Quality counts
Electrox, who designs, develops and manufactures its entire range of industrial laser marking systems, has recently appointed 600 Lathes, well known as manufacturer of the Colchester-Harrison range of lathes, to manufacture its fabrications.
Pioneer of industrial laser marking systems, Electrox, designs, develops and manufactures its entire range at its modern headquarters in Letchworth, Herts. “Retaining control of the entire manufacturing process is the only way to ensure that everything we produce meets our own exacting standards” Director/General Manager Howard Moore said. “It is crucial that there is no abrogation of responsibility if the customer is to have a reliable, productive system which is suited to his specific needs. By designing and developing all the elements which go to make up a laser marking system ourselves, we control the quality and can be sure that the customer receives the best possible system. It also ensures that we can tailor systems to suit individual applications, however slight the adaptation may seem – we recently manufactured a system for a customer at a reduced working height in order that it harmonized with the existing production facilities for instance”. The company has recently appointed 600 Lathes, well known as manufacturer of the Colchester-Harrison range of lathes, to manufacture its fabrications.
Electrox manufactures a wide variety of systems, from the compact MaxBox and ebox through to large, bespoke workstations with full automated handling and loading as well as producing laser marking systems for integration into a production line. Although the range is standard, many systems are “special” and therefore require a variant on the standard enclosure. Quality of the enclosure is a given – it must match the exceptional quality of the laser system it contains. In addition, however, Electrox were seeking a supplier which could respond quickly to any deviation from standard and which could be relied upon to deliver. Howard continued “600 Lathes was the obvious choice. We considered a number of possible fabricators, but none could match the versatility and quality which 600 Lathes could offer us. An additional advantage was that the company was able to offer us a better price than any other supplier!”.
The fabrications department at 600 Lathes was established some two years ago as part of the company’s drive to enhance the cost efficiency of its own production process. Rather than continue to work with sub-contractors, it opted to bring as much of the production process as possible into its substantial Heckmondwike factory. The fabrications department was installed in a dedicated area close to but discreet from machine build and has been designed to deliver maximum throughput combined with maximum versatility. Managing Director Jonathan Shaw said “As the market has changed, so has 600 Lathes had to change from being a volume manufacturer of standard lathes to the development and production of application-specific lathes. This obviously required some significant changes in our manufacturing methods. One of those changes was to form our own fabrications, so we could respond quickly to individual customer requirements and could retain control of our quality. We have been flattered by the approach from Electrox, which is recognition that we have achieved the versatility and quality which we aimed for. It is the first time we have undertaken sub-contract work for fabrications, and it is proving profitable for both companies”.
For further information, contact:
Howard Moore (General Manager - Electrox)
Tel: +44 (0) 1462 472400
Mary Hollingsworth (Hollingsworth Enterprises)
Tel: +44 (0) 1773 836757
