INDUSTRY NEWS
Leading Tube Manufacturer Iracroft Invests £ 1.4 million in new Powder Coating Facility
For 50 years Iracroft Ltd have been forming , bending and fabricating metal pipe and tube products for a diverse range of industry sectors . From construction machinery to vacuum pumps , mining excavators to racing karts , subsea equipment to the leisure industry , their areas of expertise find applications across many different market sectors . Holding supplier approvals BSI ISO 9001:2015 and BS EN ISO 14001:2004 among many others , the company has grown from strength to strength in recent years . The company , bought out many years ago by Tim Bamford , brother of JCB ’ s founder , is now the largest employer in the Dorset market town of Blandford , employing over 250 staff .
The market leading Gema plant forms part of the state-of-the-art facility in Iracroft ’ s new Zenith building , part of a £ 1.4 million total investment .
Matthew Barker , of Iracroft , said ‘ With many customers wanting a finished product , bringing the powder coating process in-house allows us to be more competitive on price and lead times as well as having more control over the process . The new plant allows us to offer a complete solution to our customers , and positions us well for future growth . We looked at a few different suppliers before making our decision and it was clear that the Gema solution was best suited to our requirements . The after sales support they offer with their ServiceNet engineer network gave us peace of mind should we have any issues , being new to powder coating ourselves .’
On the day of opening , Managing Director Darren Colley said ‘ This is a very proud day for our company , owners and our employees . The new investment puts us at the forefront of our sector ’.
Iracroft have invested heavily over the last couple of decades , purchasing a plating facility in 2004 and a stainless steel facility in 2013 , the same year the Sunday Times voted Iracroft one of the Top fastest growing small and medium sized enterprises ( SMEs ), and the new powder coating facility looks set to gear them up for further growth in the future .
The Gema system comprises the market leading MagicCompact fast colour change booth , controlled using the latest Industry 4.0-compatible MagicControl CM4.0 . This smart controller gives users an array of benefits with the new GemaConnect dashboard technology , which is a cloud-based , real-time digital management tool that bundles all information from the coating line and aggregates this data in the next step for the user . The dashboard provides and visualizes consistent information across all your Gema powder coating lines , regardless of location , allowing for complete optimisation of the process remotely and across multiple sites from one computer .
Iracroft also invested in a separate Optiflex Pro manual setup to be used for coating smaller parts / batches separately . This manual gun is the go-to for industry professionals wanting the best when it comes to application efficiency and finish quality , benefitting from many innovative features unique to Gema .
To find out more about how Gema can assist with your powdercoating requirements , from simple manual coating to fully automated production lines , contact our friendly team on 01202 763942 .
22 APRIL 2022 read online : www . surfaceworld . com