At Dudley Associates, we have all facilities in-house, on-site here in the UK. We are proud to be British Manufacturers of Plastic Injection Moulding and Tooling and being able to supply the highest quality plastic parts to our customers.
Other than the above, there are many reasons why we are proud to be British made, one of these being the ability to work together as one team, through many different departments, smoothly and efficiently.
There are lots of companies based in the Uk that outsource their manufacturing to low-cost countries- such as China. But what is the true cost of this and how does this impact the customer?
Without going into detail – what does low-cost really mean? Yes, there may be a reduction in cost of manufacture, but with the added taxes, duty, and customs – How much of a saving is made?
Moreover, overseas manufacturers are less likely to offer full intellectual property protection. Quality of products due to the extremely low labour costs are limited and with shipping and logistics, not to mention the lengthy shut down of factories/foundries due to pollution control – the cost of this on the end customer can be drastic.
So back to Dudley Associates.
Originally based in one unit, in Lutterworth in the heart of the UK, over the past few years, we have tripled in size and are now spread over three units – side by side.
Unit 3 houses our sales and admin teams, Goods inwards / out, our quality team, and our second toolroom.
Unit 4 houses our mouldshop with extensive facilities. With machines ranging from 35 to 350 Tonnes and our class 8 cleanroom.
And Unit 5 is our state-of-the-art toolroom, housing our Röders Automated CNC Production Cell, which consists of two different sized Röders CNC machines, RXP500 and RXP801, and a fully automated robotic system.
To have all departments on-site, working alongside each other, only adds to an already highly proficient working environment. We are able to move our customer's projects from the design stage to manufacture and delivery, quickly and efficiently.
Why is this so important?
Our team needs to be in constant communication, between departments and be able to access information quickly in order to offer the best service to our customers. Being able to physically see where a project is in its production process and discussing within department or between departments is imperative. We can follow and track an order right the way through the process at the drop of a hat and relay this information back to the customer.
Further to this, if any issues are found, or changes to be made are decided upon, we can get this actioned straight away.
For those manufacturers that outsource manufacturing to overseas, the inability to communicate could completely throw a project off course and add major delays to production.
Teamwork makes the dream work?
We are lucky to have such a great team. Not too shy to get stuck in and help out in other departments when needed, all with the focus on getting the job done and to a high standard.
Our experts in their field, from Kevin our design manager, Sanjay our quality manager, to Mark our CNC Leader, and Brett our Production Manager, are contactable, approachable, and always on-hand to help out or discuss a project.
How do we work together?
We will start from the beginning, when the enquiry comes in, which is something that the sales department deals with. Once information is collected and the project outline discussed, this will go through our design team. Discussions will be had between departments – feasibility, design tweaks/changes, and project details e.g., Type of tool, tooling specifics.
From here, a quotation will be drawn up. Once agreed and a PO issued, it's over to admin and sales to get this processed and new project notifications sent out and our manufacturing teams will get to work.
Information regarding material and manufacturing leadtimes is discussed and passed between departments so we are all on the same page and can be passed on to the customer.
Our quality team is on-hand and present throughout and can provide updates between departments on any quality-related issues.
Once completed, packaged, and processed, it's over to goods out, after having the go-ahead from production and quality, the product is ready to be shipped out.
If there were any breaks in communication, the entire process would be slowed down and made more difficult. Translation issues and time zones only add to this, so having all departments on-site provides us with a really streamline and simple approach.
It’s not unusual to find Marj, our stores manager up in the admin office discussing any upcoming deliveries, in order for us to liaise with the customer. Or Sanjay, our quality manager on his quality check rounds in the mouldshop, joined by Brett discussing any issues that need resolving. Or Mark our CNC leader from our main toolroom over in our second toolroom with David, our supervisor there, ensuring that modifications or being made.
We really are a ‘whole team effort’ kind of business and this shows in the quality of our work.
Give us a call to discuss your next project and see how efficiently we can get things done: +44 (0)1455 558 825
Written By Lucy Glover, Sales and Marketing Manager
For any Sales or Marketing information, please contact Lucy at lucy.glover@dudleyasssociates.com
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Member-created content 2 years ago | From members