MANUFACTURING
Combilift has a free logistic and warehouse design service, offering
material flow analysis and 3-D animations.
Every machine has a detailed customisation list that is
continuously checked as the machine goes down the
assembly line.
18
JUNE 2018
that they do not use low-value
components, with some suppliers
having lead times up to 26 weeks.
While some components may be
cheaper and delivery time quicker,
the Irish manufacturer refuses to
compromise on quality. “If we’re
going to end up having to fix, this
will not get us the next order from
the customer,” he stresses.
As well as conducting in-house
tests, every three months panels
are sent away to an independent
laboratory in Dublin where they
are tested for salt spray, cyclic
corrosion — a way of accelerating
real-world corrosion failures, under
laboratory-controlled conditions —
and UV sensitivity.
The new 40-hectare site
houses a dedicated Research &
Development and Testing Centre as
well as extensive administrative and
visitor facilities. In addition, Combilift
offers a free logistic and warehouse
design service, in which engineers
design, plan, and produce solutions
in partnership with customers, by
offering material flow analysis and
3-D animations. “We work with
customers to produce warehouse
designs to visualise the capacity
potential as well as the optimum
flow of materials on their site,”
says McVicar.
Looking ahead
Moffat explains what will happen
to the old premises: “At the
moment, the old factory is no
longer running, but we do not
plan to sell it as we may use
it to refurbish second-hand
machines and for access storage
as, at any large manufacturing
plant, it’s always ‘just in time’
manufacturing. We have
thousands of engines and motors
and pumps that we will never have
enough room for. We used to rent
warehouses, so the old factory will
be handy for storage.”