Abru Ltd (Abru), a member of the Werner group, is generally claimed to be the UK's no.1 manufacturer of industrial and domestic ladders of all types – aluminium alloy and wooden stepladders, extension ladders and loft ladders. Thanks in no small part to significant investment in its Belper, Derbyshire, plant, Abru remains strongly competitive, and its status as a major supplier to both the B&Q and Homebase DIY chains bears testimony to its excellence in customer service and its dedicated policy of continuous improvement.
Whilst many of Abru's lower volume products have been transferred to low-cost Far East producers over the years, three- and five-rung domestic step ladders have remained firmly in the UK, with supplier Clamason Industries Ltd of Kingswinford, West Midlands, providing a reliable, single-source, manufacturing solution for 40,000 to 60,000 domestic aluminium ladder platforms each month – an annual contract value in the region of £500,000.
The ladder platform, approximately 250mm square in 1.5mm thick, grade 5251 H26 aluminium alloy, is produced on Clamason’s Chin Fong Worcester® transfer press line of six presses located together. In the case of Abru, only five of the six stations are employed. This system provides rapid transfer of a pressing between operations by pick-and-place robots, with careful handling to maintain surface quality.
The tools were manufactured in the Far East, in order to take advantage of a lower cost base and quicker delivery. Whilst Clamason has recourse to a number of UK toolmakers and will continue to do so, there are times, such as with this project, when a quick turnround is of critical importance. Accordingly, using their own agent, Clamason secured tools and production samples from the Far East in just three weeks.
Year-on-year Clamason has made significant improvements to the process for manufacturing Abru’s ladder platforms, reducing cost despite the fact that aluminium as a raw material continues to rise in price.
Initially the 12mm diameter, mild steel tube – which acts as a hinge for the platform – was manually inserted after pressing, a slow and labour-intensive process. Now Clamason uses its engineering expertise to insert the tube automatically during the press cycle, an operation well suited to the transfer press line.
The tube itself, sourced on the Continent of Europe in 15m lengths, is automatically handled and cut-to-length on a parallel line. The short lengths are then loaded from the side via a conveyor onto a station of the transfer press for both siting in the platform and the forming of a retaining swage on each end of the tube.
Meanwhile Clamason has also been focussing on logistics. The use of larger stillages has now reduced twice-weekly deliveries to just one, another example of ongoing service improvement.
As soon as a three-year contract had been completed for Abru, a new five-year deal was signed. Commenting upon the partnership, the Supply Chain Manager of Abru, Chris Weedon, stated: “We see no need to look elsewhere for sourcing our ladder platform because Clamason Industries has proved itself to be a first-class supplier in all respects, and one with whom we are happy to commit to another long-term agreement”.
Above and beyond the ladder application, Clamason exploits the special advantages of its transfer press line for making a number of other components. Its versatility, adaptability, care in handling and the lack of carry strip make it ideal for a variety of complex parts and the automatic insertion of other parts (such as other precision pressings, machined parts, zinc, aluminium or magnesium diecastings, or even plastic mouldings).
Then, by turning over the blank after the first stage, the line enables the same press tool to make both left and right hand versions of the same component – a huge competitive cost advantage for tooling. What is more, the line has the facility to reverse the burr side of a component automatically within the process.
Vehicle applications for Clamason’s transfer press operations include engine control unit (ECU) housings, airbag inflator housings and GPS antennae, whilst, back in the domestic arena, Sky TV set-top boxes are taking up to 30% of its current capacity. It means a step up for all these products too.
Now a similar transfer press facility, mirroring the one at Kingswinford, has been installed at Clamason’s new, 10,000 sq ft satellite plant in Slovakia. That line facilitates dual sourcing whilst easing deliveries to the regional factories of multinational OEM’s. Customers in Central Europe such as first-tier automotive (Delphi and TRW) and home entertainments (Panasonic and Thomson) commonly demand bi-weekly or even daily deliveries on a just-in-time basis in special returnable packaging. So Clamason will supply customers with what they want when they want it.
