Andrew Dodwell, Group Managing Director, Fullwood Packo
A huge surge in demand for the latest machines within the dairy industry means that Fullwood Packo has enjoyed particular success with its M2erlin robotic milking systems.
With significant advantages, the system has created a reduction in labour costs and increase in milk yield and volumes for its customers. However, with this increased demand comes increased manufacturing pressures and a need to reassess capacity and resources.
The company decided a more integrated machine build approach was required and that this would have to be discussed with a partner it could trust.
After working together for more than a decade, PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) and Fullwood Packo brought together dedicated teams to plan future M²erlin production patterns and share ways in which the ‘build’ process could be streamlined, manufacturing costs managed, and capacity capability doubled – all without additional production space and labour resource.
Reviewing best practices gleaned from other industry sectors, the PP C&A ‘design for manufacture’ engineering team revised the current build processes and came up with a number of suggestions that would see it provide a significantly more cross-functional and added value build solution. It identified that the electrical and mechanical controls could be combined into a single integrated outsourcing approach.
Work then commenced on both production engineering – identifying areas of standardisation, option configuration, combined test requirements, as well as mapping out supply chain needs and engaging both current and new suppliers to ensure optimum quality, reliability and total production costs. To ensure reliability, PP C&A used a trusted method to intricately test the systems using a special test rig – a test which functionally checks the entire system through software, replicating the connectivity associated with the robot.
The supply chain challenge also required PP C&A to move fabrication and machined parts into its own supply chain to create additional production capacity with Fullwood Packo.
The strategic outsourcing partnership has already delivered significant results for Fullwood Packo and played a key role in the company doubling its production and keeping up with customer demand. PP C&A continue to support Fullwood Packo in scaling-up through a standardised approach to design and flexible customer configuration. This approach to engineering design support also ensures that all international safety legislation is met, including UL508a.
“In addition to boosting our capacity, we have worked closely with PP C&A engineers to boost connectivity, incorporating a number of design iterations into the build so we can easily customise the machines to fit the client’s exact requirements.”
Aled Williams, Operations Manager
Fullwood Packo
“The next step is to work closely with the end-to-end supply chain to help further improve machine design and performance.”
Ruth Piotrowski, Commercial Manager
Fullwood Packo
The way companies access inventory management is changing rapidly and leading the charge is Solihull-based Inventor-e.
PP Control & Automation and Hedinn are now engaged in their 13th project together and the largest yet, the construction of a new plant for Sildarvinnslan.
Play an interactive video with hotpoints that delve into the story behind the manufacturing partnership with Needham Group and the assembly of its N-Lase range of products.
A strategic manufacturing outsourcing partnership – built on trust, integrity and maximising each other’s production expertise – is celebrating ten years together with the launch of the world’s most productive EDM drilling machine.
This collection of case studies examines some of the recent strategic outsourcing partnerships delivering against several business pains for machine builders and OEMs, and how those partners are benefiting from the PP C&A approach.
Turning to the strategic manufacturing outsourcing expertise of PP Control & Automation could prove to be a pivotal decision for Needham Group as it aims to turn a £30m expansion blueprint into reality.
Inventor-e is accelerating disruption of inventory management with the help of the Manufacturing Assembly Network, a unique collective of sub-contract manufacturers and a world class engineering design consultancy.
A new manufacturing partnership between PP Control & Automation and Jenton Group has created the capacity to build new UV technology in volumes that could help protect us from Covid-19 in indoor spaces.
As the years have gone by, the relationship between the two businesses has become more interlinked, with PP C&A increasingly being asked to be involved in the design stage of new machine builds.
Watch how Ishida realised their growth potential by making outsourcing part of their manufacturing strategy.
We believe in meeting you, listening and understanding your needs first and foremost.
If you are considering outsourcing for the first time or you wish to review your current outsourcing strategies, we would welcome the opportunity for discussion.
