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Marching Boots On For Machinery Manufacturer
Jade Engineering, which manufactures machinery and machine tools for the UK window and door industry, has purchased a 30,000sq.ft HQ property which...
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Sharp Practice
Adam Jones of window machinery & accompanying tools supplier Jade Engineering says it makes great business sense to get your tools re-sharpened to prolong their life – and quality tools can be re-sharpened up to four times before renewal.
Jones runs the Coventry based business with his partner Sean Mackey. Jones says: “The machine tools that we produce are precision engineered from the finest materials, something for which we have an excellent reputation. But of course, they wear out.
“The fundamental quality of the tolls we supply means their lifespan is potentially far longer than the single cycle for which they will largely have been used.”
Re-sharpening service
Jade has introduced a sharpening service. It means that most of the machine tools produced by the company can now be returned for refurbishment - as many as four times.
Sean Mackey, who is an accountant by training says: “All fabricators have replacement tools as standbys for when the replacement cycle is due. But instead of the old tool being discarded it can be sent back to us and we will sharpen and clean it to be returned to the fabricator. The cost to the customer is about a quarter of the cost of buying a new tool.
“Sharpening a tool will extend its life for a similar life cycle as a brand new one. Most tools can be sharpened three or four times before being scrapped.”
Mackey says the savings can be significant: “A high end frame manufacturer will change tools every eight to 12 weeks. An operation producing around 400 frames per week, will need to change its tools every six months or so. We reckon sharpening can slash the bill for doing so by 75%.”
Amortising costs
Jones adds: “Just like any business, we are continuously looking to improve and evolve. We have a substantial output of brand-new tools continually going through and business is thriving in the current market. But we must also consider that all businesses are being pinched by massive increases in costs, including steel and other commodities. This affects our own products too.
“We have introduced this service to help our customers mitigate the cost of tooling and help them to alleviate their overheads. And of course, sharpening and refurbishing tools is a lot quicker than producing brand new tools.”
Growth
The introduction of the sharpening service is evidence of the changes taking place at Jade Engineering. The sharpening service has been made possible with the acquisition of a new headquarters building that will enable all of the company’s operations to be housed under the one roof and to expand its service and product offer significantly.
The company has invested in a single unit that offers 30,000sq.ft of space located just metres from the company’s current HQ and which will replace two other units that the company currently occupies.
Mackey says: “We can now look at introducing complementary services such as sharpening, in addition to stepping up volumes of our tooling manufacture and increasing our range of Jade standalone machines.
“The new site has extensive yards and loading facilities which allow us to think on far greater scales than previously.”
It is expected that all of Jade Engineering’s operations will be transferred into the new building by the end of 2023.
Picture: Sean Mackey (left) and Adam Jones; and one of Jade’s standalone single task machines.
Article written by John Roper
04th May 2023