nuaire focuses its charitable donations on groups that are linked to the business, in the hopes of enacting social change, whilst engaging its employees in those activities on a personal level.

Helping millions of people breathe a little easier every day, Nuaire continues to innovate at the very cutting-edge of airflow technology. With decade’s worth of experience in sustainability, plan.com plan.com’s platforms and services are transforming the way some of the UK’s leading businesses optimise their workforce communications and connectivity, whatever their size or stage.

We are proud to supply Nuaire with my.plan, the ultimate connectivity platform, helping them to manage their SIM estate and connect, configure and control their account remotely. Designed to operate seamlessly across devices, services and networks, we provide connectivity they can trust, 24/7/365.

With the capability to process SIM swaps in seconds, monitor current and historical spend, set spend limits and bars, they have full control, ensuring bill shock is now a thing of the past, thanks to a single, easy-to-use platform.

customer support, and creative thinking, the company will no doubt continue to foster a culture of ingenuity and determination in the newly emerging world of post-pandemic manufacturing. v

Nuaire www.nuaire.co.uk Services: Ventilation solutions

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Sustainable creativity Eric Erwin - CEO

The world’s leading manufacturer of foam products for the craft and floral industries, FloraCraft Corporation, creates innovative American-made products with the help of more than 200 dedicated employees and state-of-the-art facilities 102 l www.manufacturing-today.com

FloraCraft Corporation

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he history of FloraCraft Corporation (FloraCraft) is rich and deeply intwined with family values. As a result, this is a company that is dedicated to the cause of sustainability and the production of high-quality products. In 1946, Leonard Schoenherr and Park Allensworth launched the Foliage Company of America in Ludington, where Leonard’s nephew, Lee Schoenherr, worked throughout his high school years.

After serving in the army, and a stint at the Dow Chemical Company, Lee Schoenherr returned to work for the family business in 1960. Over the next decade, he acquired businesses in Ohio, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.

Fourteen years later, Schoenherr purchased the Foliage Company of America from his uncle, and for 40 years, worked to rebrand the company into FloraCraft. The new business continued to acquire smaller ones across

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the country, while securing key accounts with major national retailers, which now include Walmart, Amazon, Michaels, JOANN, Hobby Lobby and other leading retailers.

Passion for sustainability

Now, FloraCraft provides a robust line of products, including floral and craft extruded polystyrene foam, floral wet and dry foam, containers, wire, molded-urethane foam, natural straw and Spanish moss, as well as easels, saddles and huggers. On top of that, its catalog offers several craft products such as white extruded polystyrene and expanded polystyrene foams as well as tools and accessories, including ultra-fine glitter, cutters, coatings and connectors.

“In our 76 years of operations we have experienced numerous milestones, and the last 15 have been particularly exciting with regards to our developments in sustainability. One of the first major steps we took was to recycle more than 98 percent of our foam fabrication scrap. We collect the material and use it in other products or sell it,” shares CEO Eric Erwin. Eric discusses with us the secrets behind FloraCraft’s success, as well as its passion for sustainability.

“After nearly a decade of research and development, with a significant multi-year capital investment, we became fully vertically integrated in 2019. We now design, engineer and produce our own XPS foam in Ludington, enabling us to maintain greater control over the quality of our products, and simultaneously reduce nearly 400,000 miles of truck traffic each year from our former supplier to our headquarters.”

In 2016, the company took its sustainability efforts one step further by partnering with Texas-based business, Americas Styrenics, to develop a greener foam product. Nearly two years were spent developing the product, with an extra year of consumer testing. “Finally, in September 2020, we announced our breakthrough offering, FōM with PolyRenew.

This is the first craft and floral foam creation

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made with post-consumer plastic. In a product category not entirely notorious for its ingenuity, FōM is the first true innovation in this sector in more than 70 years,” he shares.

FōM allows the company to reduce its carbon footprint by saving hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills, and using recycled garment hangers sourced from retailers across the country. “By utilizing recycled materials, we can still make the same amount of product we normally do, but take out the equivalent of nearly 1000 miles of plastic per year, or the distance between New York and St. Louis. The product is still the lightweight material crafters and florists love, only smoother and less brittle than the company’s legacy foam,” Eric expresses.

So, how does FloraCraft achieve and maintain innovation of this standard?

According to Eric, the company believes that improving its products and processes is an organic consequence of refining its sustainability efforts. “By producing our own environmentally-conscious foam products and investing years of research and development to streamline our operation, we’ve been able to make tremendous strides in reducing our carbon footprint. We have a strong desire to continue to improve the ways we do business, and eventually reach our goal of using 100 percent recycled materials.”

To facilitate the creation of FōM, the business needed to expand its infrastructure, and has achieved an impressive rate of growth in terms of its operational footprint since the start of this venture. “We needed to improve our supply chain efficiencies, workflow management and packaging capabilities. So, we added a 27,000-square-foot shipping and distribution center to our 138,000-squarefoot manufacturing facility, which was also renovated in 2020. The new space features a modern distribution center, eight shipping bays, state-of-the-art equipment and expanded packaging lines, as well as storage space for more than 1350 pallets.

“We have also expanded our automation capabilities by partnering with Brenton Engineering to add robotic case packers and other equipment that helps move products through the manufacturing process and onto pallets. We are working with Orka Automation on an automated cutting machine that would increase output for our four-inch foam balls, which are in high demand,” he says.

Eric continues to acknowledge that, most importantly, the installation of new robotic equipment has not had a negative impact on jobs. In fact, it offers expanded learning opportunities for the FloraCraft team, and has increased work efficiency. “As we expand our automation efforts, we also continue our partnership with the area’s local community college to offer our team training to improve their automation skills and ensure the team grows its skillsets, too. Additionally, we have created more efficient, high-value permanent jobs and reduced our reliance on temporary labor.”

This is an excellent complement to the company’s efforts to create a united and highly motivated company culture. “There was arguably no better moment that speaks to our culture than in 2018, when Lee Schoenherr announced plans to share nearly $4 million with full-time members of our team through cash bonuses and 401(k) retirement accounts as recognition of the role they played in building a world-class company. Our team stays motivated because they know they work for an organization that cares about their well-being, their family and is committed to doing business the right way. Whether it is developing financial wellness programs for our employees or investing in their education and professional development, we are always looking for ways to improve our impact on the people around us.”

Tying together leading facilities, unparalleled innovation, and a passionate team behind the FloraCraft name, the business was recently nominated for the Beyond Plastics Award, an

FloraCraft Corporation

achievement of which Eric is incredibly proud.

“This nomination was special for us because the Beyond Plastics team looks for truly innovative products in the international market.

We were honored to have FōM included among other forward-thinking and creative organizations, and the acknowledgement speaks to just how special our team is and the hard work we’ve done,” he shares.

“In addition to the nomination, we have won national awards for sustainability and innovation at the National Association of Manufacturers and American Business Awards. Our work to create FōM was selected as an outstanding example of embracing manufacturing processes that are innovative, non-polluting, conserve energy and natural resources, and are economically sound and safe for employees, communities and consumers.”

New automation

Regardless of its long-standing history, the industrious work and innovation required to become vertically integrated and produce FōM is just the beginning for FloraCraft. Eric divulges that his company will continue to rethink the green strategies implemented to create its products. “Right now, we’re making FōM with approximately 20 percent recycled material. We are hoping this will be a catalyst to reach our goal of using 100 percent recycled materials in our products as we continue our commitment to environmental sustainability. We’re also investing in new automation this year that will collect the foam left over from our extrusion process, allowing us to go from recycling 98, to 100 percent of our foam scrap,” he says.

For 2022, the company will be focused on expanding its manufacturing capabilities beyond

XPS foam and bringing more manufacturing processes to Ludington. “We are fully committed to finding more products to produce in-house, which will alleviate some of the supply chain pains everyone is going through. Additionally, we are working on plans to honor and celebrate our 75th anniversary, which was put on hold last year due to the pandemic.”

FloraCraft’s top focus in the coming years is to drive innovation that makes the entire process of DIY craft and floral activities convenient and easy for professionals and home creators. In conclusion, Eric and his team plan to find ways to continue to increase the company’s productivity by adding more automation and training for team members. “We will strive to continue to lead the industry in sustainability, by refining our manufacturing process to reduce our carbon footprint and create additional environmentally conscious products for other creatives.” v

FloraCraft Corporation www.floracraft.com Services: Foam products manufacturer

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Submersed in expertise E

It’s an exciting time at Holland Pump, as a series of acquisitions usher in the launch of a new Daytona facility, and help to extend the company’s footprint across the US East Coast 106 l www.manufacturing-today.com

ver since its formation in 1978, Holland Pump has been a leading light in the manufacture, distribution, sale, rental and repair of dewatering pumps in the southern US. With capacities of 500–55,000 gpm, the company’s significant fleet of more than 600 diesel-driven rental pumps have been deployed throughout a number of East Coast and Gulf Coast states, including Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and Florida. It’s a scale that has seen Holland Pump’s name become synonymous with the execution of a wide range of applications, from agricultural,

bypass and construction, to mining, dewatering and horizontal drilling.

The company employs some 95 employees across a total of nine branch offices, which includes its corporate, manufacturing, and central repair facility located in Florida’s West Palm Beach. Together, the Holland Pump team has participated in a number of State and Army Corp of Engineers water management projects since the mid-1980s, establishing its reputation off the back of its product range.

“As a company, a primary strength lies in our hydraulic driven submersible rental equipment,” says Holland Pump Vice President

Holland Pump

of Manufacturing, Wade Norris. “Our pumps are rugged in design and dependable, being engineered to pump for 24 hours a day continuously under the harshest of conditions.

The benefit of submersible pumps is the lack of priming that’s required, making them ideal for high-volume, low-head applications such as lake dewatering, gravel pits, quarries, control boxes and various open ditch applications.”

Experience and history

A hallmark of Holland Pump’s business has been its promise to help customers ‘Finish Faster.’ “It’s all about improving performance for the customer,” Wade notes. “The goal is to minimize the time it takes to help the customer finish a job, freeing them up to deal with other priority tasks.” It sounds straightforward enough, but the point goes well beyond the speed of execution; Finish Faster is an ethos, guiding the company from top to bottom, and encompassing everything from the design, building, maintenance and repair of equipment, to the acquisition of delivery trucks, and the collection and dissemination of information on pump status.

We have very big plans to rework, repair and repower our fleet. Longer term, our aim is to achieve 1000 pumps on rent by 2027. The acquisition of PSS was a key objective within that strategy, and we’ll keep targeting those opportunities as and when they arise.

As ever, we’ll remain focused on pump applications and jobs where can we add value, resolving problems that our competitors don’t, or cannot Within this ethos, one more significant component is the selection and training of Holland Pump’s associates and managers.

Wade himself is a Holland Pump veteran, having been employed at the company for an impressive 27 years. Kickstarting his career as a yard man engaged in the execution of deliveries and rental set-ups, Wade established himself as the company’s leading pump-head repair technician in 1995. “The long tenure of our employees is an undoubted strength,” Wade reflects.

“Although my employment is nearing its third decade, I’m probably closer to the lower

end. We’ve got a lot of experience and history among the people here.”

Throughout his time at Holland Pump, Wade has witnessed significant change, both in his role, and in the company as a whole.

“In 2005, the company took the decision to expand its manufacturing with a move north into Georgia,” Wade recalls. “At that time, I was appointed as Service Manager, and took on the responsibility of running the entire service department in West Palm. Seven years later, when the company moved its manufacturing back to West Palm, I became Central Repair Manager. Finally, in 2012, I landed in my current

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position: Vice President of Manufacturing.”

Talent retention is an under-appreciated asset, but a key one for Holland Pump, whose highly specialized operations place an imperative on the availability of skilled manual labor. “Approximately 90 percent of our work rests on the person, as opposed to automation,” Wade explains. “In view of this, there’s a considerable volume of training to be undertaken in terms of getting new employees up to expectation with regards to what we do, and how we do it. Welding machines, press break machines and plasma equipment are all used regularly within our manufacturing division, and we operate a couple of lathes in our Daytona facility.

Training begins on your first day, but you never stop. After 27 years, I’m still learning each and every day.”

Holland Pump has been in operation for more than 40 years. During that time, the company has cemented its place as a trusted manufacturer for a broad range of internationally-recognized suppliers, not least John Deere, Perkins, Denison and Vickers. The full list is extensive, and speaks to Holland Pump’s ability to sustain its high standards in tandem with a ferocious output, which sees the production of as many as 300 diesel-driven pump systems annually.

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wellpoint pump fleet and dewatering services offerings, and revolutionizes its ability to service municipal and commercial projects across the south-east and gulf regions.

Talented workforce

The manufacture of these products takes place at two key locations. The smaller of these, employing a total of ten people within the division, is West Palm itself. It remained the company’s only manufacturing base until as recently as 2021, when Holland Pump acquired its larger facility in Daytona, following its acquisition of local dewatering and pump rental provider Complete Dewatering Pumps and Wellpoints (CDPW). With 97 years of manufacturing heritage, the addition of CDPW and CDPW’s former co-owner and Holland’s VP of Engineering, Jason Fletcher, adds greater depth to Holland Pump’s already-extensive

According to Wade, the launch of production at the Daytona facility has proved a relatively seamless process, a fact that sheds further light on Holland Pump’s talented workforce.

“We took the decision to install in Daytona one of our long-term employees from another location,” Wade explains. “He was able to begin running the production side of the business at that location. Thanks to his expertise, it’s made for a pretty easy transition from our point of view. We now have approximately 10-to-15 people employed in Daytona on top of those in West Palm. Together, we’re engaged in rebuilding the company fleet and facilitating the sale of equipment.”

The last two years have been unlike any other, as the Covid-19 pandemic severed supply chains worldwide. Nevertheless, Holland Pump has emerged in excellent health. “It’s been particularly tough to source supplies, whether that’s John Deere engines or Denison pumps,” Wade admits. “Thankfully, we still managed to do quite a bit of business despite the disruption, with last year’s rollover well in

Holland Pump excess of $5m for manufacturing sales alone.

To achieve this amid such arduous trading conditions gives us plenty of confidence for the future.”

Turning towards that future, Holland Pump recently announced the purchase of Pumps, Service & Supply (PSS), a leading pump rental and related services provider for municipal and construction applications based in Troy, New York. Established in 1990, PSS supplies innovative solutions and equipment to an extensive network of customers throughout the north-eastern US, helping to tackle the most complex of site conditions and dewatering challenges.

“It’s a purchase we announced only at the beginning of 2022,” Wade tells us. “The acquisition will complement our current capabilities and add an additional service location in that north-east market. From our perspective, the goal will be first to incorporate PSS into the Holland Pump family, and then to continue extending the business up and down the US East Coast.”

“We’re optimistic about our prospects for growth, and we foresee a lot happening in the year ahead,” Wade concludes. “We have very big plans to rework, repair and repower our fleet. Longer term, our aim is to achieve 1000 pumps on rent by 2027. The acquisition of

PSS was a key objective within that strategy, and we’ll keep targeting those opportunities as and when they arise. As ever, we’ll remain focused on pump applications and jobs where can we add value, resolving problems that our competitors don’t, or cannot. On the manufacturing side, the task remains simple: sell enough pumps annually to keep the balance sheet healthy.” v

Holland Pump www.hollandpump.com Services: Dewatering pump manufacture, sale, rental and service

FinishMaster, Inc. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, FinishMaster operates in the U.S. as a leading distributor of industrial coatings, automotive refinish and related products. A wholly owned subsidiary of Uni-Select, Inc., it manages a national network of approximately 147 company-owned stores under the FINISHMASTER® banner. FinishMaster’s national network supports over 30,000 customers, including but not limited to manufacturing, heavy equipment, and automotive and fleet repair centers.

FinishMaster’s partnership with Holland Pump began in 2018 with the opportunity to provide solutions for increasing efficiency and asset protection. Identifying an improved process for Holland Pump allowed for a reduction in labor and material costs. FinishMaster demonstrated the ultimate customer experience not only by providing products and services, but more importantly by bringing added value for them too. The FinishMaster team cares about the success of Holland Pump and is committed to providing ongoing training and resources to continue supporting their successful business ventures.

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Forged Solutions Group

Masters of Metal From aerospace and energy production, to underground mining and off-highway vehicles, we have forged solutions for advanced manufacturing industries for more than 100 years

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aving a global reputation for successfully working with some of the world’s most demanding materials has ensured Forged Solutions Group’s position as a key supplier in the global forging industry. The company’s highly skilled team provides comprehensive designfor-manufacturing support, as well as advanced forging capabilities, heat treatment, machining and world-class materials testing. By offering integrated solutions, Forged Solutions Group is a one-stop-shop for many high-profile blue-chip customers across the world.

Forged Solutions Group itself was formed at the end of 2019 as the direct result of two acquisitions by Arlington Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm.

These acquisitions saw Blaenavon Forgings Ltd and Firth Rixon Forgings Ltd combine to become Forged Solutions Group; the company as it exists today retains over 100 years’ worth of industry process knowledge and expertise, under a new, streamlined brand.

“They were both recognised players in the global forging industry. Arlington Capital Partners, who acquired the businesses, held a concept for the merger that involved creating a forging group that would manage midmarket sized contracts for a range of blue-chip customers,” explains Ben McIvor, President of Forged Solutions.

“Our customer base and geographical reach spans from North America, through Europe and over to the Far East. Forged Solutions Group was founded with the intent to continue to support this long-standing customer base with high-integrity forgings to meet the challenges that our customers face not just today but in the future,” he adds.

As a service-orientated company, Forged Solutions Group works closely with its customers, many of whom have partnered with the business for many years. “Our customer base is made up mostly of large blue-chip OEMs in the aerospace, off highway and mining markets,” states Jon Winter, Commercial Director of Forged Solutions Group. “We have long standing relationships with Rolls Royce, GE, Safran, Honeywell, Caterpillar, Pratt & Whitney, Komatsu

and Collins to name but a few. We primarily serve the engine and auxiliary power unit aspects of the aerospace industry alongside a vast array of off highway end applications as this is where our expertise and capability can really shine,” he goes on.

Clearly so much more than the sum of its parts, Forged Solutions Group has become a successful entity in its own right. The company’s dedicated workforce, and extensive depth of forging knowledge, have ensured this, as Jon discusses: “One of the things we have across the group is a tremendous amount of technical knowledge and capability. We have a large amount of knowhow, particularly when it comes to steels, nickels and titanium. We also have certain capabilities that are unique; our Meadowhall facility, for example, deploys a process whereby we are capable of completing a forward and backward extrusion process simultaneously and therefore has the unique capability of being able to significantly reduce the input material. This is itself offers our customers a unique opportunity to reduce the amount of material that is required to manufacture the finished product.

“Another very important aspect of our group is that we are fully integrated from one end of the manufacturing process to the other.

We can forge, heat treat, machine, and test almost all of our customers products requirements in-house.”

As restrictions begin to ease and the ‘new normal’ is on the

horizon, Forged Solutions Group looks toward an exciting future. “As we begin 2022, we are starting to see strong orderbook growth in the markets and customers we serve. Our off highway and mining customers have shown great resilience during the last two years and we now see growth for 2022 and beyond. Within the aerospace market, we are experiencing significant growth in 2022, related to the narrow-body aircraft demand recovery, whilst the impact of the recovery to pre-pandemic levels, in the wide body sector, is not expected to be seen for another two years.”

As the company continues to grow and develop, it also seeks to diversify its offering, and bring new solutions to well-established

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markets, as Jon asserts: “We recognise that although Forged Solutions Group does have longstanding focus on the aerospace market, it’s also good to have a wider portfolio in order to provide support in other sectors.

Where the aerospace industry has dropped off, we have picked up new business in areas such as electric vehicle production, and nuclear research and manufacturing. We are also investing in forging research institutes in order to be at the forefront of new forged product

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development in these growing markets.”

Over the next 12 months, Forged Solutions Group will be putting in motion a number of promising new projects and developments. “In 2022, we our revenue is forecasted to be at least 35 percent up on 2021. We will continue to work collaboratively with our customer base to explore ways on how we can grow our existing market share as well as provide solutions the new challenges that present themselves.

“There will also be a continued focus on making good investments; we have already signaled our intent to bring new technologies in to our manufacturing sites with the recent purchase of new CNC machine capabilities and ultra-sonic testing equipment, this will be complemented by some of the more softer types of investment such as local charity work, as well as refurbishments at various offices and facilities.”

After two years of successfully overcoming major challenges related to the pandemic,

Forged Solutions Group Forged Solutions Group continues to go from strength to strength. As a company imbued with dedication, entrepreneurial spirit and innate curiosity, Forged Solutions Group certainly knows where it’s going, as Ben highlights: “In the long-term we have two main goals. First of all, we want to increase the group’s capabilities through acquisition, and secondly, we aim to continue expanding our revenue streams whether by new wins or extending existing relationships.”

The company also continues to harness the potential of its people through a

respectful and mutually beneficial working culture. “In the last 24 months we have successfully rolled out a new brand and identity, the next phase of that journey is to launch our vision, mission and values. In one way, shape or form all those values are embedded within our business, employees, recruitment process, literature, and reward and recognition scheme, so it’s something we really want to highlight and leverage as we move forward,” reveals Ben.

preferred global partner of choice in the supply of forged products for our customers’ most demanding end applications.

Our Vision statement:

Our Values:

At Forged Solutions Group we aspire to be the

Quality – Integrity – Commitment – Collaboration

SWISS STEEL UK TOGETHER FOR A FUTURE THAT MATTERS Swiss Steel UK is part of the Swiss Steel Group, and by having an international footprint and, at the same time, a local presence, it has access to 70 facilities within the Swiss Steel family.

Being a partner of the Forged Solutions Group, Swiss Steel UK is pleased to support and supply its materials to a business that is very well-respected in the industry. Together with their collaborative vision, the two support each other to succeed and optimise efforts to exceed their goals.

To be able to supply its materials into well-respected businesses within the industry unlocks Swiss Steel UK’s full potential in offering a customer service level that its customers admire.

Our Mission statement: Through understanding, collaboration, creative engineering, and by leveraging our extensive group wide resources, our mission is to offer high integrity technical solutions to the challenges our customers face every day.

‘There is always a solution’.

In conclusion Ben adds: “We are working to improve all facets of our business and therefore the offering to our valued customers; we are excited for the future of Forged Solutions Group.” v

Forged Solutions Group www.forged-solutions.com Services: Forged products for industry

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Continuous improvement Based in New York State, PEKO Precision Products strives for perfection. With the help of automation advancements and an epic team of experts, the company continues to service the machinery manufacturing industry to the best of its abilities 114 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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s far as journeys to success go, PEKO Precision Products (PEKO) has made the most of the opportunities presented to it. As it celebrates 55 years in the machinery and equipment manufacturing business, having originally started in the tool and die industry, the company reflects back on its legacy, with Jeff Lake, its VP of New Product Introduction, leading the conversation. “We’ve grown steadily over the years to expand our

client network; from doing automation, to electromechanical-based products for Xerox and Kodak right here in Rochester, New York,” Jeff begins. These developments are what have pushed PEKO into the full contract manufacturing of electromechanical devices, with products such as the MRIdian MRIGuided Linac, which was created for ViewRay. “This, for example, is an MRI guided radiation therapy system, which we build several subassemblies for, complete and test, and make

PEKO Precision

aspect, which applies to anything aerospace or DoD, and our industrial customers benefit from that as well,” he says.

But what would be some of the secrets considered to be pivotal to the success of the business throughout the years? Well, Jeff shares how the first approach is to recognize a problem, and pull the necessary tools together to solve it. Then, complementing that, being privately held and self-funded has been a massive advantage, as this allows PEKO to make the crucial investments needed to upgrade its equipment and facilities. “We are able to execute multi-year plans a little easier than a public company, as we don’t have the direct quarterly pressures that one would have as a public entity. I think the private aspect of it up to this point has been a big benefit for our company.”

Developing automation

ready to install at any hospital or treatment center,” he says.

“But our products do range quite a bit. We have our smaller per sale unit costs, which would be in our semi-conductor sectors. We supply to the lithography part of that industry, for example, and we only supply precision assemblies and components to build that equipment, we do not build it all the way to the top level. Our services then spans all the way to fully manufactured medical

devices such as the previously mentioned MRI radiation therapy systems.”

Although the industries to which the company supplies are wide-ranging and diverse, execution of complexity and a robust quality management system is guaranteed to each of PEKO’s customers. This is what Jeff believes separates PEKO from its competition.

“Our operations are sturdy enough to stand up to regulatory review, from the ISO13485, which would be in medicine, to the AS 9100

Continuing on the topic of investments, Jeff informs us of the added benefits that automation has brought to PEKO’s success.

“One of our largest offering areas is CNC machining, with investment in this space having contributed to many improvements in operational efficiency and to the products themselves. From the tooling to the software used to program it, the level of autonomy these machines can achieve now allows them to run longer, and alongside multiple machines, and that is what we are investing heavily in,” Jeff expresses.

In addition to these capabilities, PEKO is now employing robotic technology owing to the fact that the interface has proven to be far superior when compared to previous innovations.

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“We have been taking advantage of those developments. We are seeing quite a lot of efficiency gains as we look forward to exploiting the capabilities of automation, or even semiautomation to stay ahead of the game.

“There does seem to be a paradigm shift here for where things are sourced. End users in our business are looking at total cost of ownership, total landed cost, and I think just simply the logistics of whether they will really be able to get their product or not.

The automation is a necessity to amplify our resources, and allows us to step up and meet demand,” he emphasizes.

On the other hand, the problem with machines, according to Jeff, is that they only do as they are told, and in order to excel with robotics, businesses need to understand their specifications and data sets. “Because you have to program and automate it so that it does it repeatedly, that can be a bit of an upfront development that needs to be done.

So, there is a balancing act there of where you deploy it, and how quickly you can get it up and going. The longer it takes, the higher the implementation cost is, so you might lose out on making it effective for a business in production.”

Fantastic opportunities

At the moment, while the manufacturing industry is drastically evolving to incorporate a greater reliance on technology, PEKO still has a great appreciation for the talent of its people.

This is why the company has curated a culture that orbits a family-like atmosphere. “We are in a spot where we have enough of a back log that we are still looking for people. We sit here as a company of over 400 people, and I we have something close to between 40 and 50 postings for positions that we still need.

“We very much seek to be a very fair employer, and an advocate for equal opportunity and inclusivity, and we strive to achieve this in how we conduct ourselves as professionals, and with dignity.

“Many of the folks that are here have a 20-to-30-year tenure, and, from their feedback, they feel as though this is a good place to be. Right now, obviously we are trying to attract new talent, and let them know there is a career path available with us, especially in skilled trades. I think that is one of the areas, where we are trying to demonstrate that there are fantastic opportunities with cutting edge technology, and that is something attractive to a lot of people right now.

“As far as what I try to drive forward with my team: I’m constantly checking whether

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PEKO Precision we are achieving our goals, is our plan to do this strong and dependable? Do we need to modify or change and try to empower everybody to see the business succeed as defined through the data? With this approach in place, you can’t go too far wrong,” Jeff summarizes for us.

With this strategy in mind, the company is now set on a five-year plan to maintain its momentum. As Jeff brings our discussion to a close, he shares how PEKO is looking to further diversify its client base, and push the boundaries on automation development.

“We do see a number of our customers

growing organically, and we tend to grow alongside them. We have had some good luck working with mid-size startups and so we do see that as being one of the areas we continue to focus on; looking for those electromechanical opportunities that may be coming out of the startup sector.

One of the impacts of the pandemic that looks to be affecting business significantly is inflation. We don’t know how far that is going to go this year, so those are the things we need to keep in mind, and we will just have to adjust course as we go,” he concludes. v

Elite Turning & Machining Corporation “In all of Elite Turning & Machining Corporation’s ten years of being in business, PEKO has played an integral role in Elite’s growth and success. Founders Paul Pettrone, and his two sons Anthony and Joseph Thomas, work hard to provide clients with the highest quality parts. With over 30 employees using more than 60 CNC machines they are continuously evolving to meet the needs of the market.

Every member of the Elite team is expertly trained and thoroughly experienced with all their machines including how the engineering team works closely with every client to ensure complete accuracy on every order. Elite provides PEKO with high-quality turning and milling components with efficient turnaround, so PEKO can maintain positive relationships with their customers.” Sarah Farrealman

PEKO Precision www.PEKOprecision.com Services: Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing solutions

42 Marway Circle | Rochester NY 14624 Call: 585-445-8765 | Paul Pettrone: 585-802-8257 E: paul@eliteturning.com | www.eliteturning.com

SERVICES & PRODUCTS l CNC Turning l Turning up to 93” x 7’ l Swiss-Style Machining l CNC Milling l Wire EDM l Assembly l Deburring / Finishing Process l Heat Treating / Plating l Plating / Painting l Sandblasting l UltraSonic Cleaning of Parts / Rust Inhibiting www.manufacturing-today.com l 117

The railroad to safety At 140 years of age, The Belt Railway Company of Chicago is rising to the challenge of being America’s largest intermediate switching terminal railroad with enhancements to its operations and an impeccable safety record 118 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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he origins of the Belt stretch back to the late 1870s, when real estate promoter John B. Brown first recognized the need for a terminal railroad in the so-called ‘Windy City’. In 1882, Brown and his associates chartered the then-titled Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad, constructing a series of connecting railroads to form a ‘belt line’, thereby linking every major railroad in the city, and

also serving the industries in the South Chicago and Calumet districts.

Today, the Belt is the largest intermediate switching terminal railroad in the US, with 28 miles of mainline route and more than 300 miles of switching tracks. “Chicago is a key juncture point within the American railroad system,” says Mike Grace, President of the Belt. “It’s the place where all railroads connect, and the Belt handles

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago

a significant percentage of that freight, moving it from one railroad to another.

“The Belt itself is owned by six Class I railroads,” he continues. “They bring their trains to the Belt, and then the core of what we do is sorting the railcars. Just as the function of the American Postal Service is to sort and distribute mail, so the focus of the Belt is on the sorting and reassembling of trains. Trains will arrive, they

will be broken apart, classified and re-blocked into new trains for departure.”

The business model of the Belt is unique, and speaks to the commitment of its management to efficient and effective service delivery. “As a primary service-driven company, the Belt doesn’t look to make significant profits,” Mike explains.

“Instead, its focus is on investing revenues back into its facilities, with the goal of delivering on its

goal of connecting the major railroads. In 2021 alone, the Belt was able to move an impressive 2.6 million railroad cars, in part thanks to the hard work of its 415 employees.”

The Belt also offers unique industrial and intermodal facility development opportunities, including reasonable land value, taxes, and zoning requirements planned especially for markets seeking a neutral locale with

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competitive access. “There remains a lot of vacant property in the city of Chicago located on the Belt’s property,” Mike continues. “The advantage for those looking to purchase on the Belt’s railroad lines is that they’re able to capitalize on our critical position within the infrastructure for instant access to all the major railroads, meaning we can deliver the cars containing their products right across the United States with minimal complication.”

Pivotal developments

Recent years at the Belt have been characterized by a major continuous improvement initiative, with the goal of ensuring the company is consistently hauling more freight. As a result, 2021 saw a number of improvements aimed at boosting efficiency.

Among these was the announcement, in October 2021, that the Belt had enlarged its wheel inventory capacity in its Martin Building’s west end by an impressive 17 feet. Following the process, executed within a single week, the enhanced wheel beds are capable of holding a total of 11 wheel sets each, enabling the Belt to keep more stock on hand and stay ahead of its needs.

“Over the last four years, the Belt has invested a total of $80 million into the property

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and facilities of the belt,” Mike says. “Running a railroad is a very capital-intensive business, and we’re working with a fleet of over 30 locomotives. The Martin Building is in essence a railroad repair shop, so it’s an important asset for us to maintain.

“We also recently engaged in improvement engineering around our railcar sorting,” Mike tells us. “As a result of that, we’ve increased the throughput and reduced the damage to the railcars. We achieved that by reengineering the track around our primary sorting facility, known as the hump. As it stands, what happens at the hump is that locomotives push cars up to be separated, before they’re allowed to roll down by gravity where they’ll be sorted into the relevant tracks. Unfortunately, many of those tracks are quite old and considerably worn out, partly as a result of topology changes and other inevitable factors. By installing new tracks, we’ve managed to resolve that.”

Communication has an important role to play within the Belt’s operations. It’s with this in mind that the company recently conducted work on an all-new Command Center. “The physical area that constitutes the Belt is spread over a distance of six miles,” Mike points out. “As a result, many of our staff were previously located across a range of distinct sites. The idea behind

the Command Center was to bring all those key players and decision makers together into a single, state-of-the-art center.”

The Belt’s staff are already reaping the benefits of the new arrangement. “It’s enabled a greater number of personal interactions, facilitated more effective planning, and people are generally communicating more,” Mike reveals. “We finished that in October, and its dramatically enhanced the flow and fluidity of the Belt as a whole.”

The launch of the Belt’s Command Center represents a pivotal development within the company’s long-term strategy. Not all great ideas come from the top, however. “Our employees are very important to our success,” Mike notes. “They are well-trained, hardworking and dedicated, and many of the ideas for the improvements we’ve made across the Belt have come directly from them, with the alterations to our railcar sorting being just one example.

When you want to make changes, we believe it makes most sense to go directly to the individual who is doing the work, in order to find out exactly what’s needed.”

The world of the railroad is not without its risks. The Belt prides itself on an excellent track record when it comes to employee safety, a fact that was underlined with its

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago receipt, in 2021, of a Jake Safety Award. The awards celebrate members of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) who outperform the industry average reportable injury frequency rate. “In 2021 we achieved our lowest ever injury ratio, which is measured in terms of the number of injuries per 200,000 hours of manpower,” Mike says. “We achieved a rate of 0.97, which is the first time we’ve ever been below 1.0.”

Safety first

The Belt’s success was further confirmed in Fall 2021, when its transportation department employees celebrated a total of 600 days without an accident. For Mike, one of the

secrets to the company’s success has been the introduction of what it terms ‘After Action Reviews’. “When something doesn’t go as planned, we conduct a review of what’s happened with the individual involved and try to establish what went wrong,” Mike outlines.

“Accidents aren’t intentional, but the saying we live by is to ‘be better tomorrow than you are today’. The After Action Reviews have been very beneficial, and although they’re not the only thing we’ve done to improve safety, they’re certainly one of the most significant.”

But safety is about far more than winning awards. The Belt is involved with a number of projects and initiatives to increase awareness about education, and give back to the local

community. “We have an employee safety committee, who last year trained firemen from the Chicago Fire Department in a hazardous material and emergency response training session,” Mike says. “As part of that, they were trained in how to respond to a fire should one occur within the Belt, such as how to apply emergency shutoffs on locomotives and identifying the contents of the tank cars.

We trained over 300 firemen through that program last year. Thankfully, we’ve not had any fires yet – it’s the training you hope you’ll never have to use.

“Our management team also participated in a Habitat for Humanity day, where they all came together to construct homes on

Wheelworx Wheelworx was founded in 2009 by Gary Schoenfeldt to provide world class service to private car owners, short line railroads and private repair shops. The Belt Railroad of Chicago was its first customer, and it is grateful for the BRC’s support of its growth. It’s customers like the BRC that have built the foundation of who it is, and pushed it to redefine excellence every day. With over 600,000 wheelsets in service, Wheelworx is now the nation’s largest independently held wheelset reconditioner. It all started with one truckload to Bedford Park, IL and from that partnership, its organization has rapidly grown. Complacency breeds mediocrity, and it is - and always will be – Wheelworx’ never-ending mission to wipe out the status quo, leading to higher levels of service for its valued customer base. Good enough only works until someone redefines the game.

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The Belt Railway Company of Chicago

Chicago’s south side,” Mike adds. “Using saws, hammers and nails, they were able to create physical buildings that will provide homes for members of the community. Alternatively, we’ve also made investments in backpacks for kids in a local school. In general, the concept is to continue to find opportunities to give back to the communities in the areas where our trains operate.”

In the years ahead, the Belt is expecting a shift in focus, with a growing emphasis on the adoption of new and innovative technology.

“Our physical infrastructure is in good shape,” Mike concludes. “Instead, there are a lot of opportunities starting to emerge in terms of technology, such as AI machine vision software, one function of which is to inspect railcars as they roll by, looking for cracks in the wheels, or alternatively for a system to inspect the condition of the rails.

“These are tasks that are currently performed manually, and many of them are severely time-consuming,” he goes on. “Some of those solutions are already in use elsewhere, but the majority are currently in the development and testing phase. In the next five years or so, we’re expecting a lot more to come through.” v

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago www2.beltrailway.com/ Services: Train separation, classification and re-blocking 122 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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