Progressive investment

In 1959, Bob Allsop had a vision to create a high quality, high capacity and highly efficient sheet metal fabrication company geared to the needs of the then booming industries in Yorkshire. With just three other employees, he established Allsops at Holmfirth, W. Yorks, where it remains today.
Now, half a century later, Allsops boasts an annual turnover in excess of £10 million and employs 120 staff. The company has become a respected name in the field of quality sheet metal components and fabrications, supplying a wide range of industries. Much of its success is down to its philosophy of investing in the latest state-of-the-art equipment, computer technology and automation.

Until 1990, the company was a traditional sheet metal sub-contractor using conventional machine tools, marking jobs out on a bench. Recognising the need to become more efficient and more competitive, the company, with reported trepidation, installed a Pullmax 6C CNC punching machine. This bold investment revolutionised the punching process, in terms of speed, accuracy, control and programming, while the increase in sheet size that could be processed greatly improved flexibility, throughput and machine utilisation. In addition, the machine also contributed to a reduction in material costs.

Paul Goodwin became managing director in 1993, and he explains this machine's significance: "The Pullmax 6C opened our eyes as to how CNC equipment could enhance the business and so we began an on-going programme of investment, which continues even to this day. Soon after the 6C was commissioned we realised we had to invest in CNC bending and chose equipment from Pullmax's range of press brakes. The machines suited our needs and Pullmax [then located in Leeds] was able to provide us with the service and back-up we required. These press brakes allowed us to bend complex components accurately, and crucially, in one handling."

Image: Allsops management team – L to R: Paul Goodwin, managing director; Stephen Fennell (business development director); Stephane Levicolais (technical director); Ian Johnson (finance director).

Allsops' investment programme with Pullmax continued, and in the year Mr Goodwin became managing director the company made its first move into laser cutting with a Bystronic Bystar 3015 laser cutting centre, equipped with 2.8 kW resonator. Over the next few years, Allsops invested in two more Pullmax press brakes and also two Pullmax P126 punching machines. Productivity increased by 30 per cent, thanks to the punching machines' cutting speed and flexibility. In addition, by designing components to suit the parameters of the machine, throughput increased, resulting in a reduction in part production cost. Increased utilisation achieved by using larger sheet sizes reduced machine loading times, so more machine time was spent in cycle. Stock levels were also reduced when sheet sizes were rationalised.

The company reached a point where it was running flat out, 24 hours a day, four days a week, plus a half-day on Friday – the programme of investments paid off with turnover doubling in just two years.

"Considering we have never had our own product, it is amazing that we were able to continually expand, particularly during some of the difficult trading conditions in the 1990s," Mr Goodwin observes. "We put this ability down to our large, diverse customer base. We keep a careful watch on industry and market trends, and seek new areas of business where opportunities are identified. We try always to anticipate change and are prepared to exploit other avenues of business. We manufacture, to order, from customers' own designs, or we can draw up customers' requirements ourselves for many industries, including shopfitting, electrical control cabinets, lighting, metal furniture, food processing equipment etc.
The choice we can offer customers of CNC laser cutting and high speed CNC punching provides them with the most cost-effective choice of flat component production."

Following the installation and success of the P126 punching machines, and the company working almost flat out, Allsops then had a choice – did it bring in another punch or further utilise the existing machines? The company decided to make its first move into automation.

AUTOMATION BENEFITS
"We decided we could get at least another 50 per cent out of each machine by adding an automatic load/unload system to each P126 punching machine. The result of this action was an average 20 sec changeover cycle, as opposed to a minute or two, depending on sheet size and weight. In addition, we only required one man to operate both machines and we were able to go from 24-hour operation to an 18-hour manned day, while at the same time, creating that essential extra capacity."

By 1998, the company was employing 120 people and boasting a turnover of £5.5 million. Around this time, a purpose-built powder coating plant was introduced to further enhance the service it offered. This featured a three-stage pre-treatment cycle (degrease, iron phosphate and dual rinse) and fully conveyorised booth of 3 by 1.25 by 1.5 m, fitted with automatic and manual powder guns with fast colour change capability.

The most significant investment and further step towards automation took place in 1999 when, by this time, Allsops had commissioned nine press brakes. This saw the company installing the UK's first Pullmax Motoman CNC robot. Linked to an existing press brake, it created a unique bending cell of its own, providing improved efficiency on long batch runs, as well as 100 per cent consistency. The robot is capable of handling sheet sizes up to 2 m by 1 m, with a capacity of 30 kg.

"We identified a need to improve the productivity of the press brakes, particularly on repeat jobs where cycle times were in excess of five hours," Mr Goodwin explains. "Another press brake was not the solution, as we would have only gained extra capacity, not the essential productivity.

"We looked at the factors holding back productivity on the longer cycles and decided the only way to speed up the press brakes and improve production levels was to fully automate the process. The robot was the perfect solution. Although for individual components the robot does not seem any faster, I was amazed at the time savings achieved over a complete batch. The robot's cycle is working continuously. The success of the system has been phenomenal, and while we were the first company in the UK to have the courage to go with the system, many other companies have now followed our lead."

At the start of 2000, Allsops invested in its second Bystronic laser cutting system, this time a Bysprint, and towards the end of the year purchased the lastest Pullmax 6000 punching system.

In 2001, the company moved to a new 85,000 ft2 site and at the same time made a substantial investment in an additional powder coating plant, plus a second Bysprint laser cutting systems as well as a Virtek Laser QC quality inspection system. Additional investment in Bystronic laser cutting and bending systems, and Pullmax punching machines took place throughout the years until 2008 when automation really began to play a major part in Allsops' manufacturing process.

Mr Goodwin again: "2008 was a significant year for Allsops, investing in equipment from Bystronic and Pullmax valued at in excess of £1 million. Our intention was to maximise our laser cutting and punching potential to ensure we stayed ahead of our competitors.

"Over the years, laser systems have become equal to and often, in many cases, faster than punching systems, particularly the Bystronic Byspeed laser cutting system. However, for us, the main disadavantage of laser cutting was that in the past the load/unload options available were very expensive and slow or were only semi-automatic and needed supervision at all times."