Coventry Brose UK capped a 12-month period of rapid growth recently when it won the main prize at Cranfield University’s ‘Best Factory Awards’ 2016.
The Coventry-based supplier of seat structures and window regulators beat off some of UK manufacturing’s best known names to secure the ‘Best Overall Factory’ title, sponsored by Toyota Material Handling UK.
Brose impressed the judges with the way it has expanded, invested in skills and secured operational efficiencies following a major layout overhaul.
They also praised the firm for its investment in new technology, with more than €55m spent on increasing capacity, laser welding capabilities and infrastructure to allow for single flow sequencing on some of its lines.
The Award, which was announced at a high profile event in Birmingham, comes just a week after Brose UK revealed turnover for 2016 was £195m, up £43m on the previous year.
“Winning the main Best Overall Factory Award is a major milestone for us on our journey and fantastic motivation for us to continue to improve,” explained Juergen Zahl, Managing Director of Brose UK.
“The quality of competition was unbelievable and the process is extremely demanding, starting with a 23-page questionnaire then an intense one-day audit. This is 50% on the organisation, communication and projects and then the rest on the shop floor looking into processes, material flow and the drive of our operational team.
“In addition to the main title, we were also awarded Best Engineering Plant making it a double celebration.”
Brose UK, which employs more than 900 people across two plants in Coventry, has spent the last ten months completing a number of operational layout changes designed to improve supply to Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota.
The plant’s quality performance has gone up significantly and a fully automated flow line is now in place for rear seats, which involves no manual handling in assembly.
A specially designed rig also provides unique acoustic testing on every front seat to ensure perfection before shipment.
“The Brose Factory at Coventry has been developing its technical capacity and operational performance over the last few years,” explained Professor Marek Szwejczewski, Director of the Best Factory Awards.
“This has helped them secure more business in the competitive automotive sector. This year they have undertaken a successful restructuring of the plant and its production lines, which has resulted in improved material flow, lower stock holding and greater floor space optimisation.”
He went on to add: “Brose’s excellent technical capability, its manufacturing expertise and operational performance has secured it the top accolade of Toyota Material Handling UK Factory of the Year.”