Manufacturing Today Issue 191 August 2021

Manufacturing www.manufacturing-today.com

BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS

Issue 191 2021

today

A can-do attitude

Having navigated the challenging conditions of the past year, Stolle Machinery Europe continues to serve its customers with the same level of quality and professionalism that they have come to expect

Understanding supply chain needs: The largest fastener distributor in North America, Fastenal has adopted diverse manufacturing approaches in order to address customer requirements Practical steps: It’s crucial industry leaders make significant changes to prevent enterprises from being crippled by the actions of cybercriminals Damage control: Meeting sustainability targets is about more than just outside regulation businesses need to be self-motivated to realize and achieve green targets

Chairman Andrew Schofield

Editor’s Letter

Managing Director Joe Woolsgrove Editor Libbie Hammond Assistant Editor Will Daynes Staff Writers Alex McDonald • Danielle Champ Production Manager / Art Editor Fleur Daniels Art Editor David Howard Advertising Designer Paul Gillings Sales Director Alasdair Gamble Operations Director Philip Monument Operations Manager Natalie Griffiths Research Managers Jo-Ann Jeffery • Ben Richell Kieran Shukri Editorial Researchers Adam Blanch • Mark Cowles Jeff Goldenberg • Mark Kafourous James Page • Wendy Russell Richard Saunders Sales Director Alasdair Gamble Advertising Sales Johanna Bailey • Mike Berger Jessica Eglington • Alex Hartley Theresa McDonald • Reid Lingle Ibby Mundhir • Sam Surrell Office Administrator Jessica Olley

Hello and welcome to the August issue of Manufacturing Today.

It’s been a very busy month on the magazine and I am thrilled to be able to feature so many successful and interesting manufacturers in our pages. I would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone that has allowed us a look inside their operations and shared how they have been faring through these past months.

The feature contributors that I work with also deserve a shout out – their knowledge and willingness to be part of the magazine is much appreciated! This issue I have articles from Darren Guccione of Keeper Security, Mike Murray of The Vita Group, Dr Marius Lakomiec of EOS and Jasmeet Singh at Infosys. They discuss a range of subjects, from cyberattacks to energy – I do hope there is something in there for you.

Libbie Hammond EDITOR

libbie@schofieldpublishing.com

Web Sales web@schofieldpublishing.com Subscriptions i.kidd@schofieldpublishing.com

ON THE COVER

Manufacturing www.manufacturing-today.com

BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS

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Manufacturing Today Magazine

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

Our cover story this issue is Stolle Machinery Europe. MT was fortunate to speak to Executive Vice President, Steve Higginson, who informed us that the business has experienced ‘what can best be described as a steady increase in commercial activity’ over the last year. Steve gives details about the company’s approach and how it continues to serve its clients, as well as continually introduce new innovations and technology to its operations. To read the full story, visit page 26.

Issue 191 2021

today

A can-do attitude

Having navigated the challenging conditions of the past year, Stolle Machinery Europe continues to serve its customers with the same level of quality and professionalism that they have come to expect

Understanding supply chain needs: The largest fastener distributor in North America, Fastenal has adopted diverse manufacturing approaches in order to address customer requirements Practical steps: It’s crucial industry leaders make significant changes to prevent enterprises from being crippled by the actions of cybercriminals Damage control: Meeting sustainability targets is about more than just outside regulation businesses need to be self-motivated to realize and achieve green targets

www.manufacturing-today.com Finelight Media

207 E. Ohio Street, Suite 351, Chicago, IL 60611 T: (312) 854-0123 © 2021 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 Environment

With the world focused on recovery, sustainability has been firmly cemented as the next big challenge facing business leaders and policymakers

10 Cyber attacks

Manufacturers must understand how to futureproof against cyberattacks in order to successfully implement change and establish practical defensive steps now

12 Trends

The future of distributed production and the positive role it can play achieving a sustainable solution for small and medium series production

Fastenal

48

14 ESG

Manufacturers need to be mindful of the financial and social implications as well as the potential risk of their environmental footprint

18 Manufacturing news

Rosenbauer America

Updates and announcements from the manufacturing arena

66

72

Creative Composites

McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing

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COMPANY PROFILES COVER STORY

26

40

Stolle Machinery

Denroy Group

54

60

C&A Tool Engineering

Groupe Tornatech

78

84

Ideal Heating

Cardinal Systems www.manufacturing-today.com l 3

Contents

88

92

Tristel Solutions

Ulster Carpets

104

108

Titan Steel Wheels

Redline Plastics

120

124

Washington Metalworks

Guardian

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COMPANY PROFILES

96

100

WHS Plastics

Millbrook Bed Company

112

116

Excalibar Minerals LLC

Keter

128

132

Wheel Pros, LLC

The Mpac Group www.manufacturing-today.com l 5

Damage control Taking the green approach to manufacturing.

By Mike Murray

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Environment

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A

s we review the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the considered view is that society should emerge into a healthier and greener way of living. Some companies had already recognized sustainability as an important theme. Now, with the world focused on recovery, it has been firmly cemented as the next big challenge facing business leaders and policymakers.

The UK government has indicated its support for the issue. As part of a new GIR (Green Industrial Revolution) plan, businesses across Britain have been given £166.5 million to explore more innovative sustainable solutions for businesses to invest in, including carbon capture and hydrogen.

But meeting sustainability targets is about more than just outside regulation. Businesses need to be self-motivated to bring about the level of change that the green agenda requires.

This is particularly true of manufacturing. As an industry, it has

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always been about responding to societal needs. The demand for environmentally-friendly solutions is being channeled by changing customer demand as the average household begins to ask for greener alternatives to their current lifestyle. Indeed, March 2020, Defra revealed a 5.3 percent year-on-year increase the amount of plastic put into recycling bins between 2018 and 2019, indicating generally improved attitudes towards the circular economy.

These emerging sales patterns, all aimed at cleaner purchases, are beginning to drive market competitiveness. Across the supply chain, whether large-scale or SMEs, manufacturers have already been looking at how to adapt and develop a greener business approach leading to many conversations around where to look for improving carbon efficiency. Greenhouse gas emissions are a key one; as is energy usage.

There is also a huge focus on the reduction of waste and its impact on the environment. As a polyurethane (PU) foam manufacturer, this is one of our biggest concerns.

Environment

Foam is non-biodegradable. In fact, due to its many uses, it is designed to be used for long-lasting and sturdy products. Products can range from airplane seats to everyday mattresses so, without proper action, there is potential for a lot of extra and excess material staying around for hundreds of years to come – whether ending up in landfills or finding other methods of disposal. According to the European Bedding Industry Association, up to 30 million mattresses annually are thrown for having reached their end of life.

Innovation is the best way to confront the problem. At The Vita Group, we have invested strategically in four state-of-the-art innovation centers in Lithuania, Corby, Accrington, and Middleton to lead our sustainable development programs. As Europe’s leading flexible foam solutions provider, we have been manufacturing industry-leading products from 100 percent recycled PU trim foam for over 50 years.

One of the biggest benefits to sustainable innovation is it can often

be a journey without end. Our recent partnership with Dow will see 200,000 mattresses a year recycled into material for brand new bedding and furniture as part of the RENUVA™ Mattress Recycling Program. Recycled PU Foam mattresses are processed through Dow’s in-house technology, converting the foam back into a base raw material to make brand new foam.

Material advancement is a real driver for today’s manufacturers.

Over the years, we have worked to develop a collection of sustainable PU foams. Our significant areas of product development include Origin™, made using plant-based bio polyols including castor oil or soya; Nemus™, which is created using polyols derived from captured CO2; and Orbis™, a new flexible PU foam solution again made from Dow’s RENUVA™ polyols, demonstrating the wide-reaching benefits of some of these programs.

Of course, this level of growth often requires a market-leading level of resource. Particularly after Covid-19, there is significant economic pressure on many smaller manufacturing companies which have been hit hard by lockdown restrictions and reduced levels of production making innovation a riskier area of investment. But taking the sustainable approach means investing in long-term pay-off.

We also need to remember that a green approach in manufacturing is not solely about sustainability. Ultimately, making a product last longer is better than having a sustainable product which might only last a short time. Lifecycle analysis is key to understanding the total sustainable emissions of PU against other materials – something Vita is currently evaluating with its supply chain partners. Further research is still needed, but through academic and supply chain collaboration, this will hopefully be another step change for the industry.

Shifts in a business’ culture and values are important in securing this approach, as well as employee and stakeholder buy-in. ESG strategies are becoming an increasingly popular choice for business leaders in order to demonstrate their environmental targets and social and governance commitments.

The Vita Group’s own report, ‘Enhancing Everyday Life’, outlines our company values such as aiming for 50 per cent of all our products to have sustainable alternatives by 2030; the use of 100 per cent renewable electricity across all plants by 2030; and ensuring no manufacturing waste is taken to landfill after 2040. By communicating these objectives to our customers and suppliers we are creating a collective and tangible aspiration for ourselves to aim for as a business.

In adjusting to the upheaval caused by Covid-19, innovation has proven to be one of the most commonly discussed themes for manufacturers. Now, as consumer demands change, it can play a similar role in driving market competitiveness to initiate an industrywide green approach. By working in tandem, from chemical suppliers all the way through to recyclers, we can reduce the damage to our environment and improve our operational efficiency. v

Mike Murray Mike Murray is Chief Technology Officer at The Vita Group, Europe’s leading provider of value added and differentiated flexible polyurethane (PU) foam products. Built on 70 years of heritage, The Vita Group develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of flexible polyurethane foam, Talalay latex and flooring products to prioritize comfort and quality. Its three divisions – Comfort, Technical and Flooring – cater for customers across a broad set of industries. www.thevitagroup.com

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Practical Pr actical

steps

Manufacturers continue to suffer from pandemic’s cybersecurity fallout.

By Darren Guccione

U

K manufacturers have felt the negative economic impact of the pandemic with full force. Early chaos in overseas markets disrupted supply chains and led to the manufacturing industry encountering disarray very early on, with countless goods remaining unsold and products unassembled.

From then on, the sector continued to battle against ceaseless obstacles.

Many factories across the UK were forced to close and those that remained open operated with reduced staff due to social distancing regulations as well as increased sickness.

These issues, coupled with Brexit, have caused major setbacks for the industry over the past year. Yet another hugely pressing but less visible issue for manufacturers is the battle against cybercriminals.

Cybercriminals used the pandemic as an opportunity to launch cyberattacks against essential industries and the manufacturing sector has been one of the hardest hit.

In a recent report, NTT revealed that the manufacturing industry saw a 300 percent increase in worldwide attacks over the past year.

The impact is hugely damaging to customers and employees alike. As manufacturing enterprises across the globe permanently transition to a hybrid working model, it’s crucial industry leaders make significant changes to prevent enterprises from being further crippled by the costly actions of cybercriminals.

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The inevitable repercussions of the overnight digital transformation

According to management consultancy McKinsey, 2020 saw advances of three to four years on average in business digital transformation journeys.

The pandemic accelerated adoption of digital formats and processes across all sectors. For many businesses, the cloud has replaced filing cabinets and Zoom has become the new managerial meeting room.

Fortunately, many of these digital transformations have made the workplace far more efficient. But, due to the speed at which entirely new communication tools and cloud processes were adopted, the normal lengthy planning, trial and deployment stages were sidestepped, creating vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to exploit.

A costly mistake for manufacturers amidst the pandemic

For manufacturers, the damage created by this oversight has been calamitous and the cost of cyberattacks for the industry sector is severe.

The UK government estimates that the current cost of cybercrime is at £27 billion per annum and rising. Coupled with any weaknesses created through Brexit and poor trading conditions in many sectors, a successful cyberattack has the potential to cause lethal damage for any UK manufacturing business.

Cyber attacks

Manufacturers have suffered at the hands of cybercriminals over the past year and now understand the pivotal importance of implementing a strong system of defense against cybercriminals. In PWC’s recent survey, 45 percent of respondents see remote working as a priority and so navigating this transition effectively will be crucial for manufacturers across the UK.

Passwords should be a priority moving forward

Whilst many recognize that longer and more complex passwords are hard to crack, people continue to opt for trivial passwords because they’re easier to remember.

Password management platforms remediate this situation by generating and remembering unique passwords so the user doesn’t need to. What’s more, the best of these operate on a ‘zero trust’ and ‘zero knowledge’ security architecture, meaning the passwords and encryption key management will not reside with the technology provider - instead, they always reside with the client to ensure the highest level of defense is in place.

With only 35 per cent of UK manufacturing businesses making cybersecurity training for staff a priority over the next one to two years, this is a time-efficient step to ensure enterprises are protected. A password management platform blocks a cybercriminal’s route of entry, creating an effective barrier against cyberattacks.

The pandemic has sharpened the manufacturing sector’s focus on cybersecurity, with 63 per cent of respondents viewing cybersecurity as a top priority over the next one to two years. But manufacturers must understand how to future-proof against cyberattacks in order to successfully implement change. While current emergencies always seem most urgent, enterprises must establish practical defensive steps now to avoid severe long-term damage as the repercussions of the pandemic continue to escalate across the cyberthreat landscape. v

Darren Guccione Darren Guccione is CEO & Co-founder of Keeper Security (Keeper) the highly-rated and patented cybersecurity platform for preventing passwordrelated data breaches and cyberthreats. Keeper’s zero-knowledge security and encryption software is trusted by millions of people and thousands of businesses across the globe to mitigate the risk of cybertheft, boost employee productivity and meet compliance standards. Keeper is SOC-2 and ISO 27001 Certified and is also listed for use by the U.S. federal government through the System for Award Management (SAM). https://keepersecurity.com

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The production evolution

Here Dr Marius Lakomiec looks at the future of distributed production and the positive role it can play achieving a sustainable solution for small and medium series production

E

veryone involved in manufacturing and supply chains has had good reason over the last 15 months to think about how to protect their production flows and make them more efficient. A change was already taking place, with distributed production vividly demonstrating what could be achieved through the pandemic, but was it just a plaster, or can it really be a sustainable solution?

There is the potential to change structures for the better and industrial 3D printing can play a vital role. Additive manufacturing is not yet the solution for millions of units of mass production. Nor can it make up for past failures at the touch of a button – if you want to prepare for the future, you’d better start yesterday as opposed to today.

Industrial 3D printing allows for demand-driven production, streamlines processes, and makes the supply chain more robust.

Products can be improved or newly created with regard to their complexity, functional integration, or lightweight construction.

Combining industrial 3D printing with digital manufacturing structures that link machines and production control software systems in globally dispersed locations results in new levels of transparency thanks to realtime reporting, flexibility, and performance. Ultimately though, the form distributed production takes for any business must be defined based on the company’s situation and strategy, but broadly speaking there are three basic models that can be adopted: • Global additive manufacturing structures –In order to maintain a high vertical range of manufacturing within a company and maintain full independence, company built and owned AM cells can

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be set up worldwide. Thanks to profound networking, it is possible integrate and control distributed production on a global scale across every location and machine • Integrating 3D printing at local manufacturing sites – For flexible design and production, 3D printing can be integrated into existing local manufacturing structures and networked using the appropriate software system. Monitoring of the AM process provides insight into construction progress and quality at all times • Use of individual 3D printing systems – For those not wanting to build large distributed production structures, individual 3D printing systems can be implemented in suitable locations around the globe. This allows direct delivery to end customers and significantly reduces warehousing and logistics costs, by producing products on demand

Creating value with digital for small and medium series production

Additive manufacturing can span the whole product lifecycle from design to prototyping, production and after-market spares. At its heart it is a digital process with value creation starting in product development. This stage enjoys a high degree of design freedom through 3D printing and designs can be very quickly optimized. This means products can be brought to market and tested ‘in market’ very quickly as part of the optimization process. These final products are transferred as digital files to production control, which in reality could be anywhere in the world. Cloud-based software is used to control the

Trends

production process giving comprehensive reporting across all machines and the production process as well as complete traceability of build cycles/parts. These are crucial components of series production along with quality control, and the reality is that distance is does not mean loss of transparency.

A production island designed in this way is not closed off in any direction – there are interfaces that can be automated in any direction.

This means that the connection to superordinate software systems at the manufacturer (MES, ERP, SAP) and thus automated job processing are possible, as well as the connection to other production processes and stations.

Digital control also provides the basis for the self-optimization of production using digital twins. The idea behind this is that digitally networked machines use intelligent algorithms to create a self-optimizing network – in other words, digital intelligence enters the production chain.

Parameters are recorded in real-time on every part produced, creating digital twins of each. After ten weeks of production, for example, different parameters can be compared for 100,000 digital twins and modified in simulations to identify any potential for improvement. The system plays through which change has what effect on the result – to find the best way to optimize itself in the eleventh week.

No plaster, just the future

The transparency, flexibility and control offered by 3D printing means that it is consistently sustainable as a manufacturing technology. There is no waste of material, because only as much is used as is actually

needed – as opposed to subtractive manufacturing techniques. When a manufacturing operation is digitally networked and built globally, the material cycle becomes local and the end products are manufactured closer to the customer – massively reducing transport routes and CO2 emissions.

Recent events have led all manufacturers to face that they may not have been as flexible as they thought – allowing 3D printing to shine on the global stage. A technology once seen as only suitable for prototyping is dealing with these challenges head on and leading to evolutions in product design and manufacturing that simply are not possible with traditional techniques. v

Dr Marius Lakomiec Dr Marius Lakomiec works at EOS. EOS is the world’s leading technology supplier in the field of industrial 3D printing of metals and polymers. Formed in 1989, the independent company is pioneer and innovator for comprehensive solutions in additive manufacturing. Its product portfolio of EOS systems, materials, and process parameters gives customers crucial competitive advantages in terms of product quality and the long-term economic sustainability of their manufacturing processes. www.eos.info

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More than green How the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda will drive sustainable growth.

By Jasmeet Singh

I

s your enterprise committed to mitigating climate change? Are you reducing energy-intensity and pivoting to renewable sources of energy? Do you carry out carbon capture, storage and recycle materials in your factory?

Big Manufacturing is caught at the cross hairs of energy-intensive processes. Manufacturers need to be mindful of the financial and

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social implications as well as the potential risk of their environmental footprint. When a business recognizes its shared responsibility and accountability, it can chart a roadmap for purposeful engagement with constituents.

The industrial sector contributed to 23 percent of the energyrelated CO2 emissions globally in 2019, according to the International

ESG

Energy Agency. But the two other contributors i.e., transportation and power generation, are already ahead with initiatives to reduce their contribution with electric vehicles and renewable power respectively.

It is a question of time before industries overtake power generation in emission, maybe transportation too one day.

According to US Energy Information Administration’s outlook for

2021, the industrial sector will overtake power generation in CO2 emission before 2030, if crude oil prices remain high this decade.

Business leaders need to act fast. Toyota, for example, has advanced its target for zero-carbon factories globally by 15 years, from 2050 to 2035. The levers it plans to use are onsite power generation and new technologies for processes like painting, coating, and casting.

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Define the agenda for skill development

2010 onwards, many manufacturers started to take increasingly firm steps towards sustainability. However, sustainability now transcends the green quotient to embrace an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda. ESG covers a broad spectrum of issues that were earlier excluded from sustainability programs. Resource depletion, energy consumption, air and water pollution, and hazardous waste discharge are environmental concerns; while social issues include workplace safety, equality, diversity, and welfare of local communities.

John Elkington referred to it as the ‘triple bottom line’. Enterprises need to progress beyond the traditional bottom line or their profit and include the environment and the society in their focus. Social equity is the human capital, to prepare the people for the demands of the future, both for their employability and for the industry to benefit.

Today, good corporate governance demands investment in human capital. Manufacturers should foster an inclusive and diverse workplace. In addition, they should cultivate skills for future generations by supporting STEM learning programs at schools and universities.

The value of sustainable science needs to be reinforced in young

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minds through competitions and campaigns. In this regard, leading manufacturers, such as ThyssenKrupp, offer apprenticeships and internships in sustainability to technology and business school students.

The Learning and Knowledge Development Facility has identified the following four work tasks as part of its Green Skills index: i) engineering and technical, ii) science, iii) operation management, and iv) monitoring skills.

Enterprises should convert social responsibility into an opportunity for integrating sustainability with the company ethos, business model, and operational strategy. The Ford Motor Company is an outstanding example. It uses sustainable fabrics in vehicles and recycles paint fumes into fuel at its Michigan Assembly Plant.

The impact of environmental and social responsibility goes beyond performance and regulatory compliance. A proactive approach to societal and economic challenges rewards manufacturers with consumer trust, loyalty, and long-term profitability. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the John Deere factory in Mannheim, Germany, ceased production for two weeks to improve employee safety. Among various innovative safety solutions, clips to fix face shields to caps were

ESG At the ground level, ESG needs to adhere to plant-specific criteria.

It should address employee wellbeing, improve energy efficiency of buildings, pivot to a circular economy model for waste management, and ensure sustainable land use among suppliers. Johnson Controls International (JCI) leads by example. The company has committed to develop net zero carbon communities by leveraging technology.

Customers are provided digital platforms to minimize energy consumption across their infrastructure by analyzing it in real time. At a management level, JCI’s sustainability council trains suppliers to adopt best practices for environment-friendly operations.

Engage with stakeholders proactively

produced using 3D printing. John Deere published the 3D printing specifications online, for free.

Digital technology creates an integrated ecosystem, which helps manufacturers address strategic requirements across ESG parameters.

Organizations can implement sustainability initiatives based on the interplay between risk, reward, cost, and net value, leveraging technologies like AI, ML, and predictive analytics. Moreover, digital solutions provide actionable insights for risk mitigation as well as active engagement of stakeholders.

Monitor risk indicators using technology

To embed sustainability into the business, manufacturers need to assess risk factors and mitigate them decisively. Digital tools are useful to establish tangible goals for a ‘net zero’ carbon footprint and quantify value contribution across societal issues. Notably, binding targets and long-term goals drive operational excellence and uncover business opportunities while mitigating risks at source. Reuse and recycling enabled Toyota to reduce non-regulated waste by 96 percent across its manufacturing plants in North America.

Collaborative effort is a prerequisite for the success of sustainability programs. No organization can do it on its own. For instance, to embed sustainability into the product lifecycle, manufacturers should ensure that suppliers of raw materials use natural resources responsibly, reduce the use of virgin plastics, sub-contractors manage waste ethically, and local communities support recycling.

Global manufacturers need to engage stakeholders across the value chain – customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, trade associations, and partners – to realize positive outcomes from social initiatives. As a first step, they should communicate the ESG vision and the business plan with employees. Next, they should adopt comprehensive mechanisms to reskill and train employees to achieve sustainability goals. Stanley Black & Decker has created nine employee resource groups with 75+ global chapters for members to share ideas. The groups collaborate with external partners for community engagement and innovation.

An engaged workforce is more alert to potential threats and violations, be it in accounting, sales or investor relations. Scorecards can be used to encourage participation, monitor individual behavior, and reward green advocates. Besides mitigating risks, co-opting into sustainability programs maximizes awareness and transforms participants into brand ambassadors. The Nissan Motor Corporation partnered with the Urban Green Lab, a nonprofit organization, to launch a unique Environmental Education Program for schools in Tennessee, USA. A curriculum on sustainable living and waste prevention has been introduced as part of the program.

Sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive. Technology solutions support inclusive practices to minimize the environmental footprint and safeguard the interests of constituents. Technology helps manufacturers drive green operations as well as sustainable growth.

Although, however mature the technology, humans skilled in the usage of these technologies continue to play a role in the identification of impactful use cases and in their implementation. v

Jasmeet Singh Jasmeet Singh is Executive VP and Global Head of Manufacturing at Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. it enables clients in over 50 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With nearly four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, it expertly steers clients through their digital journey by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. It also empowers the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. www.infosys.com

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Supplier of the Year

As part of its global expansion strategy, as of August 2021, Zimmer Group (one of the world’s leading manufacturers of automation, machine and furniture damping components and process engineering) will be represented by its own branch office in Mexico. In addition to its headquarters in Rheinau, Germany, the company now has 13 of its own locations worldwide.

“In the past, the Mexican market was successfully developed by a local dealer.

A few years ago, strong demand and the wishes of our customers prompted us to set up our first own sales team through our then US subsidiary. Mexico is one of our key markets. In order to further strengthen our local market presence, we have now established our own company Zimmer Automation S. de R.L. de C.V. - in Querétaro,” explains Vincent Zimmer, the new Managing Director of the Mexican branch.

MANN+HUMMEL has been named a GM Supplier of the Year winner in General Motors’ 29th annual Supplier of the Year awards. GM recognized 122 of its best suppliers from 16 countries for performance in the 2020 calendar year. The annual awards highlight global suppliers that distinguish themselves by exceeding GM’s requirements, in turn providing GM customers with innovative technologies and among the highest quality in the automotive industry.

This is the 26th time MANN+HUMMEL has received the award.

“As GM works to achieve a future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, we are proud to have innovative and dedicated suppliers around the world as partners in this mission,” said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

“Throughout a challenging year, our suppliers have shown resilience and dedication in working toward our shared goal of long-term sustainability for our planet and the communities we serve, while meeting our present needs,” Amin said. “We are pleased with what we’ve accomplished together in the past year and we are excited by the opportunity that lies ahead.”

“I could not be prouder of our global team for again earning this very important recognition from General Motors for 2020. Especially during an extremely challenging year for our entire industry, our team remained focused on doing what was needed to support our customer General Motors,” said Mike Ternes, Vice President OE Americas MANN+HUMMEL.

Key contributions

Arriving in Europe

Mexico opening

Ficosa North America, a global leader in OEM automotive technology, continues to play a key role in the ongoing economic recovery in Putnam County and surrounding areas in Tennessee.

The Detroit-based company’s 270,000-sq-ft automotive manufacturing facility in Cookeville employs hundreds of workers and offers a range of career opportunities at various skill and experience levels.

Ficosa NA manufactures exterior vehicle mirrors, shift-by-wire modules, automotive vision systems and driver awareness technology for OEM customers. Since 2014, the company has sold over six million rearview cameras and anticipates selling 25 million by 2028.

Antonio Ibañez, chief operating officer of Ficosa NA commented: “Manufacturing remains a cornerstone of the US economy, but it’s often overlooked by young people as a viable career. We want to make sure that high school and college students know about all the available opportunities here.”

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The largest installation resource company in North America, IMI Material Handling Logistics Inc., is a leading provider of human capital and technical resources for the installation of automation and robotics systems for the supply chain and logistics industries in the US and Canada.

With the continued global shift towards e-commerce and crippling shortages of qualified workers, operators in the supply chain are investing heavily in technology and automation. IMI has seen record demand for its agnostic services platform throughout this unprecedented period and has made the move to expand beyond North America. It is therefore pleased to announce it is open for business in Europe (headquartered in Portugal).

At the helm of this new venture is Managing Director, Rui Teixeira. With extensive experience deploying major supply chain projects around the world, Rui is the perfect addition to spearhead this initiative.

“Rui has over 20 years of experience within the construction industry including the logistics field and has served industry leaders such as Amazon, deploying fulfilment centres across the EU, Brazil, and North America.

His international experience and deep knowledgeof the EU market and legislations, along with established partnerships will ensure that IMI enters the EU market without constraints.

We aim to be a technological reference partner for all supply chain OEMs, end-users, and developers; delivering quality service to our customers,” IMI President & CEO, Rudi Asseer states.

Manufacturing News Milling expansion Dormer Pramet has launched a new generation of solid carbide five-flute end mills, specifically for dynamic milling in general machining and die and mould applications. The company’s S7 assortment covers a wide range of operations in a variety of steels, cast irons and difficult-to-machine materials, including stainless steels and super-alloys.

These latest additions, S770HB, S771HB, S772HB and S773HB, offer increased feed rates up to 25 percent, compared with four-flute cutters. All feature a positive rake angle for smooth cutting action and to reduce the risk of work-hardening.

The S771HB and S773HB cutters are suitable for narrow pocketing, trochoidal slotting and profiling applications. These end mills include a chip divider to break swarf into manageable smaller pieces, helping to reduce spindle load and increase metal removal rates.

This provides a 50 percent bigger width of cut compared to tools without a chip divider.

A neck recess helps avoid contact with the wall in shoulder operations, while through coolant improves welding resistance and enables a wide range of processes, especially for difficult-to-machine materials.

The S770HB and S772HB are more suitable for profiling, trochoidal slotting, and semi-finishing applications, offering maximum productivity due to optimal metal removal rate and reduced machining time.

Meanwhile, Dormer Pramet has added three multi-application high performance cutters within its S7 range for use on both CNC and conventional machine tools.

Finally, the global manufacturer has added a new solid carbide cutter to enhance its assortment of end mills for hardened steel above 49HRC. The S561 is specifically for high performance milling in a variety of applications, including die and mould machining.

Critical insights Global industrial software and technology leader Emerson has launched its Plantweb™ Optics Data Lake, an enterprise-level data management software solution that helps manufacturers reduce data complexity so that they can fully leverage operations data across a production site or from multiple sites to improve profitability enterprise-wide.

This new advanced data management solution securely identifies, collects and contextualizes disparate data, at scale, either on-premises or using cloud technology. Today, this valuable manufacturing data is often in different formats and siloed across a plant, posing significant impediments to a company’s digital transformation initiatives. By effectively unifying this data, companies can establish a sound data foundation that can be leveraged by various digital solutions.

Emerson’s Plantweb Optics Data Lake runs on various cloud-computing platforms, enabling companies to implement a wide range of use cases from analytics applications that make use of machine learning to KPIs and dashboards, digital twins and other applications for improving reliability and sustainability. Effectively bridging the gap between OT and IT domains, this software seamlessly consolidates manufacturing data from a variety of systems, protocols and data architectures – even legacy systems – across a plant and multiple facilities by moving it into the cloud and ensuring that it is ready for use.

“Many legacy systems at manufacturing sites across the world are already over a decade old, and they’re often isolated from each other, impeding teams from effectively accessing data at scale for operational improvements,” said Peter Zornio, chief technology officer of Emerson’s Automation Solutions business. “Aggregating information between systems without disrupting production is extremely complex and difficult. Emerson’s software allows users to securely manage operational data centrally, scale it easily and gain critical insight into their operations at the enterprise level.”

Keep it fresh Starting this year, Ford will roll out all-new standard certified cabin air filters called Ford Refresh95, with plans to cover a majority of its lineup by the end of 2023.

Assembled in the US, Ford Refresh95 is Ford’s new standard advanced cabin air filter. As air moves through a vehicle’s heating, air conditioning and ventilation system, Ford Refresh95 aims to help reduce microscopic particles that can originate both inside and outside a vehicle’s interior. This is particularly important because, according to the EPA, particles less than ten microns in diameter, particularly those less than 2.5 microns, pose the greatest risk to health.

Ford Refresh95 certified air filters can help improve vehicle interior air quality in multiple ways, including filtering air particles 30 times smaller than a single human hair, helping to reduce allergens, trapping bacteria-sized particles and isolating smog and soot.

The Ford Refresh95 was also put through comprehensive third-party lab certification testing, including pressure drop testing to verify Ford Refresh95 will work throughout the recommended service interval.

Ford Refresh95 availability is expected in fourthquarter 2021 for select vehicles, including the Bronco Sport, Escape, Explorer, Mustang Mach-E, Police Interceptor Utility and Maverick (available Fall 2021).

Bridging the gap between OT and IT domains, Emerson’s Plantweb Optics Data Lake securely connects, collects and contextualizes operational data at scale.

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Understanding

supply chain needs

The largest fastener distributor in North America, Fastenal also boasts a robust, global manufacturing operation, providing its clients with custom-made products 22 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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hen its doors opened for the first time in 1967, Fastenal was the smallest of a then-estimated 10,000 fastener distributors in the United States. By the mid-1990s, however, it had risen to become the largest, almost exclusively through organic growth. Today, the business is many things to its many different customers, from an expert consultant, logistics company, and a technology

provider, to – more generally – a distributor of a wide-ranging portfolio of industrial and construction products. What it also is, is a provider of advanced manufacturing services, responsible for producing custom products to meet its customers’ unique needs, from highvolume fasteners to complex machined parts.

Cory Jansen is Fastenal’s Executive Vice President of Operations and Manufacturing.

Having spent nearly 30 years with the company

Fastenal

– during which time he has risen through its various ranks – he talks to Manufacturing Today about what has been his role now for the past five years. “Today, my principal task within the business is to focus all of my energy on growing Fastenal’s manufacturing capabilities, which could previously have been described as a hugely under-utilized asset,” he begins.

“Together with around 1500 of Fastenal’s 22,000-strong workforce, our activities represent

approximately ten percent of its total fastener sales, and it is our mission to grab more of the market by making more made-to-print solutions.”

Cory’s tenure within Fastenal gives him an expert perspective on some of the factors that have contributed to its success over the years.

“Key to this organization and its growth – in my opinion – has been a combination of its human capital and its proximity to its customers,”

he reveals, referencing Fastenal’s 3,200-plus in-market locations and its global distribution and supplier networks. “Our business model of locating products and services close to the end user – facilitated by our unmatched global footprint – really does set us apart from anyone else in our industry.”

As Cory explains, Fastenal’s rise to prominence is in large part thanks to the vision of its founder, Bob Kierlin, a mechanical engineer

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himself, who understood that to become the largest industrial fastener distributor in North America, the company needed to be able to control its own destiny when it came to manufacturing and product supply. “Thanks to this approach, we have reached the point where we now have no less than nine manufacturing locations, three of which bring a greater international presence to the business, being located in Malaysia, the Czech Republic, and the UK, respectively.

“Meanwhile, domestically, our various facilities help to showcase the diversity of our manufacturing efforts, which encompass three main methods. The first of these is precision manufacturing through the use of a range of equipment including CNC machines, the second is cold forming – which takes place at our locations in Rockford, Illinois, and Wallingford, Connecticut, under the brand name of HoloKrome – and the third is hot upset forging, which operates under the Cardinal moniker at three facilities, the largest being found in

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Winona, Minnesota. Further to these sites, we also operate a facility in Houston, Texas, which focuses on stud bolting, and in Indianapolis, Indiana, where we carry out the modification of standard fasteners.”

Global supply chain

The majority of the aforementioned facilities are greenfield sites, and each one benefits from Fastenal’s company-wide belief in the importance of reinvesting back into the business.

Among the ways this capital is spent is on new technology, and various new and upgraded pieces of equipment, which allow Fastenal to develop new products and services. Indeed, it is this reinvestment that has – and continues to – future-proof the organization.

In spite of its impressive manufacturing infrastructure, Cory reveals that, to this day, only a very small percentage of the businesses that he speaks to even realize that Fastenal possesses such capabilities. “The vast majority, probably 95 percent of said businesses,

think that – at best – we are responsible for manufacturing the standardized, commercial fasteners that our distribution centers send out to our branches. So, you can imagine how proud I am when I am able to say that, in fact, we have a network of superior, global manufacturing locations that produce parts to meet customer specifications, which we distribute through a quality global supply chain!”

Someone else who possesses a thorough understanding of what makes Fastenal stand out amongst its peers is Director of Sales Heath Hazard. With 24 years in the business under his belt, since January 2020 Heath has also led its Customer Solutions Consultant Team, a group of sales professionals tasked with identifying and engaging manufacturing clients with the end goal of forging long-lasting strategic partnerships.

“The foundations of said partnerships usually boil down to four main criteria – or pillars as we often refer to them – namely, commitment, communication, innovation, and continuous

Fastenal

improvement,” Heath states. “Working with our clients, we look to create a shared vision based on their individual aims and expectations, and devise solutions that help them to exceed these wherever possible.”

Commitment to quality

Another of Heath’s remits within the company is to help integrate tailor-made solutions into the manufacturing environment for the betterment of Fastenal’s clients. As he tells us, this process begins by approaching each client with a completely open mind. “We come into these discussions with a desire to understand each customer’s aims, as well as their challenges and pain points when it comes to their supply chain,” he points out. “Through this – and by conceptualizing how technology and innovation can be utilized in a given scenario – we are able to build out the ideal solutions for the client’s needs.”

Among the suite of service models and technology solutions that Fastenal has created to bring efficiency, visibility, and control to a client’s supply chain, are its vending, onsite, integrated supply, bin stock, e-business, and jobsite inventory solutions. Fastenal is able to leverage these solutions in order to assist clients in automating their supply chains, thus driving efficiencies while giving the client time to focus their efforts on their core competencies.

“By making complete use of the data that our various solutions provide, a business is able to make that transition from being reactive to becoming proactive, and perhaps even predictive as it relates to identifying problems with things

such as inventory before they happen,” Heath points out.

Looking back on the year that was 2020, both Cory and Heath immediately point to the fact that the extreme challenges posed by Covid-19 and the global pandemic meant that the organization had to be agile and able to pivot in order to conduct its business in new and different ways. “2020 was undoubtedly a devastating period of time for everybody; however, 2021 to date has felt almost like being shot out of a cannon. So, our focus has really been centered on trying to meet and/or exceed increased demands from our customers,” Cory states. “Like many other companies out there, we have had to face difficulties resulting from the pandemic, such as a decrease in raw material availability – which has meant broadening our portfolio of vendors – but if you are in any way familiar with the history of Fastenal, you will know that we are a growth-orientated company, and we are proud to say that we are continuing to exceed our growth targets to this day.”

Fastenal has achieved this feat without having to increase its headcount, which has naturally decreased in recent times due to attrition, not layoffs. “By investing in new technology and equipment on a consistent basis, we have succeeded in increasing our productivity,” Cory enthuses. “This is a trend that we very much want to continue to follow, and the excellent relationships that Fastenal has formed over the years with equipment manufacturers means that we can be confident about adding extra capacity going forward in what is an ever-more competitive environment.”

In terms of what the future holds for Heath and his team, it is his hope that in the near-term he can further expand the group into more and more territories. “What I think we as a team have brought to the table since our inception is a much higher level of focus and consistency as it relates to understanding the supply chain needs of Fastenal’s customers,” he adds. “Longerterm, one of my aims is to collaborate more internally with our technology and innovations teams here within the organization, with the goal of further exploring potential new, state-of-theart solutions that we can bring to market and that can create added value.”

Before Manufacturing Today brings our conversation to a close, Cory has one final statement to make. “I would be remiss not to highlight one of the biggest areas where I think Fastenal has gone above and beyond the typical distributor, and that is in its commitment to quality,” he declares. “As is our nature, we obviously enjoy achieving strong profit margins, but we have never been the type to jeopardize our quality standards for a sale, and that also says a lot for the professionalism and dedication of our people.” v

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A can-do attitude Having maintained its impressive growth trajectory throughout the past 18 months, Stolle Machinery Europe is poised for further success in the coming years

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Stolle Machinery

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Stolle Machinery

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t was almost a year ago – back in September 2020 – when Manufacturing Today previously featured Stolle Machinery Europe within the pages of this magazine.

Headquartered in Carlisle, UK, the business is a part of Stolle Machinery – the world’s leading supplier of two-piece can and end-making machinery for the canmaking industry – and is well equipped to serve beverage, food can, and end makers on a truly global basis.

Stolle Machinery’s high-speed machines have long been seen being the backbone of canmaking operations worldwide, primarily due to their proven productivity and reliability.

The organization provides complete solutions at any level – be it from individual machines, line modules, and rapid service with OEM parts, to the design, build, and commissioning of a complete facility – while its technical leadership means that its customers always receive equipment boasting the latest engineering advances and improvements.

What this all means is that canmakers around

For our part, Stolle Europe will continue to build equipment, in addition to adding to the systems side of the business. We also continue to invest in our people, our infrastructure, and our supply chain as part of a multi-pronged effort to meet the ever-increasing demand for our industry-leading products the world know that with Stolle, they have a partner that wholeheartedly supports their productivity and profitability.

At the time of the aforementioned previous coverage, it was Stolle Machinery Europe’s Executive Vice President, Steve Higginson, who this publication had the pleasure of speaking with. Now, roughly 12 months on, it is with great excitement that Steve is able to update us on what the intervening months have been like for

the company and its parent organization. “Over the last year, Stolle Machinery, including ourselves and its other international divisions, have experienced what can best be described as a steady increase in commercial activity,” he notes.

Of course, what makes the above fact all the more impressive is that it has occurred during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. As Steve reveals, however, Stolle Machinery Europe took very specific, targeted measures in order to face

DecoCure Oven

OptimusWasher 5120 Optimus Can Dryer

Ashworth As an industry partner, Ashworth offers global expertise to optimize the functions and mechanics of conveyor systems that are key to keeping your business running smoothly.

Ashworth offers: • PosiDrive Spiral® - Maintains consistent belt tensions between sanitation cycles • ExactaStack® - Ashworth’s affordable belt option for standard and wide belt self-stacking spiral systems • SmartSpiral® Monitoring System - an innovative application that provides real-time remote monitoring of multiple spirals at different locations • Omni-Grid® 360 Weld - at Ashworth, we “build-in hygiene”. Our Omni-Grid® 360 Weld belts are engineered to meet a strict hygienic design criterion.

Our patented welding process makes overall food processing safer and more efficient • Hybrid Belting • True-Tracking Friction Driven Belts • Lotension Spiral System and Spiral Belts • Ashworth Factory Service A Step Ahead At Ashworth, this innovative spirit enables us to stay a step ahead of our competitors by providing the widest range of solutions that help your business succeed.

Visit us at www.ashworth.com

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Filtration

BW Integrated Systems BW Integrated Systems, trusted partner to Stolle Machinery, are a global leader in the can end and can handling industry. We have collaborated with Stolle for 40+ years to develop projects that ensure positive and efficient handling of products. Our solutions complement the best-in-class equipment that Stolle supplies to the canmaking industry.

Fleetwood, by BW Integrated Systems, initially supplied conveying for the draw/redraw food can and oil filter industries and as the needs of canmakers evolved, so have our offerings. Whether it be conveying, lid feeding, bagging, palletizing, or integrated lines; BW Integrated Systems is your partner.

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down, and ultimately overcome, the challenges it faced. “What we did from the outset of the pandemic was to form a Crisis Management Team, which initially was meeting on a daily basis, and eventually weekly in order to stay on top of the latest developments,” he says. “It has been this team’s job to provide every possible guidance and level of protection to our staff and our customers during the pandemic.

“Indeed, we have ensured that we have been able to go above and beyond Government guidance on dealing with the virus and its risks wherever possible, and we made it our mission to maintain regular communication with our people across the business, while also examining all possible ways and means of balancing conditions so as to minimize any financial impact on our employees.

“In some ways, being restricted from travelling around has actually helped to strengthen relationships and understanding between our various teams and locations, and considering everything that we have faced since March 2020, I would say that we have adapted extremely well during a time of considerable crisis. For that, I am very proud of everyone in our business.”

Stolle Machinery By very much adhering to the philosophy of the wider Stolle group – which is to operate through the pandemic with the maximum amount of protection for its people, and with minimal interruption to the business – Stolle Machinery Europe has managed to continue to serve its customer base with the same level of quality and professionalism that it has come to expect.

InterCure Oven

Insight and experience

For those less familiar with Stolle Machinery Europe, it is a major hub for genuine Stolle OEM parts, field service, and complete technical support for can and end lines. It also provides rapid response services, and stocks a wide inventory of spares for 24-hour delivery of parts when needed. Modern machining

and assembly facilities can refurbish dies and machinery for the entire EMEA region, including the use of a specialized SIP vertical boring and milling machine for die sets. Meanwhile, a staff of experienced engineers support all of the different services offered by Stolle Machinery

RBC Bearings Founded in 1919, RBC Bearings’ guiding philosophy is to provide our industrial customers with unique design solutions to complex problems and an unparalleled level of service, quality, and support. Our partnership with Stolle Machinery exemplifies this principle. As Stolle continues to push the performance and production boundaries of the can-making industry, we are right by their side, developing cost-effective, long-term engineered solutions to the technical bearing challenges that inevitably arise.

Europe, including machine and container R&D, mechanical design, and all related fields.

Stolle Machinery Europe is also the hub for three additional groups: Stolle Global Systems, Stolle EMS, and Stolle Conveying Systems. In the case of the former, Carlisle is also home to its headquarters, from which Stolle Global Systems provides turnkey design, construction, upgrades and process analysis for can and end facilities worldwide. The group possesses extensive experience in everything from new installations on green or brownfields, to facilities redesign, to individual machine module analysis and remediation. Meanwhile, many of its team

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Stolle Machinery are former can plant employees and managers themselves, providing each with the insight and experience to understand the intricacies and practical ramifications of can and end line layout and construction.

From initial concept to commissioning, the Stolle Global Systems team uses a proven six-step process of project management that delivers results with single source responsibility.

These steps are preliminary engineering, detailed engineering, production preparation, installation and commissioning, start-up and qualification, and aftermarket support. At the end of the day, the Stolle Global Systems group has two primary focuses, facilities construction and process analysis, and no matter what a customer may require, they can be assured that their work will be done quickly and efficiently.

This group is experienced in designing and building beverage can and beverage end lines, food can and end lines, aerosol can lines, and lines and machines for other drawn containers or products. Stolle Global Systems also offers tooling and can/end design and optimization services with complete technical support throughout the process. It offers a range of value-added services that can keep any can or end plant running smoothly and profitably.

Whether a client needs an analysis of lines or machines using its sophisticated software and experience, or tooling design for cupping, DWI and DRD systems, increased metal economies, enhanced usability and lowered costs are the results.

Stolle EMS, on the other hand, is responsible for the design and manufacture of a wide range

BEX GmbH BEX GmbH in Willich, Germany, is the European subsidiary of BEX Engineering Limited in Mississauga, Canada, and we are responsible for the European market.

We produce our spray nozzles and eductors exclusively in our factory in Mississauga. This ensures high quality and a short delivery time.

If you have any questions please contact us. We look forward to your enquiry.

of thermal products, including Optimus washers and dryers, DecoCure pin ovens, and InterCure internal bake ovens. The aforementioned washers have been a particularly strong source of revenue in recent times for the overall business.

Sophisticated technology

The Stolle Optimus Can Washer is designed to wash, treat the surface, and rinse two-piece beverage cans after they are discharged by the bodymakers/trimmers. Each multi-stage washer is custom-designed to meet specific customer requirements, which may include additional rinse stages, heated stages, counterflows, and backflows.

Manufactured within a specifically-designated Stolle plant, this washer features continuously-welded construction from European-sourced 316L stainless steel, while base frames and pump platforms can be specified as either mild steel (with two-part epoxy coating) or stainless steel.

The Stolle Optimus Can Washer comes complete with an automatic height-adjustable vacuum transfer unit, tipped can reject conveyor, modular heater skid, and Stolle coalescers. All of these components are integrated into the control system that is operated from a user-friendly HMI.

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Critical features of the washer include, reduced can spoilage through more precise adjustments and controls, fine autoadjustment on hold-downs, Intralox main and hold-down belts, and optimum flows and

systems pressures (resized pipework, pumps and valves) to reduce water and chemical usages. It also boasts ultrasonic flow meters, full process control at each stage, and VFD control on all pumps/fans and butterfly valves

in pipework to allow for the fine tuning of the washer setup.

Further to all of the above, the washer provides for reduced carry-over between stages, incorporating independent blow-off

AUSTROPRESSEN SCRAP BALERS Scrap balers series DS-A from Austropressen prove themselves as being the perfect solution for can lines and can ends lines daily. The family-owned business, based in Austria, has developed and produced high quality recycling and disposal machines for more than 50 years. Providing long life spans, maximum operator safety, and efficient use of energy, Austropressen distinguishes itself through a line of metal scrap baling presses offering top performance under the most varied of conditions worldwide. www.austropressen.com

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Stolle Machinery systems after each stage to remove solution and water from the dome of the can, and independent belt vacuum systems and brush systems that assist in minimizing carry-over of solutions from one washer stage to another, thus improving conductivity profiles. Lastly, its reduced washer footprint saves plant floor space, allowing for an increase in capacity in the same – or in many cases smaller – sized area.

“In the time since 2019, we have increased our production capacity of said washers from five units, to the point where today we are in the midst of producing no fewer than 26 units, all while also incorporating a robust quality

improvement program,” Steve highlights. As a matter of fact, the company’s position is, that it actually finds itself in the midst of planning production runs in order to fulfil orders for as far in advance as 2024.

Customer requirements

Stolle EMS is also responsible for building the Stolle E-NCKR modular die necking system, as well as coolant filtration systems configured to fit any bodymaker module. In addition to several facilities in Altham in the UK, Stolle EMS also boasts a large manufacturing facility in Gliwice, Poland.

Elite 04 Limited With over 40 years’ experience, our family-run business continues to grow from strength-to-strength. One of our many goals is to be one of the best, most reliable and trusted protective coating suppliers in the North of England. At our core, we aim to work safely and methodically.

We strive to use the best possible products on the market whilst acknowledging our responsibilities to the environment. We aim to provide services that fully meet our customers’ requirements.

We are also dedicated to doing our job right the first time, every time, so as to achieve total customer satisfaction.

With abrasive blast-cleaning, wet paint and powder-coating capabilities, we can be trusted to handle your most complex requirements.

Our customer base is varied and we regularly handle work from the following industries: Aerospace, Oil & Gas, Marine, General Engineering, Commercial, Utilities, Transport, Mining, Renewables, Security.

Last, but by no means least, Stolle Conveying Systems designs, manufactures, installs and commissions complete conveying systems for high speed two-piece beverage can lines, as well as for food cans and other types of specialized container production.

Working with canmakers around the world on everything from large turn-key conveying system projects, to smaller designs and projects, Stolle Conveying Systems has developed specialized conveyors to efficiently move product between each step of production, from cups, to wet cans, bright cans, decorated cans, and finished necked cans ready to be palletized.

Each conveyor unit is custom designed and built for the customer’s unique production requirements and machinery specifications, using the highest quality of materials and components.

Stolle conveying equipment for a typical two-piece beverage can line includes, cupper discharge air table, cup elevator, cup handling systems and re-circulating cup systems, bodymaker infeed sweeps, and bodymakerto-trimmer interconnecting conveyors. They also possess – among other items – washer/ drier discharge turnover units, basecoater and

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Stolle Machinery ensure its customers are provided with the right products to meet their respective needs, when they need them. “Our ability to ramp up supply during busy times is particularly unique to Stolle,” he states. “Indeed, a core part of our company strategy is to meet demand by further growing our footprint and generating multiple supply locations.

“For our part, Stolle Europe will continue to build equipment, in addition to adding to the systems side of the business. We also continue to invest in our people, our infrastructure, and our supply chain as part of a multi-pronged effort to meet the ever-increasing demand for our industry-leading products.”

decorator infeeds, inside spray machine infeeds, an internal bake oven infeed, necker infeed, discreet light tester and vision inspection system conveyors, and a vacuum transfer unit.

Stolle Conveying Systems’ facility utilizes the latest machinery and technology in order to meet the requirements of its customers, and to adhere to the highest standards of manufacturing. All of its products are designed,

manufactured, installed, and commissioned by highly experienced expert engineers, each of whom are well versed in meeting – and exceeding – customer expectations.

Speaking with Steve, it is extremely heartening to hear that virtually all of Stolle’s sites throughout the world currently find themselves exceptionally busy. Steve puts a lot of this down to the business being able to

Future plans

One thing that has stayed consistent over the years has been Stolle and Stolle Machinery Europe’s reputations for delivering innovation to its fields of expertise. Such achievements do not come without their challenges, however, and Steve is perfectly aware of what the business may have to overcome going forward when developing the solutions of the future. “The constantly evolving nature of people’s skill sets

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Stolle Machinery always poses a challenge, and we also recognize that lines are running faster than ever before, with more complex variations, and that our products will have to continue to provide the widest possible operating window. To this end, we will be focusing in on areas of advanced technology such as Artificial Intelligence, and on utilizing Predictive Maintenance programs,” he points out.

As far as where the coming months and years will take Stolle Machinery Europe, Steve reveals that it plans to hold a steady course in the near-term. “Our order books are looking

very good indeed through to 2023, and all of the forecasts that we have seen to date suggest that activity will remain high into 2025,” he says.

“Looking even further ahead, the business fully intends to remain the largest supplier to the industry, operating from a growing number of global outlets, each of which will be supported by the latest technology available.”

With this mind, Steve has one final statement that he wishes to make. “I think with the ownership and leadership of the business that we have, we can count ourselves as extremely fortunate to have had the financial health necessary to allow for ongoing, substantial investment at such a critical time.

That, ultimately, has been to the benefit of not only our customers, but also to the wellbeing and security of our biggest asset, which is our people.” v

Stolle Machinery www.stollemachinery.com Services: Manufacturing, design, and turnkey systems for the can and end manufacturing industry

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Masters

of the hattrick Denroy Group’s history stretches as far back as 1971 when it was mainly a hairbrush business. Now, through ambition, innovation and flexibility to respond to market demands, the Denroy family has expanded into three divisions and continues to strive for excellence in the injection molding sector

Kevin McNamee - CEO

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Denroy Group

A

lthough the Denroy Group has only been trading for 50 years, it has made some impressive moves across its operations. As

a corporation that stretches threefold, to this day it remains privately owned by the Rainey family who have built their business on the ethos of durability, flexibility and innovation.

Kevin McNamee, the group’s CEO, speaks with Manufacturing Today about the history of the Northern Ireland-based company and how it came to trade in not only hairbrushes, but also

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Denroy Group aerospace components and personal protective equipment.

“The core of what we do is plastic injection molding, which has consequently allowed us to diversify into different sectors. The most interesting one, in my opinion, is our Denman hairbrush. Effectively, the same hairbrush has been in production since 1938, which is quite remarkable,” Kevin begins. When the

handheld hairdryer surged in popularity in the late 1960s, so too did the need for a brush that could withstand the heat of the hairdryer.

A gentleman by the name of Vidal Sassoon discovered that the Denman brush was excellent for blow-dried hair style techniques owing to its ability to not buckle under raised temperatures. This led him to travel the world, sharing his insight into the results that could be

achieved with the Denman brush; now known as the professional’s choice. “We now have a whole range of brushes and combs. Because we are also now a consumer-focused business with increased direct online trading, this has allowed our products to become increasingly popular with the consumer as well as the professional.

As manufacturers of a product with a strong brand, as well as trading through traditional wholesale models, we have undergone an interesting transition to a stronger e-commerce division, meaning that Denman has never been more successful. We now export to 60 countries worldwide, with our largest markets actually being North America, Japan is also a very large export market at this stage,” he says.

Addressing challenges

Then there is the Denroy component. By the same technology of the plastic injection molding capabilities, Denroy is able to specialize in precision injection moldings primarily for the aerospace and automotive industry. “On that side of the group, we’ve become experts in processing more challenging materials, such as the polymers that have to withstand high heat pressures, or jet fuel. Denroy is certified to supply three major players in the aerospace industry, with those being Airbus, Bombardier and Boeing. Of course, the business is a bit more than injection molding, because we are also capable of providing design and we are working on a number of collaborative projects with Airbus on its ‘Wing of Tomorrow Program’ for innovative components for the next generation of aircraft. We have a substantial engineering team who are working on more long-term projects because this sector runs in quite lengthy cycles where an aircraft may come along every ten years, so it requires a significant investment and it takes a lot of patience,” Kevin explains.

Although it may not be difficult to imagine, the company experienced quite the shock in early 2020, when aircraft across the world were instructed to remain grounded, resulting in the aerospace industry taking an unfortunate hit from Covid-19. However, Denroy saw this as an opportunity to maximize on its infrastructure to Asian Institute of Advanced Medicine Ltd. (AIAM) Asian Institute of Advanced Medicine Ltd. (AIAM) was founded in 2020 by a group of senior doctors in Asia, with the purpose of organizing international academic activities and promoting cutting-edge technology and products.

In the face of the sudden global outbreak of Covid-19, AIAM was able to utilize the resource advantages of China’s medical supply chain, and select manufacturers, to offer first-class product quality to the many PPE manufacturers across Asia. AIAM maintains direct contact with manufacturers in order to guarantee competitive price and short lead-time on the best quality PPE, Medical and Epidemic prevention supplies.

As their supplier, AIAM proudly provides Denroy with high-quality meltblown that has a shelf life of up to three years due to its world-class mask production.

It is on track to expand this mutually beneficial relationship.

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Denroy Group serve those working in the frontline to combat the disease. “During this time, there was also a scramble for PPE when hospitals suffered the first wave hit. So, we responded to that initially by manufacturing face visors for the NHS here in Northern Ireland. We immediately retooled and repurposed our machines and over the period of May through to August 2020, we supplied around one million face visors to the Health Service in Northern Ireland. That led us to create a new brand which we called Denpro. From there, we moved to develop a number of other products. The first of these was our reusable mask called the Bubl, which came about through an acute awareness of

the plastics process and recycling issues that continue to be an important conversation, so we created a mask that was made out of a TPE polymer to make a flexible clear mask with exchangeable filters. The product was launched through the Denpro website in September 2020 and sold very well during that particular time when masks were becoming mandatory.

Collaborative working

“We then entered into a further dialogue with the Health Service in Northern Ireland regarding the manufacturing of FFP3 filtering facepiece-based masks, which are the fully protected masks that you see in health sector

JL Goor Materials JL Goor Materials are an independent sales, marketing and distribution company, representing global manufacturing partners, for the supply of engineering and commodity thermoplastics, for injection moulding, extrusion, blow moulding and related manufacturing technologies. Our customers operate in markets such as medical, pharmaceutical, automotive, aerospace, defence, industrial, E&E to name but some. We work in close partnership with our clients, offering key technical support on materials technologies and applications, from green field opportunities to change specifications for product improvements. We are a long term supplier to Denroy Plastics, and look forward to continued partnership and growth into the future.

professions, particularly where there is a risk of Covid-19 exposure. Each health care worker has to be individually tested for a particular model of an FFP3. The reason being is that the mask has an individual profile, which means each worker has to be certified for a mask that fits their face. We then moved to the process of CE certification, tooling and understanding the manufacturing process in order to source the necessary equipment. After having established premises and recruiting approximately 140 people to manufacture the masks, within 22 weeks, we had the facilities up and running to meet the product demand. Six months later, we are still scaling up and we are proud of this achievement,” Kevin explains. As a result of its innovative and crucial work, Denpro is now producing five million pieces for the Northern Ireland Health Service. This product holds all the necessary British Standards Institution and CE certifications, enabling it to be exported into any European or UK nation. This success has seen the company double its turnover in the past 12 months, despite the headwinds of the pandemic. “Today, we are a group of 410,

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When the pandemic hit, although the aerospace industry was knocked significantly, we took hold of other opportunities and that is what gives us those stand-out qualities. With that strategy of continual adaptability, I think diversity will remain our strength and we plan to continue to maintain those three core channels – Denman, Denroy and Denpro – certainly for as long as possible with a turnover set to be north of 30 million in 2021. We are delighted to have responded to the Covid-19 need, and very thankful for the role that we were able to play, particularly with the help of the Business Services Organization, which is a procurement arm of the Health Service in Northern Ireland who were instrumental in the product design through collaboration with us. They were the ones who brought in the clinical teams and we couldn’t have done this work without them frankly, because they gave us the right feedback to design the mask to their exacting requirements,” he shares.

With these impressive developments already in place, the business is well positioned to support its future visions, including a few new projects on the horizon. “Regarding Denman, there are quite a number of new products in the pipeline. For example, we’re now able to offer personalized brushes.You can order a Denman brush with any individual image embossed onto the brush.

We’re like the Moonpig of hairbrushes! Denman is continuing to develop and innovate to provide the consumer with much more choice in terms of our finishes,” Kevin says.

With a team of digital marketers who are adept and tech-savvy when it comes to social

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media, the group is quickly transitioning the business from a traditional manufacturer with a distributor and wholesale model, to a business that is pushing the brand towards its consumers.

“That is really what I would call the Denman digital journey, which can be used across our markets. In addition, at Denroy our future is targeted towards collaborative research with the aerospace primes as well as with the large automotive companies where we specialize in collaborative product development to find solutions for challenging componentry. Denpro is also a high volume, large contract business, with an element of direct consumers because there are clients who will buy FFP3 masks online and also sell through their own retail channels. So, these are new elements that the future of our operations need to take into consideration.”

Staff development

Although the values of the business are key as well, the essence of the group’s success, as Kevin says, is not only owed to the breadth of capability it possesses, but also to the skilled personnel behind the name. “Because we are quite a diverse business, we have everyone here from the bright design engineers who can come up with product concepts and design right through to manufacturing engineers who can scale production, to marketing at the very far end and the e-commerce channel experts.

When you think about it, we have aerospace design engineers who are working with concepts from scratch; the same goes for our Denman product designers who often begin with a blank canvas. So, they need to be the most creative and innovative people in the industry in order for our name to continue to be a leading brand in these sectors,” he adds.

Not only is the Denroy team highly skilled, they are also well-supported to thrive in their chosen professions and Kevin also associates the consistent success of the business with the family-based culture that is prioritized at Denroy. By treating individuals with respect and by providing them with the authority to take responsibility for their work, and contribute their own ideas, the company is proud of how its staff has fueled the business forward.

“In whatever way possible, we empower our people; we let everybody express their visions within reason and allow them to contribute to the business to their full potential. This means that there isn’t a strict hierarchy; I spend a lot of time in the various departments and also on the shop floor talking with individuals to get to know them on a first-name basis. The reason for this is to maintain that family feel which has been evident here for the past 50 years. When

Denroy Group people feel valued and respected, they’re likely to enjoy their job more and therefore stay longer, which is something we work very hard to ensure. Our people are critical to what we do so we want them to know that they are valued, respected, listened to and appreciated and in my mind a lot of the success in terms of staff and development is simply because of that ethos,” he exclaims.

Looking further ahead, Kevin is optimistic and confident that he will see the group double again to a 50-60 million turnover in the next five years through its three channels.

Kevin is passionate about his company’s capabilities in platforming its strengths as a diverse and versatile network. “When the pandemic hit, although the aerospace industry was knocked significantly, we took hold of other opportunities and that is what gives us those stand-out qualities. With that strategy of continual adaptability, I think diversity will remain our strength and we plan to continue to maintain those three core channels – Denman, Denroy and Denpro – certainly for as long as possible,” he concludes. v

Denroy Group www.denroy.com Services: Injection molding manufacturer

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Seeing red With just under a century’s worth of fire truck manufacturing experience in the United States, Rosenbauer America is preparing to support sustainability in the global effort against climate change

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osenbauer America’s history dates back to the late-1920s in Minnesota, when it started off as a General Safety Equipment manufacturer. Since its existence began, the family-owned company is proud to have never had a layoff which highlights the company’s culture; a company that cares about the communities it serves.

Now, as the second largest fire truck manufacturer in North America, and the largest in the world, Rosenbauer America is investing in additional technology, innovation, and brand awareness as a means to further focus on sustainability and safety.

“In this day and age, you need to have considerable breadth and depth of talent to stay in-tune with the values and causes communities are passionate about, and we have a number of young individuals who have inspired our team to push boundaries and explore new opportunities – so much so that we’re working with this software company to develop virtual augmented reality technologies. This would provide additional brand identification for us. Certainly, this will help us gain greater exposure to millions of people who we wouldn’t have had previously. As far as our trucks are concerned, I think that branding is really an important part of who we are as an organization,” says John Slawson,

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Rosenbauer America

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Rosenbauer America the company’s CEO. “However, in my opinion, what really sets us apart is our purpose. We are driven by our mission to support those who save lives and protect property, and we do that through our core values of family, ethics, teamwork, passion and accountability,” he shares.

Focus on environment

According to John, another key factor that sets the business apart is its ability to contribute to the fire industry at a much greater capacity than its competitors. “In North America, we are looking at a total addressable market of about 4000 to 4500 fire trucks, but there is a global market of 18,000 and we are able to share resources through our global partnerships; it gives us a competitive advantage to use the technology synergies and learnings throughout the world. This, in addition to a global supply chain, allows us to continue keeping our costs down,” John says.

Its ability to manufacture leading heavy-duty trucking has also challenged the business to be part of the sustainability solution, and in so

doing, it is proud to show off its Revolutionary Technology (RT) fully electric fire truck.

“While we have our airport rescue firefighting trucks, which have a global platform and are manufactured in North America as well as Europe, we are also excited about our electric fire truck that has been added to that global footprint. The inspiration for the RT electric fire truck was originally conceived to develop new standards in safety and sustainability. Ultimately, we started this concept ten years ago to develop a durable chassis, and enhanced ways to help put out fires. Some of its new capabilities reduce the center of gravity, so that we don’t have the same constraints as conventional frame rails have where the water tank sits up significantly higher. With that, the tank and the floor of the chassis provides a much more improved center of gravity and better weight distribution across axles.

“We have two batteries that support the chassis superstructure and have partnered with Volvo Penta who is the absolute leader in battery systems for the commercial truck

market, which allowed us to focus on what we do best; which is to design and engineer the best fire trucks. By partnering with Volvo Penta that has the additional electrification resources, we are also capable of implementing many new features such as crab steering for the truck. We have a turning radius that is far superior to any other fire truck in the market, and we also have an air suspension system that raises and lowers the entrance to the vehicle to under nine inches versus the usual 19-24 inches,” he discusses.

Each of these enhancements is bringing the business one step closer to encouraging its industry to promote more environmentally friendly practices. “I think we are certainly seeing a focus on our environmental impact with so many different countries focusing on reducing our carbon footprint. If we look at the data, 95 percent of all fire calls are non-fire related, and we are able to provide our customers with products that are innovative and provide emissions free solutions,” he shares. However, as a result of the business specializing in a fairly traditional industry, transformations like this

Interstate Companies Interstate Companies was founded in 1957. In continuous operation for 64 years, Interstate focuses on distribution, industrial product sales, and manufacturing.

It specializes in sales and support of heavy-duty trucks, final-stage vehicle manufacturing, sales and support of diesel engines, industrial bearing and power transmission products, industrial transmissions, power generation, transport refrigeration and other products. Interstate also provides industrial labor and contract assembly services. Interstate Companies consists of six operating divisions: Assembly Systems, I-State Truck Centers, Interstate BearingSystems, Interstate IndustrialSystems, Interstate PowerSystems, and Interstate Transport Refrigeration.

Interstate had an opportunity to work with the Rosenbauer family starting in 1988. From that point, it had the privilege to watch them grow into a world-class manufacturer. Rosenbauer is supported at 19 of its locations through chassis sales, OEM sales, service and upfitting. Interstate Companies is proud to be a part of Rosenbauer’s success. www.istate.com

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SINCE 1957, OUR COMPANY HAS FOCUSED ON CUSTOMERS FIRST. Pride in Service is more than our motto.

It’s what sets us apart.

DIVERSE BUSINESSES WITH ONE MISSION Our business divisions touch thousands of customers across diverse industries.

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take time, yet John is optimistic on the progress.

Recent wildfires that have swept through cities like Los Angeles resulting in more than 4.3 million acres being burned are a wake-up call that the fire service needs to become pioneers in the climate change movement. “Whether you believe in some of these changes or not, I think we are seeing a definite demand for

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improvement as far as the environment is concerned,” he adds.

Managing challenges

In addition to the challenges the business faces within its industry, it is also attempting to get back on track to manage through supply chain obstacles that Covid-19 has created.

As an essential business, Rosenbauer America was able to stay operational throughout the pandemic. “We had a challenging yet strong year, we grew substantially in terms of systems and processes, which wasn’t easy. I think as an entire organization our employees found creative ways to support our customers and work with suppliers to manage through the challenges we faced. At the moment, we are dealing with a supply chain disruption that no one has ever experienced in the history of modern manufacturing.The price increases and shortages that everybody is seeing, are coming in on a daily basis at unprecedented levels. Many of us are familiar with the semi-conductor and chips shortage, but there are other sectors that have been affected such as increased demand in cardboard boxes, talent, and other associated expenses; these things continue to be a challenge in the whole manufacturing segment up and down the supply chain, and are likely to continue for the next 18 months or longer,” he shares.

John is determined to identify ways to manage through these challenges with communication, advanced analytics and other ways to become more flexible and nimble to keep Rosenbauer America’s supply chain as strong as possible.The company is putting the inputs in place to continue leading the industry in technology and innovation to provide fire departments with more solutions for their needs.

“We continue to position ourselves to be the most desired fire truck manufacturer and earn customer’s business. Some of the key company priorities include strengthening our dealer network to support customers and continue developing talent. With this, in addition to continued technology innovations, I am confident Rosenbauer America will continue to position itself to better serve customers, and continue to be a leader in the fire truck business in North America,” he concludes. v

Rosenbauer America

Will-Burt Company The Will-Burt Company is a proud long-time partner to Rosenbauer America and supplies the latest technology in scene lighting and camera systems for the fire industry. As the world leader of mobile elevation solutions, Will-Burt manufactures light towers to illuminate the scene from above creating a safer work environment for emergency personnel. Each light tower has a wide range of options to fit the specific needs of your application. Other products and services are offered to support industries including telecommunications, police and EMS, military, towing, and more. Services include powder coating, quick turn/ rapid prototyping, and contract manufacturing.

Rosenbauer America www.rosenbaueramerica.com Services: Fire truck apparatus and emergency response vehicle manufacturer

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Passionate about precision A leader in high-precision contract manufacturing since 1969, C&A Tool Engineering’s legacy continues to grow

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C&A Tool Engineering

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pecializing in taking customerowned ideas and bringing them to market at scale, C&A Tool (C&A) is a high-precision contract manufacturing company with a reputation for unparalleled expertise, advanced equipment and engineering excellence. Founded in 1969, the company has been a part of the MinebeaMitsumi family of companies since 2017, and today, in 2021, boasts a team of 600 employees helping to fulfil customer demands 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Serving the aerospace, medical and industrial sectors, C&A has grown steadily through the years and now supports a substantial number of the world’s largest OEMs. According to the organization’s Sales Manager, Adam Heller, it is C&A’s ability to perform turnkey projects for complex manufacturer parts that has enabled its success and continues to set the company apart.

“At C&A, we operate three different verticals: industrial, aerospace and—our largest vertical—medical. We manufacture for all major OEMs in each of these areas,”

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Further down the road, I think that the additive market is only going to grow, so there is plenty of scope for expansion. We’ll certainly be making some investments in scanning technology that will assist in the reduction of cost, while giving us manufacturing insight that we haven’t seen before Adam explains. “Primarily, we work on the medical side of things, where we produce items like spinal implants and a large volume of navigated instrumentation. For aerospace, we manufacture a lot of products for the blisk and rotative market, as well as items for commercial and military aircraft manufacturing. Finally, on the industrial side, our bread and butter is fuel systems, where we work on fuel injectors for diesel engines. In fact, for about ten years, there wasn’t a semi-truck in the United States that didn’t contain a part we manufactured!”

With virtually every part of its manufacturing process performed in-house, C&A takes complexity out of its customers’ hands, providing them with the additional capabilities and volume needed to bring their products to market. Benefitting from equipment with extremely high tolerances for improved accuracy, C&A’s self-sufficient facility can not only carry out complex assemblies from start to finish, but also produce detailed takt time and delivery information to ensure optimum performance.

C&A Tool Engineering “We have two locations—including our headquarters—in Churubusco, Indiana, which gives us a centrally located position in the Midwest,” Adam states. “Our industrial operations are generally led from our headquarters, but a block down the road, we perform our aerospace manufacturing. Around 20 minutes from that site, we have our medical facility. It means we have separate facilities that specialize in each vertical.

“In terms of equipment,” Adam continues, “we have made heavy investments into Zeiss CMMs, as well as technology for additives.

Investing in 3D printers from the beginning was important to C&A. We have nine EOS machines and have just purchased the country’s first for contract AMCM450 machine. It’s pretty exciting stuff.

“Grinding equipment for our navigation instrumentation is also vital and we utilize fiveaxis milling for our interbody devices. Recently, we made a sizeable investment in Star CNC technology and have several ST38s onsite, which are high-end Swiss machines. Finally, in 2020, we purchased a Liechti G-Mill 1000

for engine rotatives. The G-Mill was a major investment for us and we are optimistic it will open many doors in the future.”

High-profile projects

Bolstered by the advanced nature of its manufacturing facility, and valuing a partnership approach to its work, C&A collaborates with its clients to drive down costs, cut lead times and solve complex problems. In 2021 alone, the company has supported a variety of major aerospace engine manufacturers, as well as participating in a number of cutting-edge interbody programs that are set to arrive on the market in the coming months. Perhaps the organization’s most high-profile project, however, arrived in the form of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space program, which recorded its first crewed flight on July 20th, 2021.

“We manufactured some of the engine components for Blue Origin, which was really exciting, especially as Jeff Bezos and his crew were part of the vehicle’s first fully crewed flight in July,” Adam reports. “We are still working on some areas of fuel distribution and

engine componentry for the project, which is where our expertise in exotic metals proves very useful. When it comes to difficult-tomanufacture material, we really are specialists, especially in nickel components for high heat, which is an area where we have found a lot of success of late.

“Elsewhere,” Adam remarks, “we’ve had a hand in the navigated surgery market, where we were one of the first contractors to rise to the top of that sector. We have been blessed to have great partners along the way to support our growth.”

After what has been a challenging 18 months for businesses across the world, C&A has overcome the negative impact of the global slowdown and is ready to build towards the future. Key to the firm’s resilience in the face of international uncertainty and upheaval, Adam argues, has been its diversity.

“As a company, we are fortunate because our services are so diverse and we operate in so many different segments. It meant we could remain operational during the last year because we were not completely reliant on any

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C&A Tool Engineering one vertical,” Adam declares. “For example, the medical sector was very strong at the beginning of Covid-19, but then it levelled out as surgery started to taper off. However, that was when our industrial vertical picked up, which really helped us to stabilize.

Program potential

“Aerospace might have been a little depressed lately due to the halting of much of the world’s international air travel, but regionally, and here in the United States, people are starting to make flights again on a regular basis.

All in all, the signs suggest that business will

begin picking up across the board during the next few quarters.”

As we move deeper into the latter half of 2021, C&A finds itself in the development stage of a number of programs. As a result, the company’s core focus at present is on helping to bring those new and exciting projects to market.

“In order to bring these projects to fruition,” Adam notes, “we need to bring things to a stage where engineers can do their testing and firm up their proof of concept, which also gives us a chance to refine our manufacturing approach, drive down lead times and cost, and

PTSolutions PTSolutions is pleased to partner with C&A Tool as their primary full-service cutting tool and industrial supplies provider. Through the implementation of vendor managed inventory, on-site application support, and vendor relationships, PTSolutions has been able to support C&A’s incredible growth in a multitude of industries.

“Having a local presence and application support allows my team to be a part of many of the projects taken on by C&A from inception. We’re able to see the project take shape as we work with C&A’s engineering team to put the right tooling on the job from the start. With the tight timelines in today’s industry, and with some of the ‘one off’ unique parts C&A manufactures, we need to get it right the first time, every time.” Justin Gaerte - Sales Engineer, PT Solutions

prepare for full-scale production.

“Further down the road, I think that the additive market is only going to grow, so there is plenty of scope for expansion,” he continues. “We’ll certainly be making some investments in scanning technology that will assist in the reduction of cost, while giving us manufacturing insight that we haven’t seen before.

“As things start to tie together from a data and delivery standpoint, we can really see increases in our operational efficiency, time reduction and cost reduction, especially as we make inroads into industry 4.0 and smart factory processes. Most of all, I’d like to see a lot of our OEMs staying domestic with their manufacturing needs because we can not only help them, but we can be cost competitive.” v

C&A Tool Engineering www.catool.com Services: High-precision contract manufacturing

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In control

Having recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, Groupe Tornatech, a specialist in the conception and manufacture of fire pump controllers, is ready to build on its platform as one of ‘Canada’s Best Managed Companies’

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Groupe Tornatech

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major milestone in the history of any organization, Groupe Tornatech embarked upon its 35th year in business in 2020. As one of Canada’s foremost specialists in the conception and manufacture of fire pump controllers, the anniversary was not only a time of celebration for Groupe Tornatech, but also an opportunity to reflect on three and half decades of innovative manufacturing.

Founded in 1985 by Bruno Goupil and Armin Kunert, Groupe Tornatech was the first Canadian company to successfully obtain UL listing and FM approval for both electric and diesel engine fire pump controllers.The company also manufactures products that meet various local standards and approvals, such as A2P in France and LPCB in the UK.The company is also adding industrial pump controllers and related speciality products to its offering.

In 2004, Armin Kunert retired and Bruno Goupil became the sole owner of Tornatech.

The shift in ownership triggered the addition of offices in Singapore, Dubai, Belgium, and the USA, setting Groupe Tornatech on a path towards becoming a truly global organization.

“Today, one of the biggest things that sets us apart from the competition is our global footprint and our proximity to customers around the world,” explains Co-President and Chief Operating Officer Dominic Bergeron. “That is the key reason why we have established those global subsidiaries. We are the only firm in our industry with sites near each of our customers, so we can talk to them in their language and better understand the challenges they face.”

Alongside the strategic location of each of Groupe Tornatech’s subsidiaries, the company’s sites benefit from some of the industry’s latest technologies. For example, a highly-advanced ERP system is used across all the firm’s manufacturing plants, allowing the business to share knowledge, practices and Lean manufacturing processes, which, in turn, makes for better quality and reliability.

“Our controllers are designed with the use of a template or platform, a bit like a car, and that platform can then be modified for the UK market, the French market, the German market, the Asian market or the American market,” Dominic says. “In collaboration with our ERP and manufacturing processes, this platform helps

our subsidiary partners produce our unique solutions consistently.

“To support these efforts, we employ an Operational Excellence team to review our production processes and operational capabilities.

We are in pursuit of continuous improvement across the world and every time we change something, we apply it at every plant. We take ideas from across our whole network and I think that’s something that gives us an edge.”

Empowered workforce

Installed in over 80 countries to date, Groupe Tornatech’s fire pump controllers continue to play a vital role in fire suppression systems around the world. With an eye on future growth, one of the company’s most recent projects involves the use of robotics onsite as a way of increasing productivity and alleviating the labor.

“The main goal of our prospective robotics usage is to eliminate the number of tasks our employees need to perform, focusing their skills instead on higher value responsibilities,” Dominic reports. “Collaborative robots are likely to be launched in our production facility in Canada in 2022 and, if successful, we will extend their usage to other plants as one large project. If all goes to plan, the robotics will be in place by the time we unveil a new platform, more suitable for the European market, next year.”

Over the course of the last decade, Groupe Tornatech has tremendously boosted its turnover - from $10 million in 2011 to over $100 million in 2020 - and the company now boasts more than 350 employees worldwide. Undoubtedly, without these employees, the organization would not have attained such great success throughout its 35-year existence, and as a result, Dominic is quick to dedicate Groupe Tornatech’s landmark anniversary to the company’s talented workforce.

“We have to extend our sincere thanks and congratulations to all Groupe Tornatech employees on this 35-year milestone for the business,” Dominic states. “We are really proud of our great team, which is truly one of the best, and a key reason for our success over the years.

We empower them to achieve what they are capable of and do whatever it takes to make our customers happy.

Schneider Electric & Tornatech Partnership For nearly 180 years, Schneider Electric has helped partners put safety, reliability, and efficiency first with proven expertise and solutions designed to protect people, buildings, and the environment.

Since 1985, Schneider Electric has been a trusted business partner of Tornatech, a global company that manufactures fire pumps controllers. With fire pump controller systems being one of the most important parts of a building’s fire protection system, the reliability and availability of power for fire pumps is non-negotiable.

Together, Schneider Electric and Tornatech have developed a longstanding strategic partnership that has helped develop critical infrastructure to maximize safety and reduce the risk of electrical failure. From power distribution and protection system devices like circuit breakers and industrial automation and controls products like contactors, soft starters, VFDs, sensors and HMIs, Tornatech has relied on Schneider Electric’s relentless commitment to provide technology that helps them deliver on its mission to supply innovative, compliant, and reliable fire pumps—a critical piece of equipment for builders and developers worldwide.

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“The big difference between Groupe Tornatech and other businesses is that everyone cares about the company and you can feel it. Looking ahead, we will continue to grow and improve because we have retained our core group of staff.They have been there for us in the past and they will be there for us again in the future too. It’s a fact that fills us with optimism.”

The genuine gratitude Groupe Tornatech feels towards its team is indicative of the high regard in which the company holds its workforce.This, in turn, can be felt in Groupe Tornatech’s commitment to respecting widely recognized professional ethics and human resources principles, and more recently, the organization’s place among Canada’s Best Managed Companies.

Growth plans

Launched in 1993 by Deloitte, the Canada’s Best Managed Companies program is a widely-recognized mark of excellence for Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues over $25 million. Hundreds of entrepreneurial companies vie for the designation each year in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates their management skills and practices, and in May 2021, Groupe Tornatech found itself named among this year’s 37 winners of the award.

Building on this achievement, Groupe Tornatech now hopes to continue its growth and development. According to Dominic, the fact that the company does not rely solely upon one market will be a key benefit for the organization in the future.

“We are so spread out around the globe that when one market is down, another one is going up, so we always have a regular, steady flow

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Groupe Tornatech of work on the go,” he reports. “Despite the fact that the world is still recovering from the Covid-19 crisis, I think we will have some good numbers over the next few years.

“Construction is back and so is our growth,” Dominic continues. “In places like the Middle East, which is a huge market for us, everything has got the green light. Even in places that are currently slow, such as the Asian-Pacific area and South American markets, there are signs that activity is going to soar in the near future as more areas undergo long-delayed construction to help maintain market share and kickstart the economy.”

Confident of ongoing success in international markets, Groupe Tornatech now hopes to

diversify its offering and, to this end, has recently formed a Strategic Development team to help the company identify new products and potential customers. At the center of Groupe Tornatech’s efforts going forward will be the firm’s mission to retain its industry niche, while exploring the ways in which it can serve new markets.

“There are a lot of possibilities and opportunities that are going to come from the international market,” Dominic asserts, “so we want to continue with our strategic plan for the road ahead, which primarily involves gaining a larger share of our niche market and a larger share of new markets in places like Asia or Europe.

“As a group, I think we can probably achieve

CITEL Since 1937, CITEL has been keeping the world’s critical networks and equipment protected from transient overvoltages. Whether a large magnitude lightning strike or the relentless barrage of switching events, our surge protectors keep sensitive electronics safe and operations uninterrupted.

CITEL’s thorough understanding of local standards and regulations, along with a continuous investment in R&D, inspire us to design, manufacture and supply millions of SPD’s each year to our clients like Tornatech who are conscious of the danger transients pose to fire suppression systems and actively take steps to eliminate these threats. CITEL is keeping your critical systems connected.

important growth in the next few years, which would be great. Our goal is to supply superior quality, innovative and reliable products that are supported by the best customer experience in the global control systems industry. When we speak again in a few years, I think we will have made really great steps towards that objective.” v

Groupe Tornatech www.tornatech.com Products: Fire pump controllers

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Composing a better future

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Creative Composites Globally recognized as offering ‘better design, better manufacturing and better service’, Creative Composites has grown into the UK’s most advanced composite manufacturer

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erving clients from the UK, North and South America, and mainland Europe, Creative Composites manufactures some of the most complex composite components in the industry. Launched in the year 2000, the company quickly quadrupled the square footage of its premises and invested in leading equipment to solidify its place in the market. Now, in 2021, Creative Composites is home to a growing team of more than 200 expert professionals, producing products for some of the world’s most respected brands.

“From our facility in Northern Ireland, we supply high-quality composite components to the automotive, off-highway vehicle, bus, rail, medical, energy and construction sectors,” Managing Director Jonathan Holmes says. “The products we supply range from Class A exterior body panels for high performance cars to bonnets for construction equipment and components for medical scanners.

“Our focus is always on creating optimized designs that ensure our customers receive high-quality components,” Jonathan continues. “For automotive projects, for instance, weight reduction is a critical design consideration, so we have developed various processes to guarantee we deliver that. Critically, we use automated methods at Creative Composites, so volumes can rise to 50,000 parts per year.”

Range of capabilities

Making daily deliveries across the globe, Creative Composites is committed to long-term partnerships that exceed customer expectations. In order to achieve these aims, the business regularly invests in new and pioneering manufacturing equipment for compression molding composite materials.

“Investment has allowed us to expand in recent years, so we currently operate

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LA Design LA are one of the UK’s most respected and successful industrial design and product development consultancies. Having won multiple awards, including ten DBA Design Effectiveness Awards and two Red Dots, we continue to develop our services in line with rapidly changing requirements and deliver creative, brand-led solutions that connect technology and business with people.

With our focus on professional, medical and industrial equipment, working with Creative Composites’ engineers, processes can be chosen to suit low, medium and high manufacturing volumes and provide wonderful opportunities to design complex forms that are strong and sustainable.

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from a 150,000-square-foot facility,” Jonathan states. “Onsite, we have six presses - including the two largest Dieffenbacher presses in the UK - which have platen sizes of up to 3.6 meters by 2.5 meters, allowing us to manufacture large components at low cycle times and achieve molding pressures of 3000T. These presses have advanced velocity and tonnage profiles to provide active parallel control during the molding process.

“Robotics are also used with the molding presses for higher volume projects to improve efficiency and output,” Jonathan adds. “On top of that, we have six large CNC routers, advanced bonding cells and two conveyorized spray lines. Our range of capabilities cannot be found anywhere else in the UK.” After entering the automotive sector as a supplier in 2010, Creative Composites was quickly accredited to IATF16949 standard for quality management, helping the company to accelerate its growth in the automotive sector and double the size of its business. The organization’s work has, over the course of the last 20 years, provided customers with unique

Creative Composites solutions that have enabled them to stay at the leading edge in their respective sectors.

“Our people and technology help us to produce a range of world-class composite components,” Jonathan reports.

“Our combination of better design, better manufacturing and better service means we provide something rare in the composites sector.

“By collaborating with our customers and participating in projects from the initial design stage, our design team can build components that are optimized around customer requirements and well-suited to our manufacturing processes. For example, clients in the automotive sector expect body panels with complex geometry and a Class A surface finish, so that is what we deliver.”

Key collaborator

Creative Composites’ recent growth has been driven by the company’s commitment to its existing customers, as well as its desire to continue developing a range of components for the automotive sector. Having built long-standing relationships with its clients, the firm has become

trusted to deliver items on time and to the highest standard.

“We see electric vehicles (EV) as a great application for composite materials,” Jonathan notes. “The benefits of low weight, high strength and design freedom make compression molded components ideal for EV body panels.

“Beyond body panels, we are also excited about the potential use of composite materials

for components within batteries and for battery enclosures. We have been working closely with material suppliers to produce items with extremely high levels of fire resistance and we hope that these will be part of many new vehicle applications.”

Acting as a key collaborator for some of the UK’s leading OEMs for several years now, Creative Composites has developed SMC parts

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Creative Composites for use in a range of iconic and groundbreaking vehicles. The parts produced have included SMC front fenders and doors, designed to offer longevity, flexibility and robustness against everyday dents and knocks.

“At Creative Composites, we have a worldleading design and development team, which has expert knowledge of compression molding composite materials,” Jonathan remarks. “We are always striving to set new standards and provide technically superior solutions. SMC continues to gain market share over steel, aluminium and other plastic alternatives thanks to its unlimited flexibility, impact, heat and corrosion resistance, as well as its ability to aid connectivity and noise reduction.”

Future commitment

The precise dimensional accuracy, repeatability and fast cycle times of SMC permit Creative Composites to exploit the company’s huge compression moulding presses. Meanwhile, the firm’s engineers can concentrate on achieving vital cost savings through design optimization and component consolidation.

“We are always developing new composite materials and ways of improving existing products,” Jonathan affirms. “Technology helps too. We use the latest CAD software to shorten development cycles with customers and toolmakers to ensure that projects are always delivered in line with project timing plans.”

Of course, understanding the needs of customers requires co-operation and teamwork. Earlier in 2020, Creative Composites announced a partnership with Artemis Technologies - the world’s leading high-performance maritime design and applied technologies company - to make component parts for the world’s first zeroemission workboat. The project has seen Creative Composites deliver components for a revolutionary new electric eFoiler Propulsion System (eFoiler). The system forms part of Artemis Technologies’ plan to lead the decarbonization of the maritime industry.

“It is incredibly exciting to partner with Artemis Technologies on such an innovative project that will not only contribute to the next wave of development in the maritime sector, but will also make a huge impact on global efforts to combat climate change,” Jonathan said at the time of the announcement.

“Our unique approach, offering a combination of cutting-edge in-house design, world-class manufacturing and flexible service, enables us to collaborate with clients to deliver complex compression moulded components for a diverse range of sectors worldwide.”

More recently, a consortium led by Artemis Technologies, of which Creative Composites is a core part, was awarded a £33 million UK Government innovation grant to develop zero emissions ferries that will revolutionize the future of maritime transport. With further investment from consortium partners in the pipeline, the total project investment will reach close to £60m over the next four years.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Creative Composites to participate in the development of critical components for the eFoiler Propulsion System,” Jonathan declares. “It’s incredible to see our expertise in manufacturing complex composite items contributing in the battle against major environmental challenges.

“Many of our clients, across all sectors, are focused upon sustainability and reducing emissions, and our continuous efforts around light weighting and innovating new composite materials are vital in developing the vehicles of the future.”

As Jonathan hints, Creative Composites is already gearing up for a positive and productive decade ahead. While the company is looking

forward to adding to its global relationships in the automotive sector, the organization is also focused on improving the green credentials of its vehicle components, harnessing a range of innovative, lightweight solutions, including more low-density SMC and ultra-low-density SMCs. Supporting customers old and new as their volumes return to pre-Covid-19 levels, Creative Composites, strengthened by its recent investment in equipment and technology, is wellpositioned for further growth and success.

“We remain committed to the compression molding process and hope to bring the benefits of our work to a wider range of customers,” Jonathan summarizes. “We feel the automotive sector offers potential for significant growth, both in Class A body panels and battery applications for EVs, and we are excited to carry out our first project in the latter area very soon.” v

Creative Composites www.creativecomposites.co.uk Services: Composite components

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Refusing to slow down McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing is a severe duty truck manufacturer specializing in refuse collection vehicles, as well as providing top quality McNeilus OEM parts and a network of service centers and mobile service technicians across the country

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McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing McNeilus Extra Compaction Rear Loader.

McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, an Oshkosh Corporation company, is an industry leading manufacturer of refuse truck bodies. McNeilus produces a complete line of rear load, front load, and automated side load vehicles to augment any refuse collection fleet

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bout four years ago, McNeilus began a simplification journey that resulted in the reorganization of the business into three groups, allowing it the opportunity to leverage the McNeilus brand, its products and direct-to-customer business model with a fresh approach. “We did some deep data analysis with our products and customers and realized we were over-extended in some areas and needed to refocus, so we tightened up our product offerings, which helps our team members start from a winning position on the manufacturing floor and in the field. We created multiple custom programs to help clients with strong growth models, who value a long-term total cost of ownership approach, and who understand the importance of building a mutually beneficial partnership,” says Jeff Koga, the Vice President and General Manager of McNeilus Refuse Collection Vehicles.

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McNeilus Atlantic Front Loader

As a business that produces a complete line of rear, front, and automated side load vehicles to augment any refuse collection fleet, McNeilus Vice President of Operations Chad Barnett informs Manufacturing Today of the strengths embedded within the company’s operations that have made it a leading contender in the industry.

“With McNeilus, our clients receive premium materials, purchasing power, strict welding processes, and a strong focus on quality, to keep their refuse collection vehicle at optimal level.

We are the only factory-direct garbage truck

manufacturer in the industry, meaning there’s only one point of contact for everything from sales and service, to parts and support. Our customers can reach out to our team of refuse vehicle experts to get their questions and needs answered directly from the source,” he shares.

The business, which is a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation, has its roots planted in building severe duty vehicles for the most demanding environments. “We are able to tap into that expertise for heavy duty trucks to develop and deliver technology and solutions that break

new ground and help set the standard for the refuse industry. The McNeilus Fleet Solutions™ program provides our fleet customers with customized support based on their specific needs across their operations. We serve as their dedicated partner in helping plan for truck replacement, future growth and full lifecycle service plans. We also provide customer data and insights to improve the client’s business and fleet performance. The McNeilus On Demand™ program offers them fast access to route-ready trucks available when they need them. Through this program, customers can find trucks that meet an immediate need to help fill gaps in their fleet as they plan for future expansions, or to convert a route from manual to automated with greater simplicity,” says Matt McLeish, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at McNeilus.

These, he adds, are only a few of the extensive abilities the business possesses.

Technology development

Recently the business launched the latest in refuse vehicle automation technology in partnership with Eagle Vision Systems, which incorporates CartSeeker Curbside Automation into McNeilus’ Zero Radius™ Side Loader. This feature uses patented AI-based cart recognition technology that identifies and locates curbside waste carts and

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McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing Earlier this year, McNeilus unveiled a lower cost, lower weight option in its reliable rear loader lineup. The Metro Pak Plus® Rear Loader is offered in compact body sizes ideal for rural or densely packed areas, or as a truck to fill gaps in a customer’s fleet

U.S. Lubricants U.S. Lubricants has been a supplier of OEM fill and manufacturing lubricants for McNeilus for many years. As part of the U.S. Venture family of brands, we’re committed to finding a better way to service our customers. We offer innovative products, commitment to quality, and full-scale support through our consultative approach, certified lubrication specialists, facility audits and in-house certified lab services through our OilChek® Lab. “We are honored to partner with McNeilus. We share a customer-driven philosophy and a commitment to reliability and innovation. Our partnership was founded to identify, understand and address challenges quickly.” - Tony Springer, VP Sales U.S. Lubricants.

fully automates the operation of the truck’s lift arm without any joystick manipulation. “This helps cycle times, training time, safety, predictable scheduling and maintenance. The side loader also offers a unique and innovative zeroradius operation to combat clearance issues, narrow streets, and alleyways. The arm reaches, rather than swings, to grab cans from 30-to110 gallons. The McNeilus CODE™ controls system provides complete vehicle diagnostics, and the Zero Radius is also now available with tailgate compressed natural gas (CNG). This easy-to-service, efficient CNG system is fieldtested and stands up to the demands of refuse collection. Other upgrades include arm carriage enhancements, upgraded finger pins and finger weldments bushings. The new bolt-on wind guards mean you can replace them as often as needed, and maintenance and servicing are now so much easier thanks to a larger access door on the truck’s street side,” Jeff shares.

Earlier this year, McNeilus also unveiled a lower cost, lower weight option of its reliable rear loader: the Metro Pak Plus® Rear Loader.

This tough truck is said to be well-equipped to

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McNeilus’ manufacturing facilities adhere to strict welding and production processes, with a strong focus on quality to keep their refuse collection vehicles at optimal performance

withstand rural or condensed areas and helps fill fleet or route gaps. Its compact body size is ideal for weight-restricted roadways, smaller routes, and tighter areas.

Moving to electric

McNeilus recently launched CartSeeker Curbside Automation for its top-selling Zero Radius™ Side Loader. This feature uses patented AI-based cart recognition technology that identifies and locates curbside waste carts and fully automates the operation of the truck’s lift arm

McNeilus’ new headquarters building houses manufacturing, training and office space at its Minnesota campus and is dedicated to refuse collection innovation and customer support

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It is imperative that such a wide offering of operations is complemented with an equally extensive range of facilities. With its headquarters based in Minnesota, additional production facilities can also be found in Riceville, Iowa, which manufactures some of the major vehicle components, such as the tailgate for rear loaders. McNeilus also operates 14 branches nationwide, which provide comprehensive services and support to maintain, repair, refurbish and troubleshoot the client’s fleet. Above that, McNeilus mobile technicians are also stationed strategically across the US to provide service and support its clients.

Above maintaining a reputation for top-notch infrastructure, the company is also staying neck and neck with the industry’s adaptions to the call for more sustainable solutions. Considering the speed of electrification transformations happening within the refuse industry, McNeilus is determined to play its role in incorporating environmentally friendly practices into the core of its manufacturing, since the introduction of CNG. “Currently, there is only one manufacturer of CNG engines in the US and the push to electrification has forced traditional refuse chassis builders to escalate their electric vehicle (EV) strategies. But what many existing companies did not anticipate is the new EV chassis entrants into the refuse market. Some of them are trying to position themselves for a piece of the fast-growing zero emissions vehicle market.

“That being said, the integration of the refuse vehicle body and the chassis has always been a hot topic and is not as easy to implement as it may seem. With the introduction of several new EV chassis models, complexities with these integration projects have greatly compounded,” he adds. However, according to Jeff, McNeilus has several advantages when it comes to electrification and electric vehicle integration. “We have been able to leverage the valuable engineering expertise of Oshkosh Corporation as we go down the EV path. Oshkosh has been working with EV vehicles for more than a decade, which has been critical to understand the research and development around the energy capacity needed to ensure an electric chassis and a hydraulic vehicle body that can

McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing work together in the field to satisfy customer needs. McNeilus understands there are going to be many requests for our refuse bodies on EV chassis of all types. So, we took the next step in integration by developing our own electric power takeoff (E-PTO) system that is integrated into the body rather than mounted on the chassis. There are many benefits to this system, but most importantly it gives us the ability to be chassis agnostic with our integration efforts.

That means our refuse body will be able to be integrated with any EV chassis regardless of make or model. We are currently piloting our E-PTO refuse body with a partner EV chassis manufacturer, and so far, the results have been great. We have many more of these trucks in

the pipeline and expect the EV market to grow exponentially in the years to come,” he explains.

Key partners

Despite its already impressive progress, McNeilus is determined to continue transforming its business to support its clients with innovative and trustworthy results. “We’ve expanded our Fleet Solutions program by adding a new building to our headquarters, which is now dedicated to our joint predelivery inspection process that we launched in partnership with our chassis partners.

Improvements in lead times and delivery quality will continue to be realized with this unique, collaborative process,” he says. These efforts

Proplanner Proplanner software is powering the operational transformation at McNeilus by fully integrating process engineering from BOM to MES with textual and visual collaboration between engineering and the shop floor.

Vehicle assembly processes are optimized and communicated digitally to the production organization leading to route ready trucks built with safety and efficiency.

Live feedback from the shop floor ensures production issues are managed early and operators are empowered to participate in process improvement.

are in attempt to prepare itself for a future in which it continues to surge forward. In early 2022, the business is excited to launch its first production line that features several industry 4.0 technologies, including autonomously guided vehicles for conveyance, a manufacturing execution system, connected tooling, and more.

“We couldn’t achieve this without our key partners Red Viking and Pro Planner. On top of that, we are employing advanced analytics into our core business processes and our future is looking promising,” he adds. As it emerges from the pandemic, the company’s tactical strategy to excel in its sector is giving it the necessary push to stay ahead of the competition. Regardless of the challenges, McNeilus continues to strive for excellence in its manufacturing capabilities to service the trucking industry with reliable and leading operations. v

McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing www.mcneiluscompanies.com Primary service: Manufacturer of refuse collection vehicles

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Healthy

heating Responsible for the manufacture of more than 400,000 boilers per year, Ideal Heating has grand plans for its future growth and sustainability

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Ideal Heating

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A Jason Speedy Chief Operating Officer

The next key area of focus, especially throughout the rest of 2021, will be sustainability. The UK’s direction of travel on emissions is clear, and it’s evident that the Government’s ambitions for the heating sector are geared towards low carbon solutions

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s of 2021, one in four residential boilers and one in three commercial boilers in the UK are manufactured by Ideal Heating (Ideal). It is a staggering statistic that not only emphasizes the company’s position at the head of the residential and commercial heating market, but also confirms the continuation of Ideal’s proud 115-year legacy.

Established in 1906, Ideal has been providing high-quality boilers to its customers for over a century, continually meeting the ever-changing demands of an unpredictable market. After taking boilers from basements into kitchens in the 1920s, the business pioneered a number of high-efficiency heating technologies, delivering reliable service for customers throughout the 20th century.

Today, in 2021, as a market leader, Ideal remains true to its founding principles of quality, innovation and value as it sets new standards and challenges technological boundaries. With this in mind – and with achieving net zero emissions at the top of the heating industry’s agenda – the organization recently decided to undergo a rebranding process as a way of helping the business evolve.

“Formerly known as Ideal Boilers, we changed our name to Ideal Heating in 2020, which helps to communicate the completeness of our range, and to pave the way for future innovation,” declares Chief Operating Officer Jason Speedy. “Our ambition is to be the number one choice for installers, consumers and businesses when selecting a heating and hot water system, and we believe that having a more holistic, future-focused brand will help us achieve that.

Ideal Heating “Traditionally, we’re probably best known for our boilers, but we’re constantly evolving to meet new targets, so we actually offer a whole lot more than that. From cylinders and heat interface units for the commercial market to cylinders, controls and accessories for our domestic boiler range, we really do offer a solution to suit everyone.”

Sustainability targets

In an average year, more than 400,000 Ideal boilers are sold in the UK. This impressive volume is supported by the company’s ability to build all its commercial and domestic

products under one roof. Ideal’s efficient Hullbased production facility not only helps with keeping overheads down and facilitates the sharing of best practices internally, but it also allows the business to pass on these benefits to its customers in terms of product performance and cost savings.

“By adopting modern techniques, streamlining our suppliers and increasing efficiency on the production line, we’ve ensured our operation remains fit for purpose and have been able to accommodate continued growth over the past decade,” Jason says. “That said, with the launch of our

FLEXEJ MMPI We are so proud of MMPI’s 16 year long working relationship all the Groupe Atlantic brands, including Ideal Heating.

MMPI’s design and manufacture service in conjunction with Ideal’s market dominance has been a really powerful combination, which has seen the cascade kit and accessories become a staple in plant rooms all over the UK and Europe.

We are constantly developing our range of kits to offer cascade options across more boilers, easier installation on site and fast turnaround to meet customer requirements, which most recently has seen the launch of the Imax 2 Cascade kit this summer.

new Environmental Division, the scope of our manufacturing output is set to increase further as we invest in research and product development to support the decarbonization of domestic and commercial heating in this country and around the world. With this in mind, we’ve already recruited five heat pump specialists and we’re extending the footprint of our warehouse and factory to incorporate a new production line.”

As Jason suggests, efforts to meet key sustainability and net zero targets are a priority for Ideal at present. Consequently, the company is on a constant drive to optimize existing technologies before mass-market alternatives become available, enabling a smoother transition when the time for a switchover arrives.

“Gas boilers will continue to play an important role in the short term,” Jason states, “so we’re not switching anything off. However, we’re always adapting and looking forward, improving our products and services so that we remain one step ahead.

“We recently launched a new range of wireless programmable room thermostats,

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which use smart technology and geolocation functionality, allowing households to cleverly and efficiently control their heating on-thego. Doing so marked a departure from the traditional ‘waterfall’ approach to project management that quite rightly governs our boiler manufacturing process, as we adopted agile ways of working for the first time. We believe this stands us in good stead for the continued manufacturing of smart heating technology that can be closely controlled and that offers enhanced opportunities for data sharing.”

Agility and commitment

Born out of one of the industry’s most advanced manufacturing processes, every Ideal boiler is rigorously tested to confirm it functions fully before it leaves the factory. As a result of this meticulous attention to detail, the company’s call-out rate to repair broken boilers has been cut in half over the past two years.

The added reliability has not gone unnoticed by customers and industry colleagues.

“From our customers’ perspective, our

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reliability record is what keeps us ahead of the game,” Jason reports. “It’s also helped us to secure some fantastic endorsements from credible third parties, including the Good Housekeeping Institute and the Queen’s Awards for Excellence.

“We operate a no-fault forward method in production, which means that the output of every stage of the process is tightly controlled and any error or component fault is detected and rectified before the product passes to the next stage. This approach gives us confidence in the reliability of our products, which, in turn, allows us to offer market-leading warranties.”

Having taken over as COO in early 2020, and tasked with leading the company’s quest for growth, Jason has helped Ideal through the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, whilst maintaining the firm’s market share and positioning it for future success. Quick to react to the outbreak of the virus in March 2020, Ideal remained flexible and bounced back following the initial impact of the first national lockdown. By altering shift patterns and immediately introducing social distancing

Ideal Heating controls, the company’s factory was among the first to reopen in Hull when the first lockdown came to an end, and has remained operational ever since.

“Covid-19 has ensured that it’s been something of a rollercoaster since I started as Ideal’s COO last year, but in many ways, it’s helped me to get under the skin of the business faster,” Jason reveals. “I’ve been incredibly impressed by how agile the business can be and by the commitment of each and every one of our people.

“It’s also been a privilege to support our local community through this difficult time,” he continues. “Working in collaboration with Ron Dearing UTC, we’ve used 3D printers – running 24 hours a day when demand was at its peak – to produce and donate approved face shields to frontline workers in the region, including the staff at Hull Royal Hospital.”

When it comes to Ideal’s vision for the future, the company aims to consolidate its position as the number one choice for installers and consumers selecting a new boiler, as well as improving its products and services in

preparation for another century of success.

Thanks to the strength of the organization’s reputation for efficiency, reliability and quality, Jason is optimistic that the decade ahead is already looking bright.

“As we move forward, we are predicting that our sales volumes and market share will continue to increase,” Jason asserts. “The next key area of focus, especially throughout the rest of 2021, will be sustainability. The UK’s direction of travel on emissions is clear, and it’s evident that the Government’s ambitions for the heating sector are geared towards low carbon solutions.

As a business, we’re fully committed to a more sustainable future and this means developing our manufacturing capabilities with smarter, greener technologies in mind, and upskilling our installer base to work with them.” v

Ideal Heating www.idealheating.com Products: Boiler and heating technology manufacturer

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Built to last

A leader within the swimming pool market, for over four decades Cardinal Systems has operated under the principles of providing a highquality product, paired with exceptional customer service 84 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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true entrepreneur, known for his acute attention to detail, Mickey Bradley originally founded Cardinal Systems (Cardinal) from a small, five-bay garage in Schuylkill County, PA, in 1976. Supplying steel wall panels for in-ground swimming pools – panels that remain virtually the same in terms of design and aesthetics to this day – the company also brought in

business by fabricating aluminum coping.

As it grew, Mickey encouraged his son Skip to join him at Cardinal, and it was the latter’s engineering mind-set that helped to conclude that such was the demand for the company’s services that it would never truly be able to keep up with this without the introduction of some type of automation. Together, the pair contracted a custom machine to produce the

Cardinal Systems

metal panels, making Cardinal the first player in the industry to successfully automate the process. This subsequently resulted in lead times falling from six weeks to as little as three days, which is a target it continues to strive towards.

In 2009, Mickey and Skip led the acquisition of Quaker Plastics, a plastic extrusion and thermoforming company, and five years later – in 2014 – the two-bid farewell to Cardinal by

retiring and passing the torch to Skip’s children, David and Rachel Bradley. Setting out to make their own mark, the third generation, brother and sister team would oversee the purchase of Fox Pool Corporation (Fox) in 2018. A manufacturer that also produces steel wall pools, vinyl liners, and in-ground luxury spas, the addition of Fox completed Cardinal’s pool package service offering.

“Today, Cardinal is known for producing an array of products for the construction of steel wall, in-ground, vinyl liner pools,” begins its President, Debra Haase. “We fabricate the steel into panels for both rectangle and custom shaped pools, as well as fabricate the aluminum coping edge, which affixes the liner to the pool wall and deck area. We also produce any design of custom steel entry ways to the pool, in addition to steps, benches, and sun ledges.

Furthermore, as a design alternative we also thermoform plastic step entryways.”

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Embracing technology

Recognized for its precision quality panels, which are produced within a one eighth inch and to the exact shape that a homeowner is looking for, Cardinal has historically produced pools in all manner of designs, from one resembling a guitar, one in the shape of the state of Texas, and even one taking the form of Mickey Mouse’s ears!

“Here at Cardinal, we fully embrace technology in order to deliver upon our customers’ wishes,” Debra continues. “From our first automated panel line, to our most recent Trumpf 5000 punch press, we have continued to stay on top of our equipment needs and reinvest in our business. For example, we are currently embarking upon a 60,000 sq ft expansion project to allow us to further automate our warehouse and shipping functions, and provide adequate office space.”

In Schuylkill County, Cardinal’s two production facilities currently total over 150,000 sq ft, while its thermoforming facility in Schuylkill Haven, PA, occupies a further 100,000 sq ft.

“With a variety of processes and custom designed tools, we utilize over 600 pieces of equipment in order to make ourselves the number one supplier to the swimming pool industry,” Debra explains. “Within our plastics department, we possess two polymer structural foam machines to produce our plastic walls. We boast eight extrusion lines – two of which are twin screw machines – and our thermoforming department operates two machines to produce our plastic stairs and in-wall ladder panels. We also have multiple Lean master certified personnel on staff who work to increase our product flow and processes on an ongoing basis.”

Equally as important to Cardinal’s success as its plant and equipment is the culture that exists amongst its workforce. “The culture here is extremely important to us,” Debra confirms. “We interview team members extensively before bringing them on board.

We have a minimum of two interviews before we hire for any position and we spend a lot of time making sure whoever we hire is a good fit. We also provide a superior benefit package covering 85 percent of the employees’ health insurance, including vision and dental. We match their 401k contribution $0.50 on the dollar up to six percent, and generally when the company has a good year we contribute a lump sum contribution at the end of the year.

“We are also proud of the fact that despite a workforce made up of approximately 80 percent male employees that we provide four weeks of parental leave to all employees. Many

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Cardinal Systems of our younger workers have already taken advantage of this crucial benefit to spend time with their families.”

Meeting demand

The camaraderie and togetherness of the company’s people came to the fore during the past year-and-a-half as it had to quickly adapt to the demands placed upon it by the Covid-19 pandemic. “During the early weeks of the pandemic, we followed the Pennsylvania Governor’s mandate that all non-essential businesses should shut down.

This lasted for three weeks until the list of approved businesses included steel and plastic manufacturers,” Debra details. “In the following weeks, we operated with a skeleton crew on site shipping out work that had already been completed and was sitting on the plant floor.

Then, in June 2020 we came back to work full time with the needed safety protocols such as masks, social distancing and hourly cleaning of touch surfaces in place.

“As the shutdown occurred during our normally busy Spring season, our customers were clamoring for us to get them product, and last summer, the product boom really took off, with demand increasing by 150 percent. We worked 12 hours a day and Saturdays in order to attempt to meet demand, and I couldn’t be any prouder of our team and how they responded to the crazy demand for swimming pools. We have still not caught up, but we continue to work together to accommodate our customers’ needs.”

For the year of 2021, Cardinal anticipates growth of as much as 30 percent over 2020, which in itself was up by that same number over 2019. Most of this growth has happened in the first six months of 2021, but the real question for the company is, what does 2022 look like?

“We have plans to continue our growth strategy through the development of new products and acquisitions,” Debra adds. “We are currently working to expand our vinyl liner shop in York, PA, to grow this product line by 25-to-50 percent in the coming years.

We are focused on our future and are looking to further diversify our holdings to provide stability in the coming years when this spike in swimming pool sales declines and we are back to a more normal pace of pool sales.” v

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Great chemistry On a mission to prevent infection in hospitals, Tristel is saving lives across the world with the help of its powerful proprietary disinfection technology

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s an infection prevention company, Tristel’s purpose is to avert the transmission of microbes from one object or person to another. This mission is, understandably, most relevant to hospitals, where risk of infection to individuals is at its highest, and where the consequences can, on occasion, be fatal.

Tristel’s secret weapon in the battle against infection is chlorine dioxide (ClO2), a powerful biocidal molecule that can be manually applied to the target environmental surface or medical instrument.

Effective and efficient, the company’s technology is now used to great success around the world.

“Tristel’s disinfectant solution, in which ClO2 is the only active ingredient, was developed in 1993 by a chemist who was acutely aware of the rising

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popularity of endoscopes in hospital settings, and thus, the need for a technology with which to disinfect them,” explains company CEO Paul Swinney.

“Made of plastics and polymers, endoscopes have cameras that enable doctors to see inside the body, and as a result, they cannot be sterilized with heat. Instead, they must be disinfected chemically. At the time, glutaraldehyde was being used in this area and was known to be quite toxic and unpleasant to work with. After extensive research and experimentation, our chemist discovered that ClO2 could be a safer, but equally effective, alternative.”

In the years that followed, after acquiring the intellectual property rights for the chemistry

Tristel Solutions Tristel focuses on two key areas of hospital disinfection: the first is the decontamination of medical instruments; the second is the sporicidal disinfection of surfaces.

“Since we launched the business, we have had two main activities regarding our ClO2 chemistry,” Paul reveals. “Our original core business involves the lead brands Trio, which is a wiping process for medical instruments, and Duo, which is a handheld foam pump that delivers our chemistry for medical instruments.

These products account for the majority of our sales revenue, which was announced as £31 million in June 2021.

“The second focus,” Paul adds, “involves our surface disinfectants product range called Cache, which allows nurses and health care practitioners to disinfect hospital equipment, such as tables, mattresses and monitors. It is an area in which I expect us to enjoy a lot of success in the future.”

Reducing waste

worldwide, Tristel took full control of the disinfectant and further developed its formula, packaging, and delivery methods. The UK hospital market was the first to benefit from the solution, transforming the way that healthcare professionals disinfected endoscopes.

After three decades of growth, Tristel now primarily operates from a 40,000-squarefoot production facility in Newmarket, Cambridgeshire. Classed as a ‘medical device’, the company’s disinfectant requires manufacturing processes and practices of the highest standard.

“Our chemistry is a disinfectant for endoscopes, and it is classified as a medical device by regulatory authorities around the

world,” Paul says. “You cannot use everyday products to disinfect medical instruments - they have to have a status in terms of efficiency and safety, ratified by healthcare professionals and microbiologists.

“It puts us in a rather elite position,” he continues. “With that, however, comes the need to learn, to adapt, and to condition ourselves and our practices. We are proud to have acquired the status of a medical device manufacturer, as well as ISO 13485 certification, ISO 9001 certification and a variety of exacting international accreditations.”

One of only a small handful of companies across the globe that can legitimately claim to be exclusively dedicated to infection prevention,

As Paul hints, Tristel is confident that its surface disinfection products have the potential to revolutionise the industry. Taking a vastly different approach to some of its competitors – many of whom rely on flow wrap and wet wipe items – the company’s Cache range is an example of Tristel’s innovative nature at work, making for better, more sustainable products that benefit both the customer, the patient, and the environment.

“Essentially, in hospitals, with respect to surface disinfection, you mop floors and wipe surfaces at waist height and above,” Paul remarks. “However, whereas many companies can use pre-wetted wipes carrying a disinfectant, our chemistry cannot be stored in that way as the ClO2 would disappear. Instead, we must deliver a method and packaging format that enables ClO2 to be generated at the time of use.

“We have been successful at coming up with innovations for surface disinfection.

More importantly, on our journey, we have discovered just how much plastic goes into pre-wetted surface wipes and that the NHS uses hundreds of millions of them a year. In response, we have developed a method and packaging format through which we dose out a specific volume of the solution and add that volume to any type of dry wipe, such as a paper towel or other sustainable material.

By separating the disinfectant liquid from the wipe, hospitals can perform their wiping tasks in a more sustainable way and reduce plastic waste.”

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For over 20 years now, Tristel products have had a significant impact on the global market, and in 2021, that international growth continues.

Having set up its first subsidiary in Germany early on in its history, the company added locations in New Zealand, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Russia, India, and most recently, Italy. Next stop?

North America.

“We are deeply involved, and have been for a number of years, in the pursuit of FDA approval for our medical devices in the United States.

It is a challenging and lengthy process to which I hope we are approaching the final furlong,” Paul states. “If we get access to the US, we are projecting that it could represent as much as half the global market. As such, it is clearly a massive inflection point in terms of our growth prospects.”

Future opportunities

Not merely interested in geographical expansion, Tristel is also actively aware of the potential for further growth in the surface disinfection market

– a much larger market than the more specialist medical instrument decontamination segment.

“At present, we hold 100 per cent market share when it comes to the disinfection of small heat-sensitive medical devices because we are the only company that applies a high-level disinfectant as part of a manual process,” Paul reports. “All other incumbents in that area of the market use machinery.

“The surface disinfection sector is much more fragmented and there is a plethora of disinfectants used all over the world. However,

Adelphi Manufacturing

70 percent increase in productivity for Tristel Solutions, using Adelphi Manufacturing’s Response Automatic Filling Machine

The Challenge A dual product (base and activator) needed to be filled into two conjoined containers. The two were previously filled separately on two different fillers, in a labourintensive process.

The Solution Adelphi Manufacturing’s Response Automation filling line is fed from two tanks, with one holding the base, and one holding the activator. Both are fed into the filler at the same time, filling simultaneously into the conjoined bottle halves. The automatic line incorporates Tristel’s existing Response benchtop fillers, which means that their previous investment was not made obsolete.

The Results Following the installation of the Response Automation line, Tristel instantly reported a 70 percent increase in productivity. Tristel’s Production Manager Jenny O’Callaghan and Production Engineer Peter Twelftree commented: “We’re currently producing 700-to-1000 bottles per hour, with plenty of room for growth where we can simply slot in another of our benchtop fillers to the line to increase production. This is all at no extra cost!” info@adelphi.uk.com

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Tristel Solutions there are very few global brands and as we already have a solution for use on medical instruments that go inside the body, why not use it for surfaces? Our record and expertise single us out as a superior disinfectant provider and we think we can become a significant player worldwide, growing and maintaining our leadership position in both manual medical instrument decontamination and surface disinfection.”

With more than 70 percent of its revenue derived from the medical instrument market in 2020, Paul would like to see Tristel strike a more even balance in the future, combining its original products with increased activity in surface disinfection. Furthermore, since going public in 2005, the company has enjoyed a healthy compound annual growth rate of 17 percent and Paul is confident that this too can continue in the decade ahead.

“Moving forward, I would like us to continue our overall global growth, and surface disinfectants will be a critical part of this because the opportunity is so much greater there than in medical instrument decontamination,” Paul declares. “We already have substantial market

penetration, and if all goes to plan, in five-toseven years’ time, the revenue of the business may well have doubled. Certainly, if we can join the US market, that would aid our ambitions no end.

“I have read market research suggesting that, globally, hospitals spend as much as $4 billion on surface disinfectants. When you add in clinics and ambulatory centers, as well as a

heightened awareness of the importance of disinfection following the Covid-19 pandemic, the opportunities are endless.” v

Tristel Solutions www.tristel.com Products: Disinfectant manufacturer

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Inspiration underfoot With over eight decades in business under its belt, Ulster Carpets is able to utilize all its experience in the creation of beautiful and durable carpets for its blue-chip clientele

Main image: Stunning custom carpets by Ulster are featured on Cunard Line’s iconic cruise ship, Queen Mary 2.

Image by Parrott Photography Right: The state-of-the-art Dyehouse and Energy Centre at Ulster Carpets is a key element of the company’s commitment to sustainability

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Ulster Carpets

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ffering high quality, luxurious Axminister, Wilton and loop carpets, Ulster Carpets has two distinct areas of focus. As Jeremy Wilson, Sales Director, explained, the original business focused on the residential market, and it still designs and stocks a wide variety of options for this sector. “These are then sold through 2,000 retailers in the UK, Ireland, US and Europe,” he said, before continuing with further information on the contract side of the business. “Over the last 30 years this has grown rapidly,” he revealed. “New technology now means we can offer almost any design that customers can imagine in up to 30 colors. Mid- to high-end hotels, casinos, conference centers, cruise ships and restaurants, as well as individual clients who want a bespoke solution in their homes would be our main markets. We have offices in the US, Europe & the Middle East to service our contract customers.”

As Jeremy mentioned the original business, it is worth highlighting the pedigree and heritage that forms the foundation of Ulster Carpets. Founded in 1938 by George W Wilson, the business has grown and thrived under family ownership since then. “The current MD is Nick Coburn, who is the oldest grandchild of the founder,” added Jeremy.

“The business has grown rapidly since the late 1980s, and this time period also saw the development of the unique Pre-Selected Yarn Loading Operation (PSYLO) weaving technology in 1999, for which we received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.”

Efficient technology

A unique and innovative solution, PSYLO enables Ulster Carpets to offer unlimited design possibilities without the need for a repeating pattern, resulting in unprecedented depth and texture of design. “PSYLO has been a standout success and has given us the ability to offer clients almost any design they can imagine but also reduced our yarn

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Ulster recently designed and manufactured bespoke carpets for The Drake – a legendary hotel in Chicago Image by Todd Kaminski, Kaminski Studio

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waste by over 75 percent and reduced labor by over 50 percent,” Jeremy continued. “Continual investment in new more efficient technology in the business has helped us remain in the UK while many competitors moved to low-cost countries in Asia.”

In fact, Jeremy credits this process of reinvestment as ‘one of the main reasons that Ulster is the only weaver in the UK and Ireland that has not only survived but thrived’. “It is an ongoing strategy that has been in place since the early days of the company. We have invested heavily in modern dyeing machinery, which has halved our energy usage in this process, as well as improving quality with much reduced levels of waste in the effluent. Our current focus is on new high speed looms.

These will enable us to significantly improve productivity as well as reducing lead-times for our customers.”

By keeping efficiency and waste reduction at the top of the agenda, Ulster Carpets is able to ensure that it offers the best possible solutions to its clients and Jeremy highlights this approach as one that sets the company and its products

apart from the competition. He describes the company’s focus as being on ‘offering the best solutions for our customers whilst also focusing on value for the client’. “That comes in many forms but minimizing waste (by utilizing our wide variety of woven width options) and ensuring the carpet will last for as long as possible to optimize replacement cycles are two of the top drivers.”

Strategic acquisitions

These philosophies are also pivotal to Ulster Carpet’s focus on the environment, which Jeremy states has been ongoing for the last 20 years. “We have reduced our carbon emissions by over 54 percent since 1998 (a fact that was recognized when we received an award from the Carbon Trust),” he said. “Also we have zero manufacturing waste going to landfill and have found ways to reuse our textile waste, so everything else is recycled. We use more and more renewable materials and are working on ways to recycle our carpets at the end of life as well. We are committed to being Carbon Neutral and are well on our way to achieving that goal. CSR is a core part of our business and decision making process across everything we do.”

Having survived difficult market conditions and even thrived when others have failed, Ulster Carpets has supplemented its organic growth trajectory by recently including strategic acquisitions where a suitable company was found that complemented its own offering.

“Two of our most recent acquisitions have been Roger Oates who are best known for their stunning stair runners, and Axfelt, which is an underlay business,” revealed Jeremy. “Both businesses have enabled us to move into the residential flooring sector where we currently had no offering. Both are still run as stand-alone businesses, but by sharing technology, market information and generally working together we have realized significant growth not just for them but for Ulster, too.”

With the Axfelt transaction completing in 2020, the team at Ulster Carpets also had to contend with the challenge of coronavirus and all of the tangential issues associated with it. Jeremy gave some more details about how the company’s operations were impacted by the pandemic and how it and its people came together to work through this difficult period.

“First and foremost, we had lots of customers awaiting custom carpets all over the world so we had to keep production going whilst protecting our employees,” he said. “Once the first lockdown lifted we had a surge of interest and very high demand so we had to

Ulster Carpets keep on top of that. Since then, business has continued to fluctuate with significant surges and quieter patches in between. Employees have been very flexible and happy to come in to work or stay at home whatever the business required. Short- to medium-term there are some challenges in our main markets but we have adjusted our workforce accordingly and are continuing to invest for the future when we hope to see a full recovery.”

With the new skills and products of the acquisitions now woven into the fabric of Ulster Carpets, and its team working hard to counteract the disruptions of Covid-19, the

organization has been thrilled to find that the first half of 2021 has gone much better than it expected. “Our retail sectors are all busy and running well ahead of budget, and contract is returning,” concluded Jeremy.

“Leading indicators are positive but demand is softer than normal this year. We hope that this bounce back continues in all of our key markets, so that we can return to some degree of normal. In three-to-five years, we would hope to be significantly further on with the roll out of new high speed weaving technology within the Group, as well as other investments we have planned, too.” v

DAWSON Materials handling equipment plays an integral part in the day-to-day operation of the factory from raw materials through to finished goods. As the equipment and service provider to Ulster Carpets for over 30 years, DAWSON Materials Handling Equipment share the same approach of utilizing the latest technology to lower operational costs and minimize environmental impact.

DAWSON’s latest product range from BYD, one of the leading electric vehicle and battery manufacturers in the world, enables their customers to break free from fossil fuel, engine powered forklift trucks and switch to electric equipment powered by lithium-ion batteries. Ulster Carpets have now begun to phase BYD equipment in to their fleet, significantly reducing operating costs while simultaneously eliminating carbon emissions.

Ulster recently added three colorways to Anatolia – one of its most enduring and much-loved collections Credit Gaf_Lila Shutterstock.com

Ulster Carpets www.ulstercarpets.com Products/Services: Carpet manufacturer

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WHS Plastics

WHS Plastics is staying ahead of the competition in the injection molding sector with a well-oiled machine of people who are continually motivated to take on new opportunities

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he average family will spend an estimated £2000 on a holiday every year. However, with the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 crisis, more money has been available for luxury investments like home improvements, appliances and cars; much to the gratitude of WHS Plastics. The business, founded by William Henry Smith, began in 1933 and has remained in the hands of the Smith family ever since. Now in its third generation, the Birmingham-based company has been through some impressive milestones, including an expansion in Egypt and its recent opening of a 75,000 square-foot logistics and warehousing operation. “In 2007, we started a manufacturing plant in Cairo, which employs around 200 people having already in 2001, purchased a fully automated paint facility in Runcorn, close to Liverpool, where we have about 110 people,” says Paul Nicholson, the company’s Group Managing Director.

According to him, the facility in Cairo was not born under traditional expansion circumstances. “The Cairo venture happened when a customer of ours called Leoni Wiring Systems, a tier 1 supplier to Jaguar Land Rover, told us they couldn’t continue paying European pricing because their main manufacturing facility was in Cairo and were looking to resource our work to an in-house Leoni facility in Romania.

So, we offered to build a plant out there with a supply agreement for five years, and we have expanded from that position because that geographical market has become a substantial part of our group now,” he shares.

As a predominantly tier 1 automotive manufacturer, WHS Plastics is a world-leading injection molding company with the largest machine molding capacity in the UK and a specialization in automotive parts, according to Paul. “Anything that is plastic, we can do – bumpers, interior trim, under bonnet, engine covers – you name it we do it, now manufacturing about one million parts a month,” he shares.

In line with its operational successes, another characteristic that helps set the business apart is its geographical location. “We are in the heart of the Midlands, just off the M42 motorway and the M6 for quicker delivery, which makes us perfectly placed to satisfy the automotive needs of our customers. On top of that, we also act as a tier 2 automotive supplier. We have built our reputation not only on quality of service, but also on being in the right place geographically to ensure that the products that are expected of us are also made to our clients’ standards & expectations” adds Paul.

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WHS Plastics Regardless of the fact that 800 people make up the WHS Plastics team, the company prioritizes an excellent culture that means that its employees are motivated to excel at their work. Paul notes that being able to manufacture products of such high quality is greatly reliant on a dependable and dedicated labour force. “How do you create a family feel when you have that many people across the Midlands, Liverpool and Cairo? It’s tricky, which is why something we focus on maintaining is that closeness, while also staying professional. In fact, we have a family fun day coming up when we will bring all the employees together. We’ll have free food and ice creams and give the families a tour of the facilities so they can show their kids where they work. These are the sorts of events we run in order to keep that family culture alive,” he says.

This sort of stable and united working environment proved to be all the more helpful when the team had to pull together to get through the Covid-19 pandemic. After being forced to close for a few weeks, the company swiftly bounced back and partnered up with Jaguar Land Rover to manufacture face shields.

“Every employee at Jaguar had one, as well as their suppliers, which enabled us to keep going because it gave us a reason to open up shop again. Although we were working with a reduced team, we focused on the health and safety of our people, and even installed additional clocking-in machines to avoid queues in the factory. I think that’s something we did really well and every employee was exceptional in their commitment to seeing the pandemic through,” expresses Paul.

Now, as the world market slowly begins to recover, Paul is excited about the future of the automotive industry. “I think this sector has moved on from Covid-19 because as early as March of this year, we had a fantastic month.

Our only challenge at the moment is that there is a global semi-conductor shortage, which is bringing the car plants to a bit of a halt. On the flip side, personal debt is at an all-time low and one of the areas into which that extra cash is being funneled is cars. So, I think when they get the semi-conductor issue sorted, this market will absolutely boom and we are getting ready to meet that demand,” he states.

Efficiency, determination and quality is fueling WHS Plastics’ success and its ability to keep up its pace ahead of the competition and with that, the business will continue to strive to push industry boundaries by branching into additional opportunities. “We want to add more to automotive like our competitors are doing, especially on the electric vehicle developments.

We want to make sure we continue

relationships with new car companies without taking our eyes off our core customers. We are already looking at non-automotive sectors because we currently have about 20 percent of our business in that industry already; everything from catering, sandwich boxes through to garden plant pots. We will always be looking at smaller ventures like that to keep the machines

busy when automotive drops off here and there, which it will always do,” Paul concludes. v

WHS Plastics www.whs-plastics.com Services: Injection molding manufacturer

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Sleep

made simple From luxury mattresses and tapestries, to bed frames and upholstery, Millbrook Bed Company is on a mission to turn us all into morning people

S

ince 1946, Millbrook Bed Company (Millbrook Bed Co) has been seeking new ways to help Britain sleep better.

Its founder, Walter Croll, was inspired by the elegant interiors of the ships sailing around the Millbrook area of Southampton.

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English passenger fleets at the time had become synonymous with luxury and elegance, and the workmanship required to furnish them needed to be of the highest possible standard.

It was this standard that Croll set for himself with the establishment of his small upholstery

and bedding workshop. Millbrook UK was soon contracted to refurnish the entire Union Castle Line fleet, and the company has seen growing success ever since. It is one man’s mission, to create luxury through a simple and resolute dedication to good craftsmanship,

Millbrook Bed Company

There is a ‘can do ethos’ behind Millbrook Bed Co’s manufacturing process, and its ongoing diversification speaks to this. Aiming to demonstrate a quick understanding of its client’s needs, and then deliver the best-quality and most cost-effective solution, Millbrook Bed Co highlights the importance of being proactive, and taking special care over each and every detail.

Maintaining this level of care and attention to craftsmanship has not only won the company a stellar reputation, but has offered it incredible opportunities, such as restoring antique furniture at Sterling Castle, and even working within the walls of Downing Street.

Combined techniques

which remains the foundational ethos behind Millbrook Bed Co today.

2021 marks the company’s Jubilee anniversary, and today Millbrook Bed Co has diversified into becoming ‘The Experts in Sleep’, a larger group that incorporates a number of different sectors.

From classic Divan-style beds and mattresses, to contract bedding for hotels, and even going back to its roots with the invention of Millbrook Boat Mattresses, the company exhibits a dedication to providing people with the best possible night’s sleep, home, away and anywhere in-between.

An accumulation of 75 years’ worth of knowledge and experience in mattress-making has led to a surge in innovation, making the reorganization of Millbrook Bed Co’s portfolio necessary, in order to clearly differentiate the new brands within its handmade mattress collection. The introduction of new technology and materials to the company’s offering is now possible, without diluting its existing range, which continues to have a strong appeal and demand.

As Ross Thurston, Operations Director of Millbrook Bed Co comments: “A new Group level structure enables us to venture into new markets, such as memory foam and to use new technologies without diluting the existing Millbrook Beds brand. The new structure provides clarity for our trade customers and our end consumer along with clear brand definition and positioning for each of our ranges.”

One new brand, which the company

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launched in early 2021, is the Chittenden & Eastman Hampton Range, which has been designed in collaboration with leading American bedding maker, Bedding Industries America, to meet the self-care needs of modern people. To achieve this Millbrook Bed Co has blended its mastery over traditional manufacturing methods with modern technologies; hand-tufting, for example, combines ancient weaving techniques

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with modern technology, as weavers will use a tufting tool to put wool strands through the material canvas. This not only contributes to the beauty of the end product, and increases its durability, but the Hampshire Wool used is also antimicrobial, ensuring the customer an odor and allergen free sleeping environment, even from the very beginning of the manufacturing process. The company’s beds also feature 1000-

plus individually wrapped pocket springs and intricate hand stitching; these labor-intensive processes boost the mattress quality and support the company’s assertion that there are no shortcuts to luxury.

Drive for sustainability

More recently, in August 2021, again in partnership with Bedding Industries America, the company also announced the launch of its first memory foam mattress collection – the Laguna

by Eclipse International. This collection will feature Five Zone Air Flow memory foam, which has been created to allow airflow around the body, avoiding the over-heating often associated with normal memory foam.

Three models are available to customers, these being the Laguna 20, Laguna 40, and Laguna 50, featuring three depths of Five Zone memory foam - 20mm, 40mm or 50mm respectively – and a choice of 1000, 2000 or 3000 pocket springs. Many of the natural fabrics and fillings Millbrook Bed Co mattresses are well known for are used, including Hampshire wool, while zonal quilting of a knitted Tencel cover gives a tighter quilt pattern at shoulder and hip to give the sleeper extra support in the important areas where the body rests on the mattress.

“The launch of the Eclipse International brand into the UK market represents a significant step for Millbrook Bed Co and moves us into the ever-popular memory foam market with a competitive starting price point of £999,” Ross noted at the time of its launch. “We have not previously ventured into this market, and our partnership with Bedding Industries of America

Millbrook Bed Company has enabled us to introduce our first range of luxurious memory foam mattresses providing the levels of comfort and support our traditional handmade mattresses are known for, while appealing to a completely different consumer with a fresh new USA inspired style.”

Existing outside the ever-changing trend-cycle of today, Millbrook Bed Co’s beds have a classic look that matches their enduring quality. The company becomes the most sustainable option all around through a combination of high-quality design and craftsmanship. These assets will no doubt support its up and coming sustainability drive, launched in August 2021 with the stated aim of introducing new solutions to reduce waste and CO2 emissions.

Millbrook Bed Co has long invested time and resources into finding sustainably and locally sourced materials, using timber from only FSC managed forests, and repurposing millions of plastic bottles each year into mattress construction. New sustainable measures introduced this year include, partnering with The Planet Mark to achieve net zero carbon targets across all aspects of the business, and achieving a recognized sustainability certification to measure the company’s carbon footprint, which will be improved by 2.5 percent each year in order to retain the certification. Through The Planet Mark, the company will also make a yearly donation to the Eden project and one acre of saved Rainforest via Cool Earth. Further to this, the company is making a commitment towards switching all mattress packaging to plastic made from sugarcane and recycled plastic, which is 100 percent recyclable.

As Ross adds: “We are utilizing 75 years of experience in creating mattresses for perfect sleep, while constantly working towards a more sustainable future, without compromise on comfort or quality. For many years, our focus has been on sourcing sustainable, natural fabrics and fillings, with sustainability driving both our corporate responsibility and customer scrutiny.

We now have partners to work with to help us do our bit to tackle the climate emergency.

Sleeping soundly requires peace of mind, and our customers can rest easy knowing we have an environmentally responsible approach to making mattresses, because we believe sustainable sleep is the future.”

It’s clear that Millbrook Bed Co works with people in mind, and that’s because its people work with it in mind. Describing itself as ‘very much a family firm’, it speaks to the shared goal of Millbrook Bed Co’s employees, as well as the motivational nature of its company culture, that many skilled mattress and divan makers have followed their parents and grandparents into the company. For the company’s 750-person team, its excellence and high reputation is a matter of

personal pride. Millbrook Bed Co cites this pride and dedication as possibly the most significant factor in attaining the supreme quality and finish of each bed. It is no surprise, therefore, that thanks to its people, Millbrook Beds Ltd. was amongst the first pocket sprung bed companies to achieve the British Standard of Quality assurance (BS 5750).

It has been 75 years since the establishment of Millbrook UK, and throughout that time the company has ensured longevity, class and comfort in each of its products. Millbrook Bed Co has an unwavering dedication to its goal of creating sanctuaries for self-care and genuine rest in a busy world. With recent innovations in company structure and sustainability, alongside pre-existing successes in terms of quality and reputation, it is clear that Millbrook Bed Co should certainly not be slept on. v

Millbrook Bed Company www.millbrook-beds.co.uk Products: Luxury bed frames, upholstery and mattresses

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Strong as steel With its willingness to innovate and evolve, Titan Steel Wheels has been successfully navigating its way through the Covid-19 pandemic with the same steely determination that has served it so well over the years 104 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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hen Titan Steel Wheels (Titan), the UK division of Titan International – the global market leader in the manufacture and production of off-road tires and wheel technology – last graced the pages of Manufacturing Today it was the summer of 2020.

At that time, it, like the rest of the world, was rapidly coming to terms with the immediate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and what it might mean for the future of the business.

Catching up with Managing Director Chris Akers in July 2021, he talks us through the steps he and his team took to navigate the unpredictable times experienced by us all over the last 12 months. “The nature of our business predominantly involves supplying our customers with just-in-time products, rather than building an inventory of stock. What this initially meant was that when our customers all began ceasing operations at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, we too took the decision to shut

Titan Steel Wheels

down our factory for several weeks,” he begins.

“At this time, we made use of the UK’s furlough scheme in order to ensure that our people continued to be supported financially. Then, as our customers began to gradually ramp up their activities, so too did we until, by around August time we were in a position whereby every member of the team was back delivering for the business.”

During the second half of 2020, Titan would enjoy a strong increase in demand

for its products, a pattern that has continued throughout the first six months of 2021. “We are now projecting quite significant growth figures in the latter half of this year, and a rising number of our customers are also now talking about a manufacturing ‘super-cycle’ taking place during 2022/2023, with some predicting levels of demand reaching heights not seen since before the economic crash of 2008,” Chris reveals.

In terms of how Covid-19 has materially affected the way in which Titan manufactures

its products, the company has been fortunate in that the way its facilities and infrastructure is laid out lends itself well to the concept of social distancing. By coupling this with the introduction of staggered shift patterns, face masks, sanitizer, and conducting customer or supplier business via platforms such as Zoom and Teams, the company has weathered the challenged extremely well.

“Arguably the biggest issue we have faced as a business in recent times has actually been the knock-on effect that the pandemic – and other external events – has had on the global supply chain. The impact of this has revealed itself in the form of the rising costs and declining availability of raw materials like steel, and the costs of shipping, especially from the Far East,” Chris adds, before noting one of the ways that Titan is working to overcome said issues. “I think it is very much about having people at hand who are experts in areas such as the logistics sector and the steel purchasing area, and people who have close relationships with key players and suppliers, and who keep a closely trained eye on what is happening in different world markets. It is those skilled individuals who are tasked with making a lot of difficult, timely decisions, sometimes on an almost hourly basis, who can make a massive difference in today’s world.”

Facilitating growth

Bearing the above in mind, it goes without saying that it is incredibly beneficial that Chris finds himself today surrounded by what he proudly calls ‘the best team he has ever had’ making up Titan. “Everything we do and achieve as a business ultimately comes down to having

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of new people to fill roles that are becoming available especially difficult compared to in the past,” he explains. “Among the toughest of roles to fill at present are at a production operative level, and such is the demand for these people that companies like us are looking at various ways to overcome this challenge.

“We have identified two ways to do so. One is to push ahead with incorporating a greater use of automated technology, reducing the need for manual labor. We have done a lot of that in recent times, and we will continue to do so wherever possible. The other thing that you can do is have goods made in those countries or regions where lack of manpower is not an issue, and then have those goods shipped back over for sale from the UK. Again, this is something that we have intensified lately, so as to reduce the demand on our domestic labor force, however this has to be balanced against those rising shipping costs.”

Queen’s Award

a really great group of people who all pull together in a single direction for the betterment of everybody,” he enthuses. “The difference this can make is invaluable, especially during challenging periods of time.”

Adding to said team in order to help facilitate

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the levels of growth that the company expects to see in the months ahead is going to be a particular area of focus for Chris going forward.

“Since Brexit in particular, there is notably a shortage of generalized labor available to businesses such as our own, making the hiring

For Titan, 2021 has to date been an extremely dynamic year, and it has also seen the company awarded with what is its fourth Queen’s Award (three of which have now been earned during Chris’ tenure as Managing Director) for ‘International Trade for Outstanding Short-Term Growth in overseas sales’. Accepting the award in early June 2021, Chris commented that winning the award was “testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire team”.

Notwithstanding the impressiveness of picking up a fourth Queen’s Award, Chris goes on to tell us that, as far as personal highlights from the last 12 months go, what gives him the most pride and satisfaction has been the company’s ability to keep its entire workforce intact throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. “We didn’t lose one person during the last year and a half, and now that we are actively recruiting for new talent I think we find ourselves in a nice, strong position for future growth,” he declares.

So, what is the plan for the coming months – and in 2022 – for Titan? “For us, it is about constantly evolving our designs in order to meet our customer’s needs,” Chris says. “Now, wheels are of course still going to be round, and we don’t try to reinvent them every time we make a new one, but we understand that those that we do produce tend to go onto machines that work in incredibly difficult environments or carry big loads. Therefore, what we do is constantly evaluate what we have designed and produced in the past, and pin-point any adjustments that we can make to the benefit of the end user.

Titan Steel Wheels

“Going forward, we anticipate the next 12 months to remain a period of very strong growth, but with that comes the aforementioned need to bring in a large number of people, potentially increasing our workforce by as much as 15 per cent. So,

finding those people, training them, making sure they come on-board safely and can operate effectively within the business, and ultimately create added value for ourselves and our customers will be a major focus for us, and we look forward to the challenge.” v

Titan Steel Wheels www.titan-intl.com Products: Manufacturer of wheels and tires

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Designed for growth With a history dating back to the early 1920s, through a combination of organic growth, acquisitions and divestments, Redline Plastics has changed and evolved over the past 99 years to become the successful and inspirational company that it is today

C Chuck Webster

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huck Webster, President & CEO at Redline Plastics (and part of the Webster family, which has owned the company in its various forms since 1975), gave Manufacturing Today the story of the business, which today is a specialist in commercial sewing, plastics rotational molding and plastics vacuum forming. “On the commercial sewing side, we manufacture motorcycle covers, leather saddlebags and other similar products for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” he began. “In aftermarket powersports our products are sold under our own brands – Dowco Powersports is the USA’s leading high end aftermarket motorcycle cover brand – and our motorcycle saddlebags and other items are sold under the Willie & Max name. Our own brand has been a huge focus of late and helps

us to ensure that we are keeping all areas of our business engaged and active.”

The Rotational Molding portfolio of products created by Redline is very extensive, meeting the needs of various sectors and including a huge variety of options from pontoon boat furniture bases to dog kennels, construction equipment parts and porta potty components. “For Vacuum Forming we create powersports roofs for OEM UTVs, which are sold to multiple companies for private label brands,” continued Chuck. “Marine components, like dash panels and light housings, electronics enclosures and fiberglass reinforced skid steer hoods are also manufactured in-house and in addition, we offer Line Bending for powersports windshields and roofs.

“We are the only company that I know of that has rotational molding, vacuum forming, cut

Redline Plastics

and sew, and the ability to fiberglass-reinforceplastics all under one roof. This gives us a unique competitive advantage over other rotomolders as we can make and assemble parts that require all of our in-house capabilities and have those products leave our facility fully finished on their way to the end consumer. This makes it easier for our customers’ buyers because they do not have to source multiple different manufacturers to make their product, they can come to a one-stop-shop. We also source all components necessary to fully assemble, kit, and complete products. We have great suppliers and love trying new methods and materials so we are constantly on the cutting edge of new technology in the market.”

The manufacturing services provided by Redline are undertaken in its sophisticated,

state-of-the-art facility in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, which is already undergoing a large expansion only a year-and-a-half after the new facility was constructed. Ground was broken in March 2021 for an additional 103,000 sq. ft., which is due for completion by September 2021. “We have outgrown our current space, which is constricting our process flow. With the large amount of new business coming in, the new space will alleviate and de-clutter the facility, which will enhance throughput and increase productivity even further,” Chuck explained.

This additional space will be used for a new, very large rotational molding machine with space to comfortably add three more. The rest of the new expansion will be used for larger secondary processing and CNC trimming in addition to increased raw material and finished goods storage. “We purposefully designed the facility in a way to efficiently move hot air out of the building to create more consistent air temperatures for employee comfort and to improve product quality. The inside of the

building is all white; this allows for lower heat absorption and for a brighter work environment to improve product quality. The machines were laid out to enable efficient flow, from tool change outs to loading powdered resin to trimming and final assembly to shipping. This is a process we continue to perfect.”

Chuck continued with some further differentiators that make Redline stand out from the competition, starting with team and culture.

“We have significant technical expertise in all areas of our business and at all levels. From operator/sewer through to top management, we have employees who are experts in all the different core areas of our business, such as engineering, helping with new product designfor-manufacturability, tooling design and sourcing, both foreign and domestic, logistics and vendormanaged inventory.You typically don’t find that in a business of our current size, but it is making a significant difference in our ability to grow rapidly.”

The next area Chuck identified was Strategic Risk Taking, where he noted that Redline has

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and improve on its impressive line-up. “We have full scale engineering services on both the plastics and cut and sew side of our business,” he confirmed. “From designing our own concepts/ projects to helping our customers bring their innovative ideas to life, we provide a one-stopshop and can handle new projects from napkin sketch through direct shipment to end user.”

Collaborative approach

been successful at managing its risk while onboarding new equipment as well as training new team members. “This is so that, by the completion of the new machinery installation and employee training, we have customers to fill the new capacity. This makes us attractive to customers with larger books of business who are not being serviced by their current supplier,” he explained. “Many businesses wait to justify capital expenditures for new machinery until

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they reach 80 percent-to-100 percent capacity.

Given the current constraints on many supply chains, this concept greatly handicaps growth.

We take calculated risks trusting that we will continue to find great customers/partners to help fuel their and our growth.”

From Chuck’s description, it was clear that Redline must devote extreme efforts into innovation and the process of new product development, in order to continually produce

A new range of motorcycle ratchet covers and a line of folding UTV windshields have both been released recently, and Chuck also gave another example of Redline’s collaborative customer approach. “A company asked us to assist with the design of a great concept – a cargo container that was to be used by the military to deliver specific cargo loads to strategic locations from an airplane,” Chuck elaborated. “The soldier would be attached to the cargo container and when both soldier and container hit the ground, the case would be opened to get the contents to their immediate strategic location. We were able to provide design engineering assistance to make it manufacturable and incorporate all of the ‘bells and whistles’ to help them get the end product they wanted, which was a case that was waterproof, could carry up to 1000 pounds and withstand the force of hitting the ground at a relatively high speed, and fit the rail systems of our military’s standard cargo drop system.This project was a combination of educating our customer on materials and our expertise in designing a working product that met the needs of our armed service members.”

Redline is also happy to trial new and unique resins for customers to improve costs, and offer suggestions during initial product design to help make durable, unique and manufacturable products for the use intended.

“We have several design engineers who have come together to deliver 20+ new products under our branded lines to market this year alone,” added Chuck. “This is in addition to servicing our OEM customers who continue to have significant and specific design needs. We have internal processes that are followed for new product development and are geared towards our own manufacturing capabilities. From concept design through testing, our innovative engineers constantly deliver fresh ideas that also require unique testing parameters to ensure the products are ready and safe for the market.”

As Chuck was describing the power behind the company’s success, he frequently referred to the staff and people employed by Redline.

Having been named as one of the ‘Best Places to Work’ by Plastics News in 2021, the business prides itself on its culture and family atmosphere.

Chuck gave some more details about the people

Redline Plastics philosophy. “We researched how to create a high performing culture and that led us to introduce our guiding cultural behaviors. Rather than the typical company mission, vision and values, which we think are mostly meaningless and speak to a small portion of any one business, we elected to create a set of values that we expect our team members to exhibit while going about any task,” he described. “Instead of traditional corporate speak, we made them memorable and used everyday language so that everyone throughout our organization understands and can live them.

For example, instead of saying treat people kindly, we say ‘Don’t be a Jackass’. Another favorite is, instead of saying work as a team, we say ‘The only I in Team is hidden in the A-hole’. We printed a wall-sized graphic of these behaviors for our lobby and production floor. Job applicants and customers have raved about how awesome they are and cited them as reasons they want to work with us. We have had many people take photos of the wall because it is so unique. It shows we are real people that shoot straight, which is refreshing.

“We believe we have a company culture that speaks to all employees and we try to have fun with our work family. The top reason people give for why they like working at Redline is ‘the people I work with’. If it wasn’t for all the hardworking people here at Redline Plastics, we wouldn’t be the company we are today.”

This approach is combined with a hiring strategy that employs hardworking supervisors and managers who have a connection to shop floor employees and will put them first.

“We recognize that by meeting the needs of our team, they will help us to reach our goals.

This mentality has enabled us to increase our workforce from 85 employees to 157 employees in six months. It is their leadership that helps to guide us in our direction of incremental growth,” added Chuck.

Continuing on this growth path is at the top of the agenda for Chuck and his team, and this is always tempered with the underlying aim to ‘improve our workplace and the benefits we offer to employees.’ “We want to continue our ascent up the domestically ranked list of rotomolders and continue to be recognized by our customers as the rotomolding, vacuum forming, and cut and sew house that can deliver a full-scale menu of options to meet their needs,” he confirmed.

“Additionally, we would like to remain known as the employer of choice in our area and further

our goal of taking care of our employees and giving back to the community. If there is one thing all businesses are learning first-hand, it is to treat your employees right in all areas of your business.You have to create and nourish an environment where the right people want to work.” v

Redline Plastics www.redlineplastics.com Services: Rotational molding, vacuum forming and industrial sewing company

Skyrocket in demand

This increase in numbers was necessitated by a skyrocket in demand for products during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of Redline’s parts were deemed essential and cannot be made from home. Keeping staff safe was a priority. “Our preventative measures included daily temperature taking, increased cleaning of high touch surfaces and masks required in the building. We also strongly encouraged people not to come to work if they felt sick or had immediate exposure to someone with Covid-19. During that time, we had minimal cases of Covid-19 affecting our employees and had no impacts towards normal and ordinary business operations. Additionally, we tried to limit support staff from interacting with floor employees to help keep our main workforce safe.”

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Well resourced Responsive to its customers’ service needs, Excalibar Minerals prides itself on providing the highest quality minerals that its industry has to offer

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Excalibar Minerals LLC

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A

division of Newpark Resources (which is a publicly traded company on the NYSE), Excalibar Minerals (Excalibar) processes high-quality barium sulfate and calcium carbonate for a veritable myriad of industries and applications. First established in 1990 – with a plant located at the Port of Houston, Texas – in the 30-plus years since, its base of operations in Houston has moved and expanded, while new plants have been strategically opened in Corpus Christi, Texas; New Iberia, Louisiana; and Dyersburg, Tennessee.

The core activity of Excalibar is the sourcing and processing of raw mineral ores into high-quality engineered barium sulfate and calcium carbonate. The company’s General Manager, Mark Brooks, explains exactly what barium sulfate is.

“This is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula BaSO4. It is a crystalline solid with many variations in color that is odorless and insoluble in water, it occurs as a non-hazardous natural mineral, which has major deposits occurring in China, India and Morocco.”

Mark continues: “Barium sulfate has some rather unique characteristics that make it a valuable industrial mineral. First and foremost is its high specific gravity, reaching 4.4 while being extremely chemically inert and thermally stable, with a melting point of 1580oC. Additionally, it is a relatively soft mineral with a Moh’s hardness of 2.5-to-3.5, with one of the highest refractive indexes for a major industrial filler at 1.65 and a relatively low surface area when comparing other industrial minerals of comparable median particle size. Its density also

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Excalibar Minerals LLC contributes to its low oil absorption, which cuts down on the amount of more expensive resins saving overall formulation costs. It also provides radiation shielding and can be used as an x-ray opaque additive.”

Mineral of choice

The aforementioned characteristics have made barite the mineral of choice for oil and gas drilling solution applications. “The high specific gravity increases the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, allowing it to compensate for high-pressure zones experienced during drilling,” Mark states. “The softness of the mineral also prevents it from damaging drilling tools and enables it to serve as a lubricant and cleansing agent.

“Barytes high specific gravity, chemical resistance, and exceptionally low oil absorption brings value to many other industrial applications that require higher weight for a given volume for sound deadening, rigidity, and overall performance.

Examples include sound dampening for transportation interiors (plastics), traffic cones, mud flaps, bowling balls and even golf balls.

Barytes thermal stability and ability to absorb heat make it ideal for friction applications like brake and clutch pads.

“Elsewhere, the plastics and rubber industries use barium sulfate to reduce resin demand due to its very low oil absorption rate, and it can also be found in the casing of batteries and used in the expander mix to improve battery life. Within the paper industry, it is added for easy glazing of glossy papers and photographic papers, while, as a pigment additive, barium sulfate can improve gloss, surface smoothness and printability. Another application would be fire extinguishers, with barium sulfate acting as a carrier for the chemicals, and its weight helping to direct the aim and distance of the extinguishant. Its high chemical inertness and corrosion resistant abilities also make barite an excellent choice for protective and barrier coatings and paints (marine and powder coatings), specialty elastomers, and mold release applications.”

Turning back to Excalibar itself, the company boasts state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located near waterways and major ports in order to take advantage of the economical freight of imported ore, while also being close to key marketplaces and customers. “All of our plants are API Certified, and our two industrial plants are ISO 2001:2015 compliant,” Mark details. “We use many of the tools available from Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing to develop daily operating guidelines and goals,

while driving our continuous improvement programs. We have also established a strong network of trading partners around the globe to source the highest quality barite ore.”

Excalibar similarly prides itself on being proactive and customer centric. “We have an in-house Customer Service team available 24/7. We also have a relatively small logistics arm (assets and drivers) as part of the company that we expect to strategically grow as we continue to work to provide our customers the best overall supplier experience,” Mark adds. “This service is also another extension of our quality by cutting out the possibility of cross-contamination versus third party carriers that haul other bulk materials.”

Mark is equally keen to note that Excalibar is a company that recognizes that it is only as good as its people. “What we strive to do here each day is maintain an entrepreneurialtype culture, where people are encouraged to make suggestions for improvement in virtually every aspect of the business,” he says.

“Safety remains our number one company core value, and we continually strive to improve our safety record. For example, we have achieved 12 years without a safety incident at our Dyersburg facility.”

In recent times, there has been a significant consolidation of barite suppliers in North America, yet Excalibar fully expects to continue to thrive and grow into the future.

“We are ready to expand capacity globally as demand grows, and to continue to invest in people and capital, with an emphasis on safety and continual improvement,” Mark concludes. “At the same time, we will explore expanding our product portfolios that fit our core competencies and address our evolving marketplace.” v

Excalibar Minerals LLC www.excalibar.com Products: Barium sulfate and calcium carbonate

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Resonating with a nation

T With the help of the British public’s determination to reinvent their home spaces as a result of the pandemic, Keter has been able to see some impressive growth in the industry of domestic storage and garden furniture solutions 116 l www.manufacturing-today.com

wenty-four plants across 90 countries make up the Keter business. With a vision to be the preferred choice for innovative, high-quality and affordable resin-based solutions, this company is pushing to keep its products decorating British gardens and homes. For the last 70 years, the company has built a portfolio on delivering the most creative plastic-based products on the market. Although Keter was founded in Israel, we speak with Eddie Johnson, its Managing Director, about the company’s move to the UK and how, with two locations in Banbury and Redruth, the UK business has grown to make up 15 percent of the global Keter family, making it a leader in the plastic industry.

As the first to produce the y-weave pattern, which is now a design staple, a Keter product is guaranteed to be as durable as it is aesthetically appealing. “From a product perspective, we invest heavily in our R&D resources. We have a team of 50 designated professionals employed who ensure that we remain ahead of the curve, while continuing to offer our customers the most creative solutions available. We challenge expectations and look beyond the ordinary.

We have found a way to create resin products that look and feel like other materials such as concrete, leather and metal,” Eddie begins.

Although he stands to be corrected, Eddie states that in its infancy, Keter began making hair combs. As the introduction of injection molding technology became a mainstay in the plastics

Keter

industry, so too did the business’s investment in expanding its operations. Juxtaposing the early 1980s trending techniques of handwoven furniture sets, Keter has developed the infrastructure to produce an assortment of products from outdoor garden storage to furniture sets, all injected with resin to make the items lighter, more durable and weather proof. “You can literally keep them out in the rain and snow and they won’t crack,” he says.

These capabilities have allowed the business to replicate both the tactile and aesthetic surface to resemble natural sources like wood or metal, which is one of the aspects that he believes helps the business stand apart from the competition. “Part of our DNA is being entrepreneurial and agile and I think the original

mindset that was brought in with the business was that nothing is impossible, and we have done our best to uphold that,” he adds.

“We’ve developed a product called the Darwin Shed, which looks and feels like wood, but obviously is made from resin, and you don’t need to paint or treat it,” he explains. In recent years, the business has placed a crucial emphasis on product quality to ensure its customers can trust in the Keter name, and one of the measures it has put in place to support this is gleaning a team of skilled workers who help reinforce the longevity of the product. “We have some of the most talented individuals in the world working with us. From designers to engineers, project managers to team leaders.

We want our people to be proud of where they work and what they do. As a leadership team, we are focused on clear objectives and we provide multiple check-in points to ensure we are on track and while also not being afraid to learn from our mistakes. The foundation of our business is our employees, regardless of where they are based, and we know that each of them share our core values of innovation, accountability, agility, entrepreneurship and respect,” he expresses.

Continual investment

Having capable staff is particularly necessary to manage the state-of-the-art infrastructure under the company’s belt. As far as its facilities are concerned, Keter has been able to support work of this magnitude as a result of continual investment in factory upgrades. The business boasts injection and rotational molding systems with capacity to oversee the overall equipment effectiveness and inventory benchmarks as well.

“We have an operational review cycle that feeds into our Sales, Finance and Operations Plan (SF&OP) and the business review rhythm. The Ops team focusses on set ups, processes, and proactive maintenance programs in order to keep an eye out for the small and simple issues that could create huge amounts of inefficiencies.

We also have a principle of getting the basics right the first time, which is why we prioritize having the best people and the best technology available. We have virtual factory briefing boards to ensure clear and consistent communication and a continual improvement leader based in manufacturing that creates Kisan projects to improve our processes.

“What Keter has done is implement a standard process cycle to cover sales functions, marketing and operations and logistics. To ensure that we have an efficient and effective supply chain and that is on a monthly rolling cycle for both our indoor and outdoor business. The main piece is our forward outlook and that having clarity of what sales and marketing are doing to drive the business and what operations and manufacturing and logistics need to do to enable that and then, obviously, the finance team have the ability to forecast the business,” he shares.

Of course, infrastructure of this scale did not come about easily and the business has had to invest substantially to ensure that its company could sustain the financial impact to allow for industry-leading upgrades. “We made an investment of €13 million into our Banbury site. The reason was because we moved that operation directly from Israel. The key reason for the transition was because we noticed that the UK market was growing impressively and we saw a trend in people wanting to organize their

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both in-store and online, which came as a result of the 2020 regulations to remain at home during the Covid-19 crisis. “The macroeconomic trend of being home-based saw that people began to reorganize their houses and gardens, which played a substantial role in the increase of our business. To accommodate that, we’ve structured our SF&OP process to allow a monthly cycle and enable us to come together as a team and review our forward outlook, alongside taking learnings from the previous monthly cycle,” he adds.

Keeping up standards

gardens to create additional storage units for bins and bikes for example. So, in order to take those logistics costs out of the supply chain to be more efficient, we gauged our lead-time from Israel, which ranged from 16-to-24 weeks. Now the lead-time is a bit more because our demand is so high. However, the normal lead-time has reduced to two weeks from that plant, because we can react at a local level and we can add products into any of the distribution centers in the UK,” he explains.

Coupled with its strategy to be pioneers in its sector, the business is also determined to lead the plastics industry in sustainability, which may seem counterintuitive, but for Eddie this is exactly what puts Keter in the running to champion the competition. For the past year, the company has performed strongly in decreasing its environmental impact by implementing a zero-waste to landfill initiative through local

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partnerships, as well as having a greenhouse gas emission production of less that one percent, manufacturing over 50 percent of its products from recycled materials, and eliminating single-use plastics across its brand. “At the core of who we are, our real focus is how we are helping to achieve a better business and a better future. If you look at the commitments that we’ve made so far, from a UK perspective, we’re well on our way to helping the nation achieve its net-zero goals. As a plastics company, we believe that we can be part of the solution and not the problem. This is partly because our products have a high level of durability and are maintenance free,” he says.

Each of these factors that the business has worked meticulously to perfect is what has enabled it to achieve its significant growth over the past few years. With that, the company has also honed in on building its brand awareness

Simultaneously, the business made in-house changes in order to take care of its staff.

Eddie emphasizes that the number one priority through Covid-19 was the health and safety of each employee and customer.

“We demonstrated our core values of agility, accountability and respect to adapt to the new working environment and controls. This enabled us to continue to supply throughout the pandemic, and on top of that, the modifications have been such that we can keep a number of them for the future,” he declares.

Eddie’s belief in the company’s abilities is set to serve it well to see out the rest of the year and beyond. Its operations are capable of experiencing the direct effects of how the pandemic impacts its consumers and as a result, it is determined to do its best to support its clients in the manufacturing of reliable products.

“We will keep up our standard for as long as the business continues. We are investing millions of euros into new production facilities across our outdoor storage ranges, and as we strive to remain successful, we are also looking further ahead to continue to achieve our five

Keter

sustainability pledges for 2025, building on the good progress that we have made to date,” he shares. Considering the history of Keter’s timeline, it is inspiring to see the business work towards continual improvement. With a

passion for stylish resin-based outdoor décor and multi-use storage boxes, the company’s reputation is setting well amongst the British public as a name that will likely be as reliable as its products. v

Keter https://www.keter.com/ Services: Resin-based products manufacturer

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Paul McGowan

A team with mettle T

Servicing sectors ranging from rail and automotive, to leisure and earthmoving, Washington Metalworks Ltd is pushing itself with robust innovation, technology and enthusiasm for the future 120 l www.manufacturing-today.com

his is what is unique about Washington Metalworks: where some servicing businesses may specialize in laser cutting or punching, this company does it all. With in-house CNC machining, powder coating, wet painting and final assembly, the company covers a spectrum of the manufacturing process. Its Commercial Director, Paul McGowan, sits with us to talk about the journey that has allowed the business to grow from one man and a bench to employing over 200 people, while achieving the sort of cutting edge service that put it on the North East Manufacturing Growth Top 50 list.

In 1985, the business came to life in a small manufacturing unit in Washington, Tyne and Wear. It was only five years after its inception when Paul joined the business as a sheet metal

worker. “I started with the company 31 years ago and I’ve progressed over the decades,” he begins. “We started off in a 500 square foot unit and then we moved to 5,000 square feet, then 30,000 square feet. It wasn’t until about 18 years ago that we moved to 100,000 square feet. As we’ve grown, we’ve also taken on more bluechip companies in the UK, and now we have a portfolio of some top-class customers.”

One of the facets the business prides itself on is supporting new apprentices, with six to eight newbies joining the ranks each year. “This is a brilliant trade to have under your belt because if you can make things out of metal, you can make things out of plastics, wood, anything really – it’s a great grounding. Many of the apprentices who have come through have the opportunity to grow in a range of skillsets because punching

Washington Metalworks

and lasering are just the tip of the iceberg of what we do,” Paul says.

Washington Metalworks incorporates its customers’ concept with its own expertise to help the client develop and produce their product. In order to improve its efficiency, the business has spent the last four years implementing a new ERP system, which, according to Paul, has become the heartbeat of the business as it controls all the factory processing, from schedules, to purchasing records. With the new ERP system came additional investments in robotics for sheet metal processing machinery. “We have some machines in here like our robotic welding and folding processes that are quite unique. From what I know, there are very few companies that have the same level of equipment as us, which makes it great for repeatability,” he says. At the moment, Paul believes that the system installation has been invaluable in improving the company’s operations, giving Washington Metalworks an extra jolt ahead of the competition. “This is such a cutthroat industry.You can have all the labor in the world but in my opinion, systems are driving businesses now, which is why we’re putting a lot of time and effort into our technology.This is what is going to help strengthen our services and allow us to stand out,” Paul adds.

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This is why the manufacturer was able to secure a contract with a business as internationally widespread as The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGOC). “That is a great project for us and TGOC has a big future because it is really determined to get people exercising again, and there’s a huge scope that it is working with to achieve that. It wants to bring in the likes of spinning bikes and ski machines,

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which we can manufacture in our site and then we ship the equipment as far as New Zealand and Australia,” Paul informs us.

As a case study, the partnership with the Great Outdoor Gym Company demonstrates perfectly how the business works with its clients and the full range of its in-house capabilities. “We have the manufacturing drawings for these parts, they have been prototyped and tested for safety.

So, we manufacture them ourselves and partner the necessary parts with our skilled workforce.

Following that, we powder coat them, then we do the final assembly, which in this case would be fitting the entire equipment. So, what’s getting shipped out is the finished product straight to their designated park where they are either cemented or bolted into the ground,” he explains.

Although Paul speaks extensively about the importance of technology within the operations of Washington Metalworks, the business could not function without its team of tradesmen.

“We’ve got a group of excellent staff working with us. There’s a different team for manufacturing, commercial and finance as well as a quality-testing team and each of those departments form the network that makes the business tick,” Paul says.

“Over the last couple of years, we have identified some star players who have more potential within them than they realize. Not only have they got the experience of putting the parts together in the factory, they also have good communication skills, and they’re computer literate. We’ve got a guy who works in the office, he’s about 40 now but he started when he was a 16-year-old apprentice and he has worked ridiculously hard throughout his career here and has become a senior manager,” Paul celebrates.

Given these impressive advancements and workings within the company, Covid-19 was quite a knock to the manufacturer’s operations.

As Washington Metalworks looks to the future of the company, it is also reflective on the consequences of the pandemic as well as the prospects of the industry’s economic health. “At the moment, we’re at a £12 million turnover, compared to a few years ago when we were at around £16 million, it is frustrating to see but I don’t think it has been as a result of poor business. We’ve had a few challenges to overcome like integrating the ERP system as well as adjusting to the pandemic. However, over the next five years, we are quite ambitious about

Washington Metalworks

bringing those numbers up again. We’ve spent £4 million on new machinery, which is helping us hugely on our trajectory and we’re looking to take the business to £18 million by 2025,” Paul claims.

“We had to manage our facilities quite tightly, especially because we had people on furlough.

Every week, we had to consolidate the best practice of bringing more people in because our work continued to increase. It was a constant balancing act. For the next decade, I can imagine that manufacturing is going to be really exciting for the UK. Many businesses have realized the importance of producing their product locally, rather than bringing it in from China or Indonesia. So, although the pandemic has hurt us, I think the UK economy will benefit hugely in the near future,” he expresses.

To help it achieve these endeavors, the business is looking into the potential of further facility expansions, while acquisitions are not entirely off the table either.

“A few years ago, we spent about £40,000 on subcontracting machine parts until we made the decision to buy our equipment and began working in-house. It is exciting and as we head into the next decade, I think our development is going to be massive and we’ve got our feet firmly in the sector,” shares Paul.

The North East area is known as an industrial heartland with ship yards and coal mines scattered across the counties, which is why it is a great location for Washington Metalworks to thrive. As Paul notes, the business’s investment in state-of-the-art technology will set it in good stead to excel in the metal works sector and it is clear from his enthusiasm that the company is excited to push boundaries and fulfil its potential.

“We’re on a journey, that’s for sure, and we’re embracing every step of the way. We’ve had a tough couple of years but we’re starting to reap the rewards now, and every day is a new opportunity for us to learn something new, to grow and be better than we were the day before,” Paul concludes. v

Washington Metalworks www.washington-metalworks.co.uk Services: Sheet metal fabrication and metal work services

Akzonobel Cromadex - an Akzonobel coatings brand - has been working and supplying Washington Metalworks with both wet paint and powder products for over 20 years. The brand is an expert in color, textures, special effects coatings, corrosion protection, and specialist systems, many of which are available from stock through its network of centres.

In 2014, Washington Metalworks joined the Akzonobel Service First Scheme as part of this great partnership.

A scheme that was introduced to help good quality applicators with recognition for high-end work, which is constantly produced at Washington Metalworks. Yearly audits are done by the Cromadex expert team to ensure that high-quality standards are maintained. As a result, Washington Metalworks applicators receive endorsements, have grown in size, and are now a highly recognized quality coatings applicator in the North of the UK. Cromadex is happy to support Washington Metalworks and believes there is an exciting future ahead.

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A head

for heights Bringing the Pure Safety Group’s family of brands under one banner, Guardian helps offer clients around the world an unrivalled range of fall protection and prevention solutions to allow them to operate safely at height

P Jeff Ward

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rior to May 2021, the US-based Pure Safety Group had a family of height safety brands, including names such as Stronghold by PSG, Ty-Flōt, Checkmate, HART and Guardian. Each of these brands possessed its own proven pedigree.

Guardian, for instance, boasted scale and expertise in US fall protection, while Checkmate was able to call upon cutting edge fall protection

design and innovation with a UK manufacturing, training and design center, and Ty-Flōt was a pioneer in dropped object prevention and foreign material exclusion.

“In May of this year,” explains CEO Jeff Ward, “we took the decision to combine everything under the Guardian banner. As a result, the expanded Guardian is now the world’s largest independent fall protection and prevention

Guardian

engineered systems offer is one where we can design, supply and maintain fall arrest systems.

This holistic offer aims to help clients take all the complexity and hassle out of height safety.”

Brand strength

brand, working under a shared vision to blend scale, agility and 360-degree thinking in order to make it easier than ever for our partners to operate safely at height.”

As a result of the aforementioned decision, Guardian and its 400 directly employed safety experts is able to offer design, manufacturing, height safety training, and engineered systems across North America and the UK, serving

its partners with a 360-degree height safety offer. “We supply our range of fall protection, dropped object prevention and foreign material exclusion products through distribution partners who serve construction and general industry specification and health & safety experts,” Jeff adds. “Our height safety training offer is a blend of in class, on-site or online, which we can design around our client’s specific needs, while our

Speaking further about the rebranding of the business, Jeff provides us with additional insight into the thinking behind this significant decision.

“To leverage the full potential of the acquired businesses is to understand deeply the unique strength each one brings,” he states. “We are fortunate that each business brought with it unique talent and expertise, and our recent move to Guardian highlights our passion to be one unified company rather than a group of companies. We are better together, and it is our strong belief that our simplification and unification can help further reduce fatal falls from height and help workers get on with what’s important to them. Our recent (January 2021) end user research told us that the Guardian brand was not only our strongest brand, but the strongest brand in the US construction and general industry space overall.”

Today, the Guardian business possesses manufacturing capabilities in the United States, Canada, and in the UK. “In these locations, we manufacture self-retracting devices, anchors, body harnesses, and lanyards to name just a few products,” Jeff details. “Every brake we place into a self-retract device, or stitch we put into a harness, is done with precision and pride as we all know these are made to potentially save or rescue someone’s life. We have some special patents in the company that also rely on

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our ability to be flexible in our manufacturing capabilities. We actually have over 400 design and utility patents.

“One good example is our FABX selfretracting lifelines, which are the only ones that have a modular, sealed brake built-in. They are

also the only devices of their kind in the world that have computer-aiding torqueing. Each one can be calibrated to control the brake like a bike or a car. We have a few torque machines built specifically for us and operators are constantly optimizing each and every brake. This has all

been driven by the insight that competitor brakes were fading over time. If they are not sealed and modular, they can absorb grease and moisture, and they become much more difficult and inconsistent to service.”

In terms of product development, the business is currently experiencing a lot of momentum around its Dropped Object Prevention product range. “In the last 12 months, we have adapted our Quick-Switch product, and begun introducing this into markets outside of the United States,” Jeff says. “This is an amazing, patented innovation that is the only design in the world that allows 100 percent tool connection during use and storage. As anyone with experience will tell you, changing tools at height is a nightmare – long, cumbersome, unsafe and impractical – but this product changes all that, and really changes the game.

“We have also just introduced globally our Dropped Object Prevention kits, which are trade specific kits that conveniently put everything you need in one pack with a nice point of purchase unit. We have one for steelworkers, one for scaffolders, as so forth. We are all about taking the complexity out of working at height, and we have a lot more exciting innovations on the way, a number of which we look forward to showcasing in Las Vegas at the World of Concrete show in January 2022!”

Improved service

Buoyed by the rebranding of the business, Guardian is now also embarking upon ambitious plans to expand its operations globally and into new sectors. “In the United States, our core source of revenue remains the construction market,” Jeff details. “We are also now pursuing opportunities to expand more into general industry – working with

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Guardian companies in manufacturing, distribution, etc.

Meanwhile, from our UK base, we are keen to expand into Europe and the Middle East.

We are improving our language capabilities and product offering, and have just started appointing some new distribution partners in these regions. In the last few months, for example, we have cemented partnerships in the GCC, Spain, Holland, Sweden, and beyond, and we have also established new training partnerships in Europe.”

In spite of numerous challenges faced by Guardian over the last 12 months – from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to unprecedented supply chain difficulties created by long lead

times, and rising material and freight costs – it has refused to lie down. “We have worked incredibly hard to mitigate a lot of these challenges for our customers, and this has resulted in us actually improving upon our service levels verses 2020,” Jeff declares. “This has been noticed within our net promoter score measures, and I could not be any prouder of the resilience that we have displayed.”

Looking to build upon this further, Jeff has a clear vision of what the short and mediumterm future holds for Guardian. “From January 2022, our clients and peers can expect to see a brand that is anchored in user insight and leverages its digital channels to inform and

Dudley Associates Dudley Associates have been working with Guardian since 2011 and enjoy a very constructive relationship through Jeff and Mike. Retaining clients for a decade and longer is not unusual for us.

We make injection-moulded products from a suite of bespoke tooling manufactured by us, and some tools originally made elsewhere but transferred to us as preferred moulder. To optimise efficiency, we use a variety of interchangeable inserts, maximising the ratio between productivity and initial capital outlay.

Dudley Associates’ Chairman, Andrew McIntyre said: “We are delighted to join Guardian in this feature and look forward to supporting them as they continue to grow.”

enable our partners, that makes a sustained investment in specialist roles in order to cultivate even deeper expertise, and that is powered by operational excellence and ongoing improvements.

“Further ahead – in three-to-five years’ time – I expect Guardian’s unrivalled brand awareness levels to have further strengthened in our home market of the United States, and for it to have extended further across the world. We have continually launched unique products and services that make it simpler for our partners to operate at height, and we continue to collect customer and industry awards for solving some of height safety’s thorniest problems. We have likely doubled in annual revenues, but we have achieved this through complete dedication and a focus on height safety, and not by getting distracted with anything else.” v

Guardian www.guardianfall.com Products: Fall protection and prevention solutions

on a single site in the East Midlands

Injection-mould tool-making

Röders CNC Production cell with automation Prototype tooling l Production tooling: t Aluminium for lower volume needs t Steel, hardened or P20, for high volume demand l Mirror or textured finishes, sliders, up and aways, and more l Mould flow analysis software l l

We would be delighted to become your moulder, using your existing tooling; re-shoring or just moving

No grey area for dispute between toolmaker & moulder when we do both in-house

Injection-moulding manufacturing Wide range of polymer materials used, including ABS, Nylons, Ultems, TPE, Peek and many more All sectors including industrial, safety, dental, leisure, electronics, automotive, aviation, oil & gas, scientific and defence l Moulding machines from 35-300 tonnes l Colour matching and anti-static/UV/microbial additives l Class 8 Clean Room l Printing, painting, inserting, over-moulding, sonic welding & more l ISO9001 2015 Quality system accreditation l We ship moulded components into Europe, Asia and North America l l

3 Elizabethan Way, Lutterworth Leicestershire LE17 4ND T: +44(0)1455 558825 E: sales@dudleyassociates.com www.dudleyassociates.com

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The wheel deal Serving customers worldwide, Wheel Pros is an aftermarket manufacturer and distributor offering wheels, tires, and related accessories for cars, sports utility vehicles, and trucks

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eadquartered in the city of Greenwood Village, Colorado, Wheel Pros is an aftermarket wheel and vehicle product manufacturer and distributor, synonymous with superior customer service and product availability. Founded by Randy White and Jody Groce in 1994, within two years the company had opened its first two distribution centers, in Denver and Dallas, Texas. Come the early 2000s, the decision was taken to transition towards a proprietary brand strategy, creating in-house brands such as Helo, Motegi, and Moto Metal, and in the years following it would go on to acquire well-known names including KMC Wheels, XD Series, American Racing, Asanti, and American Force. It also established partnerships

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to facilitate the distribution and offering of various tire brands’ products, most notably Pirelli and Nitto.

In recent years, the company embarked on a series of strategic acquisitions of vehicle product manufacturers such as Gorilla Automotive Products, Readylift, and MHT Alloys.

“Today, we operate a collection of 43 strategically located distribution points across the world (predominantly in the United States), while our network of more than 25,000 dealers in over 30 countries helps us to meet our primary goal, which is to deliver the products our customers require for their vehicles on a same or next day basis, wherever possible,” explains John Danis, Wheel Pros’ VP of Manufacturing.

Wheel Pros, LLC

Quality and service

Wheel Pros’ success over the last 27 years – and counting – can also be attributed to a combination of a comprehensive product

portfolio, differentiated product expertise, and trusted delivery, which when put together supports strong levels of customer satisfaction.

“One of other things that I think sets us apart

from other aftermarket companies is the fact that we are absolutely relentless when it comes to quality,” John continues. “We never, ever take any shortcuts with our products, in fact we often

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area through the purchase of an existing 220,000-square foot manufacturing facility, formerly owned by American Eagle Wheel Corp. in York County, South Carolina. The company subsequently relocated its American Force facility from Miami, Florida, to its new South Carolina hub in order to provide the brand with a larger geographic footprint and great opportunities for aggressive growth.

Manufacturing advances

overlap on quality validations, doubling down on things like performance and safety rating checks.

“We also benefit greatly from having a number of extremely talented and knowledgeable people under our employ. This means that when a customer comes to us detailing their ideas for how to improve their respective vehicle, our sales people and those based at our various distribution centers are on hand to help said customer achieve his or her

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desired look and/or results. It is important to remember as well that a good number of our customers are also what you probably refer to as vehicle enthusiasts with a pretty good idea of what they want. Our folks are there to help to steer them towards the best fit for their vehicle, while also delivering the right mix of looks, customization, and safety.”

When it comes to the company’s manufacturing capabilities, it was in 2018 that Wheel Pros took a major leap into this

Subsequently, Wheel Pros acquired the assets of the Borbet manufacturing facility in Auburn, Alabama, which was announced in August 2020. The facility previously produced wheels for OEM customers, but is now being converted into an aftermarket wheel manufacturing facility, with the goal of being able to produce a substantial amount of cast wheels to support Wheel Pros’ supply chain.

Wheel Pros’ advances in the manufacturing sphere have coincided with its own acquisition by the private equity group Clearlake Capital Group (Clearlake) in 2018. In the three-plus years since, the group has displayed on multiple

Wheel Pros, LLC occasions its commitment to supporting Wheel Pros’ strategic growth initiatives, the most recent of which came in March 2021.

It was then that Wheel Pros received further strategic investment from Clearlake dedicated to funding its future growth. In announcing the move, Clearlake revealed that this step would broaden the company’s investor base, and provide new and follow-on capital at significantly larger scale to support its next chapter of growth.

Optimizing manufacturing

Said next chapter comes on the back of a year in 2020 where, despite the challenges of Covid-19, supply chain disruptions and so forth, the company exceeded its expectations, and this is a trend that has continued throughout the first half of 2021. “The first six months of this year have been phenomenally busy for us, and we want to carry this momentum forward into the rest of 2021, and beyond,” John exclaims.

“We have a number of new technologies that we are currently working on which are very unique, and we will be channelling a lot of effort towards optimizing our manufacturing activities through things like Lean manufacturing principles.

We have the Auburn plant beginning to run at a solid level, so the task now is to install a pattern of continuous improvement that will allow our facilities to be even more agile and quick to react to changing market demands.”

John has confidence that by having a strong source of supply within the United States, the ability to react to market trends will help Wheel Pros outperform the competition in its sector. “Typically, when ordering products from somewhere like China, they can take up to a few months to produce and then a further several weeks to be shipped on the sea, meaning that the best lead time you are likely to achieve is around 60-to-90 days, so long as everything goes smoothly.

“By having our own US supply of manufactured products, it increases our speed of response hugely, meaning that if a particular product suddenly takes off in demand we can get building right away. Similarly, if a product line decreases in interest, we can redirect our manufacturing efforts elsewhere and optimize our inventory levels accordingly. To be able to react to seasonal or market demand quickly by getting products out to our customers in as little as three weeks sets us apart from the competition. It goes without saying, therefore, that this development has the potential to be a true game changer for Wheel Pros, and one that we believe will make an incredibly positive difference to the future of the company!” v

Wheel Pros, LLC www.wheelpros.com Products: Wheel, tire and suspension products

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Automation with a human touch

Established over 100 years ago, the Mpac Group is dedicated to the creation of lifelong automation eco-systems

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nlike a singular piece of machinery, Mpac systems simultaneously consider the technical, innovative, sustainable and commercial potential of an entire automation system. This process, of ‘3D Thinking’ as cited on the Mpac website, works to help businesses continue evolving and meeting the demands of an everchanging marketplace.

Mpac is also seeking to consolidate the relationship between everyday people and the increasingly omnipresent world of technology.

The innovative notion of a modern eco-system brings us back to the roots of what automation is and what it aims to do, which is to provide for and support human endeavor. Much like naturally occurring eco-systems, Mpac’s processes and products seek to adapt entirely to their environment. During a 2020 panel discussion on Growth and Adaptability, Mpac discussed the increasing demand for product personalization. The solution? A unique Intelligent Machine Interface (IMI) that can adapt the packaging it produces according to company and

The Mpac Group

consumer data. The IMI maintains ‘one size fits all’ production speeds with added personalization, illustrating how Mpac’s automated adaptation can meet market demands as and when they appear.

This focus on adaptability has brought the Mpac Group global success, working with a broad range of companies such as GSK and Nestlé. Its end-to-end solutions focus on companies’ potential to become optimized on a systematic level, something that has allowed Mpac to branch into a wide range of sectors

including health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and consumer goods. This diversity of experience is once again apparent in the company’s goals and values, as Mpac seeks to use the ways businesses are intrinsically connected to the people and world around them. On its website Mpac cites integrity, passion, collaboration, and sustainability as its core values, highlighting the human element that is present in all it does.

So what is that exactly? Mpac produces turnkey services from consultation and design,

all the way through the production process to installation, lifelong monitoring and optimization.

Mpac retains a reliable interest in the machinery and services it produces, and ensures that its services, including cartoning and palletizing, are integrated with existing supply chains and production lines. This focus on maintenance and integration illustrates how Mpac’s automation products become eco-systems in their own right, as these bespoke machines function seamlessly within a pre-existing model in order to optimize and enhance the functionality of

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larger processes. As the company website explains: ‘ecosystems live, breathe and evolve, and so should your automation ecosystem’.

There is a sincere focus on whole-life support, made evident by Mpac’s development of transformative digital services. These digital

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innovations are integral to Mpac’s service, and aim to keep Mpac connected to its customers regardless of time or location. Its digital solutions include: augmented reality (HoloLens) which produces a 3D view of product sections and lines, remote training

(HoloLens) wherein a live operator can assist in machine training from anywhere to accelerate the on-boarding process, and RealWear, a communication platform for oneto-one support in fixing and testing. Investing in digital removes geographical boundaries

The Mpac Group and makes the customer interface as informed and instantaneous as possible.

It is exactly this kind of mentality that allows Mpac to be so future-orientated. Seeing the bigger picture, the groups website makes Mpac’s primary goal clear: ‘to be the global leader in automation eco-systems through innovative technology and exceptional service’.

Mpac’s innovation labs, based in England and the Netherlands, exist in order to achieve this goal. The centers focus on personalization and meeting the bespoke needs of a modern consumer market. Its work is to bring inventive ideas to life, meaning that businesses can thrive regardless of the challenge facing them. An example of this innovation in action would be Unilever’s pyramid teabag, for which Mpac produced a high-speed packaging and production process. This product went on to be named one of the 20th Century’s defining products, highlighting how Mpac’s eco-systems are wired into the needs of contemporary manufacturers.

Manufacturing sustainably and ethically is a concern for all in 2021; in response to this,

Mpac’s ‘Green innovations’ seek to protect the future of industry. These developments, described by Mpac as ‘next generation manufacturing for the next generation’, address a number of environmental concerns including the reduction of single use plastics. Responding to a leading electronics group who wanted to remove ‘pointless plastics’ from its batteries, Mpac worked within the customer company’s existing infrastructure to develop machinery that would pack the electronics in paper, making the process more efficient and more sustainable.

Further examples of Mpac using automation to achieve plastic reduction include its work with P&G, whose toothbrush is now packaged in a plastic-free carton, and a joint venture with A-Top to manufacture thinner plastics that retain the shelf life of food products.

However, Mpac’s endeavor to ensure consumers do not have to choose between product and planet does not end with plastic reduction. Sustainability comes in all shapes and sizes, and lengthening machine life spans is a long-term solution to reducing the carbon footprint of any manufacturer. With its industry-

leading Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE), Mpac’s whole life service reduces excess energy usage, which can be a result of poor machine maintenance, whilst optimizing business performance. Investment in carbon-reduction with this level of longevity speaks to the way Mpac grounds itself in the present whilst keeping one eye on the future.

This grounding not only makes for sustainable and morally conscious production, but it comes at exactly the right time. Environmental concern has never before felt as immediate as it does in our current moment. The realities of a post-Covid-19 world demand that businesses adapt to new pressures that interlock with pre-existing ecological concerns. Mpac has sought affirmative action in an unsteady time through its efforts toward transport and freight reduction. When the supermarket chain Lidl sought better optimization for the packaging and transportation of its laundry tablets, the Mpac side-loader cartoner worked to compress the products before being packaged. This resulted in Lidl saving space and being able to transport more products at once, which in turn reduced

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The Mpac Group the amount of delivery trucks and journeys needed. This is a prime example of the kind of modern eco-system that exists today, as each demand and process has a knock on effect that can, as Mpac’s automation processes exemplify, support long-term sustainability and profit when enhanced correctly.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also highlighted for many the absolute importance of people in keeping a business up and running.

Mpac celebrates the bright minds behind its automation systems, and by nurturing ‘exceptional minds’ it has taken strides in creating even better machines. Mpac’s focus on people is not simply internal, either, as Mpac

employee Mike Lewis states on the company website: “Collaboration is key. We succeed when we work well with people.” It seems that automation with a human touch means automation that functions symbiotically with the world around it. A focus on the interconnectedness of all people, products and processes is at the core of Mpac’s company culture, and it is apparent how this central value is the foundation for seamlessly functioning automation eco-systems and business relationships alike.

In 2020, Mpac released ‘My Daddy’s Job’, a short film that aimed to encapsulate the potential of its automation eco-systems.

Cognex Innovative packaging automation solutions featuring intelligent, best-in-class vision technology Mpac Lambert is the trusted machine builder for a wide range of automation challenges in the healthcare, medical and consumer goods industries. With a strong commitment to excellence, Mpac Lambert chose to partner with Cognex to deliver reliable Machine Vision inspection solutions.

Cognex systems emulate human eyes and brains and help solve simple or complex industrial barcode reading and machine vision applications to optimize quality, minimize waste and maximize throughput on high-speed production lines. They combine both rule-based and deep learning based image analysis algorithms to offer the latest technology for industry leaders.

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Narrated by the daughter of an Mpac employee, the video frames automation not as scientifically or technologically abstract, but in terms of how automation can and will become part of daily, modern life. As Tony Steels, Mpac’s Chief Executive, states on its website in accordance with the short: “This film embodies our corporate culture and values that truly sets us apart from our competitors”. The core function of an eco-system is to provide for the needs of everyone and everything within that system, and the child’s-eye view of the new short presents this perfectly. From plastic free packaging, to ensuring that yoghurt is always fresh, Mpac’s people-centric automation has the potential to breed positive change far beyond the manufacturing process. After all, as the Narrator of Mpac’s short film puts it, “the robots are coming, and we can even be friends.” v

The Mpac Group https://mpac-group.com/ Services: Automation solutions for the manufacturing industry

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