Auger Torque celebrate 10-year anniversary of manufacturing facility in China
In 2009, Auger Torque were in an enviable position; enjoying significant global growth and increasing demand for product. The challenge was fulfilling this level of growth and ensuring the highest quality products at the best price possible. The solution? A purpose-built manufacturing facility in China.
The location chosen was Ningbo, due to its proximity to the Ningbo port, one of the busiest ports in the world giving ease of distribution to the global marketplace. Within five years the original factory was proving too small and Auger Torque relocated to new 98,000 square foot premises, over this time the number of employees grew from 18 to the 80 that it is today.
The team work to the highest standards of quality initiatives, adopting lean manufacturing and 5S principles. The facility has been vital to Auger Torque’s ongoing growth and success, providing higher production capability and efficiency at lower manufacturing costs, giving the ability to respond to market demands with new product ranges quickly, timely and efficiently.
“The most important aspect for our customers is that the product is of the quality and standard that they expect and need” Says Matt Hencher, Global Production Manager “All gear steel is sourced in Europe and dispatched to the China facility, it’s a critical component and we will only use the best grade. All other components are sourced from heavily vetted suppliers, and strategically chosen for the quality. All R & D. testing, prototype builds, and FAT is undertaken within the global team based in Europe, USA and Australia, prior to the Chinese engineering team being educated on design and product build.”
In 2009, 60 containers left in the first year, today, on average, 25 containers leave China each month and go to destinations on every continent. Alistair Brydon, Group Managing Director says “The manufacturing site in China demonstrates our commitment to supporting our customers and our marketplace. Giving us the ability and flexibility to bring new products to market, meeting the demands of our end users.”
He goes on to say “this celebration is a credit to our employees, whose dedication and commitment to excellence are key to our competitiveness. We will continue to invest in our manufacturing capability across the world, to ensure that we are a competitive industry leader that best serves our customers. Over recent years, we have improved the facility’s manufacturing capabilities and upgraded our equipment and product portfolio. Our employees are of paramount importance, we have a very skilled workforce in China, manufacturing highly engineered products that can be found on every continent. we have continued to evolve, embracing changes in technology to stay competitive, improve our processes and remain customer centric.”
This video, gives a clear insight into the professionalism of the site: