Brett Martin, the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of plastic building products, has continued its partnership with ENGEL UK, investing in three new ENGEL production cells complete with viper robots, to meet increasing levels of demand.
Agility to support the increasing demands of both new and existing customers has been one of the key drivers in Brett Martin’s recent investment in injection moulding machinery at its site in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Brett Martin is the UK’s largest Independent Manufacturer of Plastic Building Products. Its Plumbing and Drainage division has injection moulding requirements for components and products across Drainage Systems, Plumbing and Rainwater Systems. With demand increasing they have found their existing machines under pressure and pinch points developing with critical products.
An extension to the working period across the week had been considered, but even then, there would not have been sufficient capacity. The prospect of supporting existing machines with more energy-efficient and technologically advanced models gave Brett Martin the opportunity to maintain and in some cases shorten, its lead times. In turn, this will provide confidence to attract new customers.
Brett Martin has worked with ENGEL since 2010. The company currently operates 12 ENGEL injection moulding machines and are adding 3 more ENGEL production cells, which include viper robots. The viper is a high-performance linear robot with an innovative design that offers improved load-carrying capacity and a low deadweight. With newer machines being more energy-efficient, having lower running costs and producing less scrap, Brett Martin is experiencing minimal downtime with the ENGEL machines and are thus increasing efficiency and productivity.
The company say that in addition to the benefits to its lead times, the new machines will provide scope to expand its range and investigate new product lines. In Brett Martin’s experience, ENGEL has great aftersales in place, with a 24-hour helpline and online support.
Commenting on his experience with ENGEL, Noel Gourley, Production Manager at Brett Martin, said: “We worked with Engel and Agentdraw Ltd on the specification and design of a machine to manufacture our new StormCrate55 product which saw an investment of £2m and has been a huge success. We are confident that continuing to work together will secure our future growth and competitive edge in the marketplace. Importantly, our machine operators enjoy working on the Engel machines and like the user interface.”
