A major expansion programme at a world-leading induction melting and heating group’s European furnace manufacturing facility has resulted in an approximate thirty per cent capacity increase across all manufacturing departments on the site.
Global yet local has long been the mantra for the Inductotherm Group, with the latest in a series of group company expansions highlighting not just the growth in business but also an ongoing commitment to offer the widest range of induction melting and automatic pouring options to customers in all parts of the world. Inductotherm’s technical expertise and proven track record speaks for itself, however such has been the development of Inductotherm Europe Ltd that it had outgrown its own expansive manufacturing facility at Berry Hill Industrial Estate in Droitwich, UK.
The opportunity to acquire the adjacent manufacturing facility offered an ideal solution to the dilemma and now some 18 months later, Inductotherm Europe Ltd is benefitting from the additional 20,000sq/ft of purpose-built space to accommodate existing and future production demands.
The building process was not without a number of challenges as Inductotherm Europe managing director Jon Stear explains: “Acquiring the site was just the beginning, we then had to build a facility that was fit for our needs.” The needs he refers to include a much higher bay for increased cranage height for the building of larger furnace equipment and induction coils, and the opportunity to gain much improved access to the site for efficient loading and unloading. “There was a great deal of ground clearing and planning permission required to effectively lower the floor to match our existing site and enable us to build a roofline that was in keeping with planning,” Stear says. “However, the outcome is a building that we are proud of as it is light, spacious and pleasurable to be in.”
Understandably, during the design phase a great deal of attention was given to staff wellbeing and the need to build with sustainable heating and lighting options, including the installation of regulated lighting and the addition of a 96-panel photovoltaic system on the new roof providing 40kW of power. In addition, two electric vehicle charging units have been installed.
Future proofing
“Much of the expansion is driven by green technology, for us and our customers,” Stear explains. “We need to be able to build larger furnaces and we are often working on physically larger projects as our customers strive for greener solutions to their melting needs. We too want to operate with increased attention to our environmental responsibilities. The new-look Droitwich site encompasses this.”
The new building is also having a knock-on effect to the existing production facilities, with all departments being re-organised and effectively shuffled around to improve the flow of production and free up space in the existing building. “Every manufacturing department should see an increase in size by about thirty per cent. This new extension improves capability to produce future generations of larger furnaces and power supplies as required,” Stear enthused.
The expansion has also resulted in an overall examination of all departments with upgrading and investments being made in many areas, such as revamping the stores and the integration of carousel storage machines which are next on the agenda.
The expansion in Europe is just part of a wider programme of growth for the Inductotherm Group, which has seen an increase of more than 383,000sq/ft of global manufacturing facilities since 2019, comprising of major expansions at Consarc Engineering Ltd (Scotland), Inductotherm Coatings (Belgium), Inductotherm Taiwan, and Inductotherm India to name just a few.
Maximising melting efficiency
Stear is confident in the developments in all regions. “We had an extremely successful GIFA,” he reports. “There was so much interest and genuine commitment to move forward on projects and new enquiries. Green technology is not just a desire now it is a necessity and there are significant advantages to the latest electrical solutions, thanks to ongoing technological developments. Induction is now a flexible solution to enable foundries to maximise their melting efficiency. Heat recovery is also now a viable option and additional benefit. We are growing with our customers and there is more to come locally and globally from Inductotherm, which will be of benefit to the whole industry.”
Contact: Jon Stear, Inductotherm Europe Ltd, Tel: +44 (0) 1905 795100, email: [email protected] web: www.inductotherm.co.uk