East meets West for just-in-time plastics manufacturing

Toolmaker and moulding specialist, Broanmain Plastics, says UK firms can utilise the best of both East and West manufacturing worlds to meet tight production deadlines without compromising on quality. BP&R found out how the Horsham-based firm makes it happen.

During China’s transformation into a manufacturing powerhouse, many UK firms outsourced manufacturing to the country in the hope of a good product at a cut-price. However, not all are completely satisfied with the agreement.Long lead times, expensive shipping costs, large orders requiring upfront payment, communication barriers and concerns over quality are just some issues reported. With Britain looking to create more homegrown employment in the face of Brexit, could there be an alternative that offers the best of east and west?

Offshore toolmaking, reshored production

Horsham-based Broanmain offers clients a ‘best-of-both-worlds’ solution that makes the most of China’s low-cost manufacturing yet returns production to British shores.

Instead of producing thousands of units of a component in China, it helps its clients to design and make the master tool via its Chinese toolmaking partners, then bring production of the component itself back to its UK workshop. The company says not only does this deliver significant savings, it speeds up the production process, increases the quality of the finished item, enables just-in-time production and boosts the UK economy.

Wilf Davis, Founder of the family-run business, has worked with toolmakers in China since embarking on a trade mission to the country 17 years ago. Forging strong bonds with reputable toolmaking workshops, he explained: “Due to a decline in the number of UK toolmakers, we recognised that there was an opportunity to speed up the design timeframes, pass on cost savings to our customers and enable them to sidestep export delays by moving the moulding of components back to the UK.

“Chinese toolmaking firms typically have several people working on different stages of the same tool and it can take as little as 15 weeks to design, make and ship. In contrast, it is not uncommon for one UK tradesperson to work on the same tool from start to finish, taking over a year in some instances.”

A helping hand

Dealing with a country where the culture, language and working practices are so removed from our own can be a daunting prospect. However, Broanmain manages the entire toolmaking process on behalf of its clients from start to finish.

“From our UK office we assist with the initial design of the component, which we send to China where the tool design is created. Our in-house engineers then scrutinise the Chinese design and make any changes,” continued Davis. “Once the customer has signed off the tool design, our Chinese partners manufacture the tool. Crucially, it’s made from a number of different parts rather than one solid piece, which enables us to access any insert if we need to make changes further down the line.”

Samples are then sent to Broanmain, which they review with the customer. Any final modifications are made before the finished tool is shipped to the UK, ready for Broanmain to begin manufacturing the component at its Surrey facility.

Pocketing the difference

The benefits of offshoring the toolmaking to China and reshoring ongoing production of the component are multiple. For one Broanmain customer - Johnston Sweepers - the ability to call in around 60 per cent of their components on a three to four-day delivery cycle was critical to their business strategy of switching production of parts from metal castings to plastic. Steve Hurst, Head of Purchasing at the global street cleaning vehicle manufacturer commented: “By sourcing the tooling from a high-quality Chinese-based specialist, we were able to justify the payback.”

There are other savings to be made, too, said Davis. “Chinese manufacturers usually require a minimum order of 5,000 units to guarantee the best price. In addition to the upfront financial commitment this incurs, there are shipping costs, import duties, taxes and VAT to take into account, as well as storage fees,” he explained. “What was a cheap deal can suddenly seem far less attractive.”

Just-in-time production

By operating a Kanban inventory system, Broanmain says this enables it to ensure companies of all sizes benefit from holding sufficient stock to meet current demand, facilitating efficient production, eliminating waste and keeping overheads low.

“We review our customers’ stock levels in real time and send them just what they need, on a weekly basis if necessary,” said Davis. “This enables them to meet just-in-time production schedules and can often be the difference between securing or losing an order.”

Quality… not quantity

Another benefit of shorter runs and local production is increased quality and quicker reactions if they require a customisation. “If there’s a problem with the component or consumer trends dictate a change, our customers can call us, or even visit us at our factory, talking to us in the same language, in the same time zone. Our in-house workshop engineers can amend the component and run off a new batch, dispatching it to the customer within 24-hours. Waste is kept to a minimum and production schedules aren’t affected. This wouldn’t be the case if they were manufacturing in China, where lead times of months, communication difficulties and huge minimum orders are the norm.”

Broanmain’s involvement from the start of the toolmaking design process pays dividends further down the line, too. “Toolmakers aren’t moulders so will often make a tool without understanding the moulding parameters,” explained Davis. “We consider what the final component will look like, the materials it will be made from, and even the machines it will be made on. For example, different materials have different shrinkages. We ensure this is factored into the original calculations to ensure high quality of the finished component.”

Facing the future

With Brexit looming large, keeping production on home ground is more important than ever.“Without the help of our Chinese toolmaking partners, many of these UK projects would have been dead in the water, or the whole manufacturing process (not just the tool) would have been sent to China,”continued Davis. “Instead, we’ve created ongoing manufacturing work here in the UK.”

Once the master tool is made, clients can expect it to enjoy a long and successful service life. Broanmain stores and services tools to ensure they’re kept in good working order. As a result, each tool should run at least half a million components, although figures upwards of four million are not uncommon. This not only ensures continued manufacturing on home ground for the foreseeable future, but also ongoing savings for the customer. “Just think of the transport, export and storage costs saved by not having to import that number from China,” Davis concluded.