Jade and Alunet Systems have worked together on a project consisting of the design, manufacure and supply of 25 punch tools machines to be rolled out to Alunet’s growing fabricator network. It was critical that the introduction of the new line of punch tools complemented Alunet’s leading edge Aluna+ system.
Alunet was looking for elements that reflected the company’s own values – a lean, minimalist design, easy and quick to maintain, simple functionality, low stock holding but easily accessible (both in terms of new machines and replacement parts). Even replacing one of the unit’s punches couldn’t be simpler or quicker – the machine does not need dismantling. The operator just pops off the lid and changes the old tool for a new one, and away it goes again.
“When we first approached Jade we gave them a definitive time scale – four weeks for the initial design process, and a further six weeks to produce a prototype,” said Alunet’s product development director Chris Armes. “The Jade team rose to the challenge, achieving the first goalpost with a design which looked and felt exactly as specified. Despite supply chain delays along the way which were out of Alunet and Jade’s control, leading to even tighter deadlines – Adam and Sean were still able to pull the prototype out of the bag on time and bang on quality.”
Jade director Adam Jones added: “When Chris came to us with his requirements, we had no doubt at all that we could accommodate what he wanted. I would go so far as to say we already had in our minds exactly what he was looking for, we were simply looking for the right opportunity to implement it ourselves. The tight parameters suited us – they focused the mind and allowed us to unleash that industry engineering creativity that responds to the needs of the user, rather than fitting in with the existing boundaries of the supply chain.”
“We have created a classic on-shoring supply and maintenance partnership which illustrates the best in terms of British engineering and service,” continued Jade’s Sean Mackey proudly. “Reliance on European products significantly slows down responsiveness to production issues. If you need to order a new part, it immediately gets trapped in logistics, with replacements sitting on a pallet 1000s of kilometres away waiting for the next shipment. The knock-on effect on manufacturing efficiencies can end up costing a fabricator a chunk of its bottom line. At Jade, not only are we keeping a healthy consignment of new punch tool machines ready and available for the next company to start fabricating the Alunet profile – we also have the ready supply of replacement punches that can be popped into an envelope and with the fabricator within 24 hours.”
