DEWALT’S Positive Commitment To UK
Manufacturing
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Two new assembly lines in South Yorkshire producing outstanding results
New DEWALT drill now produced every 62 seconds
Demonstration of workforce skills, dedication and teamwork
Potential for further investment into DEWALT’s UK production facilities
At a time when many want to see the
UK’s strong manufacturing heritage
revitalised, DEWALT is investing
in plant and people at its Hellaby
manufacturing and assembly plant in
South Yorkshire. The pride behind made in
the UK
As part of its ongoing ‘Make Where
We Sell’ campaign, DEWALT has
selected the location as the lead global
production and assembly plant for two
key global products. Prior to the new lines
starting production, existing
staff from the site were
chosen to travel to the
Czech Republic to be trained
on the new assembly lines.
It has resulted in significant investment
into both the plant’s facilities, as well
as the creation of enhanced career
opportunities for the local community
in and around Rotherham.
Following a major overhaul of the
plant’s assembly layout, the two new
assembly lines were created in 2017, and
thanks to the dedication and expertise
of the workers, within six months each
line is already producing outstanding
results.
As well as facilities,
DEWALT has also invested
in the staff at Hellaby.
They were then charged
with training fellow workers
and overseeing the line’s
performance once they were
up and running.
Chief among the trainers was Leslie
Wood, who says: “I have helped to train
everyone on the new line and my main
objective is to ensure that all staff fully
understand that quality is everything.”
A DEWALT combi drill is now assembled
every 62 seconds at Hellaby, while
results for the impact driver are even
better, as a new one is created every 45
seconds. John Steel, Plant Manager at DEWALT’S
Hellaby site, comments: “DEWALT’S
UK investment into the two new
strategically important assembly lines is
testimony to the skills and dedication of
our workforce.
With over 140 parts used for the
assembly process across the two
products, it is a major feat of planning,
logistics and teamwork. Every staff member takes great pride in
creating DEWALT products which go on
to represent the UK in markets across
the globe.
Extensive testing, including a 15-step
application based reliability (ABR)
process through the assembly, supports
the quality-driven approach witnessed
across the whole plant. It ensures
that every DEWALT product leaving
the factory has passed a number of
strict performance tests to meet the
Guaranteed Tough status. “The fact that existing staff were given
the opportunity to undergo extensive
training abroad and then bring back
their newly acquired knowledge to
share with their co-workers, means our
staff take real ownership of their roles
and responsibilities. On a daily basis,
they demonstrate great pride in the
work they carry out.
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This certainly helps to maintain the
high standards we are seeking.
“Our teams employ a variety of skills
such as precision assembly, electronics
assembly, software upload and testing,
as well as quality control – all of which
go into creating the quality products for
which DEWALT is famous.
“The success of what we have achieved
so far could well help to bring other
DEWALT products to the UK for
assembly, which would be great news
and open up even more employment
opportunities and further expand the
site here at Hellaby.”