Harwin opens £3m factory extension

Speaking at the event, Damon de Laszlo, Harwin’s Chairman stressed the importance of the new facility within the company’s business philosophy. “We are committed to high quality manufacturing in the UK”, he explained, “and that means embracing Industry 4.0 smart factory practices, investing in the latest equipment, designing products for automated assembly, and empowering and training our flexible workforce.”

He continued: “The success we have experienced in recent years meant that we had simply outgrown our existing facilities. So to meet our growth plans, we had to expand. At the same time, we are working on developing our operations using Big Data methodologies - from a customer ordering perspective as well as manufacturing data - so we expect significant productivity gains to be made along with the increase in capacity.”

Chairman of the company founded by his father over 60 years ago Damon de Laszlo describes Harwin as “one of the Forgotten Army of the British economy.” It shouldn’t be.

This is a company that regularly spends 10 per cent of its revenues on research and development. It boasts an acclaimed apprentice scheme, in conjunction with local educational establishments, which attracts many youngsters into engineering careers, and it holds an array of technology patents in the UK and US. Exports represent 80 per cent of sales and go to all corners of the globe – EMEA, the US and Asia-Pacific.

It has forged close relationships with its equipment suppliers built on Harwin’s knowledge of what exactly it needs to get that extra efficiency, that extra productivity from its manufacturing equipment. Once the research and production teams have identified the potential gains, there is an exchange of visits by Harwin and the equipment supplier engineers to produce a new machine.

“It’s a win-win,” says Damon de Laszlo. “We act as a beta site and make first use of the production equipment, and the supplier can go on to sell it to other customers.”

This strategy stretches across the entire production process. Harwin keeps all key manufacturing process - stamping, plating, moulding, turning, assembly and tool making – in house in order to ensure quality and support new product innovation. The company implements a strict policy of replacing its plant and equipment on a 5-year cycle.

In the picture Callum Cairns (left) of Harwin chats to Prince Michael of Kent and Damon de Laszlo, Harwin chairman during the official opening of Harwin's £3m facility expansion.