Building on Strong Foundations – An update from the MD

Published - 13th Oct 2020

Since his arrival in May 2019, Lachlan Buirds has continued to drive improvements at Haworth Castings, making key new appointments and taking advantage of new technologies in the pursuit of operational excellence and market-leading customer service.

Critical Supply Chain

Haworth Castings has shown a resilience in its ability to operate in spite of COVID-19 and the impact of lockdown. “We have had fantastic support from our staff and suppliers,” says Lachlan. “Thanks to their dedication we have continued to supply existing and new customers, without any need for furlough or government support. Our critical position in the supply chain meant that customers and suppliers were prepared to go out of their way to keep our manufacturing supply on track. I am truly grateful for their loyalty and goodwill, and the hard work of our staff at what has been a very challenging time.”

“We have had fantastic support from our staff and suppliers”.

— Lachlan Buirds

Customer Focus

Lachlan has made it his priority from the outset to understand customers’ evolving needs and ensure that they are at the heart of everything we do. Haworth Castings started as a family business and Lachlan is keen to preserve its strong customer relationships, whilst taking advantage of new technologies to enhance the service we offer. His clear focus is on working with customers to deliver exactly what they want, and ensuring an open flow of communication throughout the manufacturing process.

Key new appointments have been made to secure this customer-focussed drive for excellence. Haworth Castings is pleased to welcome:

• Steve Hicken as Technical Engineer, guiding key technological developments designed to reduce new product development time, improve processes and deliver innovative customer solutions.
• Dorota Zdunek as Planning Manager, responsible for planning and co-ordinating workstreams at both the foundry and machining sites, and ensuring a transparent flow of information to customers.
• Justin Brewer as Quality, Health & Safety Manager, maintaining and developing our Quality Management and EH&S systems to meet and exceed standards across a wide range of market sectors.

Operational Excellence

In addition to new people and technology, Lachlan is leading a programme of improvement across both Haworth Castings’ sites. These include:

• Development of ‘Lean Manufacturing’ principles – a recent improvement project was carried out in our fettling area in Romsey, delivering significant operational and health and safety benefits.
• Upgraded Knock Out area – changes to the way we recycle our sand moulds have led to a 25% increase in efficiency in the knock-out area.
• An additional Ramsell-Naber furnace will be installed early in September, providing additional capacity.
• Efficiency improvements and investments in our systems and processes at our Romsey foundry and Basingstoke machining facility have increased output by over a third.
• Live production monitoring – investment in systems technology will drive improvements in the company’s Material Requirements Planning (MRP), enabling real-time data availability, improved capacity planning and reduced lead times.

Improved 3D Technology

We are investing in innovative 3D measuring systems to deliver quick and highly-efficient test and inspection capability at both the start and finish of the casting process. Taking a physical sample, CAD model or 2D drawing of a component, 3D scanners can visualise and simulate the casting up front without the need to produce tooling or pour metal. Furthermore, using GOM inspection software we will be able to check geometrical accuracy of finished components and provide detailed First Article Inspection (FAI) reports. Finally, used in conjunction with 3D printing, we will have the capability to print prototypes to present to customers, so they can assess the design and implement any necessary modifications in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Comprehensive Quality Management

Haworth Castings supplies a wide range of sectors, each with its own regulatory and quality control standards. Following a thorough review of our Quality Management System the intention is to build in additional controls. “Our aspiration is to be a leader in our sector. We will continue to work with customers to meet and, ideally, exceed their quality requirements, maintaining the highest standards throughout the business.”

A Modern Casting and Machining Centre

Lachlan has achieved a number of significant improvements in his first year as managing director and has ambitious plans to further develop operations. He is a hands-on communicator, fiercely proud of his team and with a strong desire to provide excellent customer service. With the whole team engaged in optimising customer relations, and with technological innovations under way, Haworth Castings is already delivering on Lachlan’s vision to add even greater value for our customers. The future looks bright.

If you would like to find out more about our sand casting capabilities, please email us today at: sales@haworthcastings.co.uk or call +44 (0)1794 512685.