Europe's leading storage equipment manufacturers is making significant changes to its production processes as it introduces a new, modular range of workplace products.
The manufacture of bott's new Cubio range involves a programme of staff training, machine reprogramming, equipment changes and factory reorganisation.
The changeover to Cubio will involve almost 200 staff at bott UK's headquarters in Bude, North Cornwall.
The move to the new range will run alongside the production of bott's existing range of shelving, cabinets and drawer units in the company's 8000 sq. m Bude production facility.
bott's Production Director, Jimmy Finn, commented: "We've always made incremental improvements to our products but the introduction of the Cubio range marks a complete change in the way we assemble items. We'll be producing around 30% more individual items using new technologies and lower tolerances. It's a significant challenge but I know when customers use the new products, they'll understand why we're making the effort!"
Recently four members of staff travelled to bott's parent operation in Germany to study how the Cubio products had been introduced there.
They will now act as staff champions in the UK and train their colleagues in the new processes.
One of the key technological changes is the riveting of a large range of standard product sections together creating durable engineered housings and enabling the production of a wider range of storage configurations than ever before.
Cubio has been designed with a modern, contemporary appearance including changes to handles, locks, colours and detailing.
At bott group headquarters near Stuttgart, the product range has been subject to bott's most extensive and rigorous testing programme to date, to ensure its market-leading build quality delivers maximum functionality, durability and reliability.
Customers will also notice a number of improvements to standard specifications. For example, many cupboards will feature scratch-resistant galvanized steel shelves and "Perfo" doors which provide additional hanging space on perforated inserts.
Drawer blocking, a safety feature which ensures only one drawer can be open at any time, is standard across the range, and all Cubio cabinets are offered with optional remote central locking.
The production changes needed for the introduction of the Cubio line have been made possible by a significant investment in new plant over recent months.
This has included a substantial modification to the powder coating line and installation of a Salvagnini P4 sheet metal bending machine.
The Cubio range's modular nature means that the number of configurations has increased massively, offering additional flexibility for customers, with the reassurance that all items will integrate fully with each other.
Jimmy continued: "There's no doubt that the Cubio range is a significant step forward for customers, but it's meant we've had to revisit, improve and fine-tune every aspect of our production. For example, the modified paint line can now cope with items which are 40% bigger, and we've had to clear an additional 250 sq. m for packing because of the variety of the range."
bott recently moved its workplace storage operations onto a single site in Bude, with the addition of 700 sq. m of office space, including a showroom for the new Cubio line.
The company, which has both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accreditation, will also offer bespoke installations and consultancy using its in-house project management expertise and Configura software.
The Cubio range is now available from storage and workshop equipment dealers across Europe.
More information on the new Cubio range is available by calling 01288 357788 or visiting www.bott-group.com.