Product category:
Materials
News Release from: Instarmac Group
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 18 January 2008
Growth means new building for Instarmac
Instarmac Group plc, doubled its manufacturing, research, training, warehousing and administrative capacity when it opened its new custom-designed premises in January this year.
Instarmac's new facilities are located at Birch Coppice Business Park, Dordon, Tamworth, just minutes from junction 10 of the M42 Comprising a massive area of six acres (110,000 square feet) the new site is twice the size of that provided by its previous location
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 28 Apr 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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With more than 80,000 square feet of the new facility dedicated to product manufacturing, this new investment highlights Instarmac's already high level of commitment to providing quality certified products alongside dedicated customer service and proven technical expertise.
The decision to move to the new site afforded Instarmac a 'plain sheet of paper' with which to re-assess every element of its business operations.
An entirely new sales and customer enquiry telephone system will ease call 'traffic' congestion and allow communication with staff based over the entire site, whilst plasma screens will inform of call volumes, thus ensuring ample staffing levels at all times.
To further assist customer management, wireless communication systems are planned for mid 2008 to increase the speed of communications.
Customer feedback will be transmitted directly to the QA teams, via wireless technology, to further improve customer services.
The doubling of Instarmac's manufacturing capacity means the company is now in an excellent position to manage its burgeoning growth.
It has implemented a new cement plant incorporating additional silos, new mixers, new packing equipment, new robotic and revolutionary control software.
A greater number of products will be housed in silos, facilitating raw material cost savings and a new micro additions system has been installed to automatically weigh small amounts of raw materials.
Automatic sampling has been added to the robots to ensure all samples are collected and tested at the correct time.
A new racking system, providing 1,000 extra storage locations and increasing the capacity to a staggering 2,200, has been installed in the warehouse.
The system removes all raw materials, packaging and finished stock from the shop floor and is linked to huge new loading area, with a designated customer collection point.
Environmental matters have not been ignored.
The removal of screws/elevators from manufacturing equipment will reduce clean out times, whilst the employment of gravity silos and the installation of more efficient motors and drives, with all main motors designed to shut down after specified periods of inactivity, will conserve energy.
More than thirty waste streams are being reviewed and a robust on-site recycling programme established, with the key objective being to minimise waste to landfill and ultimately to recycle upward of 60% of all waste.
The warehouse will be served by new environmentally-friendly electric fork-lift trucks and a stand upon electric order picker to eliminate harmful emissions and thus, ensure a healthy working environment for operatives.
An increase in the Instarmac fleet is also planned with 20 tail-Lift vehicles in operation by the middle of 2008.
A 'grey water' policy is also in place where rainwater is recycled for use in vehicle washing and WC flushing.
A fundamental 'seal of approval' has also been highlighted with the Carbon Trust approving both plant and equipment for energy efficiency.
A final founding energy saving step are the solar roofing panels.
The outstanding new state-of-the-art laboratory, equipped with the latest technology for testing, research and development, is linked to a significantly expanded training and material awareness centre, including a custom-designed practical applications area.
The facility will also allow Instarmac to integrate its quality, environmental, health and safety management systems, thus maintaining and developing its ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification, as well as upgrading its OHSAS 18001 in line with the 2007 revision.
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