Surface World March 2019 SW_March_2019_LR | Page 76

PRODUCTS & PROCESSES Gema UK were the fi rst port of call when the time came for improvements Gresham Offi ce Furniture Ltd is one of the UK’s largest independent designers and manufacturers of workspace furniture. Operating from a 200,000 sq. ft. custom-built, state-of- the-art production facility in Greater Manchester, Gresham has the capacity to manufacture over 9000 units of furniture per week. Gresham have been a long standing Gema customer so when the time came to start looking at plant improvements the Gema UK team were the first port of call. The project scope included replacing two existing booths with one high efficiency system that could cope with the increased capacity and fast turnaround for regular colour changes as well as fitting with the existing conveyor and oven. Gema’s UK based project and design engineers worked to provide a bespoke system to suit all of Gresham’s requirements. Andrew Smith, Engineering Supervisor, tells us more about the project and the reasons for choosing to work with Gema: “At Gresham continuous improvement is a commitment across the entire business, as the 74 Engineering Supervisor one of my main objectives is to continually look at ways to improve the Engineering Department in order to maintain our high levels of product quality as well as our reputation as a leading furniture supplier. Investment is an ongoing process throughout the factory and the time had come to look at the powder coating plant. The previous Gema powder coating plant had served us very well for the last 12 years, however, the time came to look at ways to improve the efficiency of this department. The powder coating team held a meeting to discuss key areas for improvement. We wanted a booth that could cope with the demands of the company, any new system had to be able to accommodate quick colour changes, improve quality, reduce power consumption and reduce powder usage whilst being easy for the operators to use. We approached Gema with our requirements, who worked with us to design an appropriate system. One of the key drivers was the minimisation of downtime. The Gema team were very professional and the installation was completed on time. The powder booth was installed during the Christmas shutdown and commissioned the first week of January 2019 along with full training and product trials. We were back in full production within a few days of returning after the Christmas break. As a result, we were able to maintain our own high standards for our customers with guaranteed deliveries and quality uncompromised. The powder booth has not only given us what MARCH 2019 we required but more. One of the first things we noticed was it is very user friendly. The product mapping has taken away the operatives need to manually move the guns in and out whilst the CM4.0 control panel set up is easy to understand and use, the data collection features have proved to be very useful. The quick colour change has given us the ability to react to our customer’s needs. The quality of finished goods has improved using less powder than the old booth with a more consistent covering. The booth reclaim system has given us 50% more reclaim of powder and the system has reduced the power consumption by 30% which all go towards our ISO 14001 environmental objectives. In conclusion, Gema delivered our requirements and more with a booth that is efficient, easy to use and better for the environment. We would like to thank all of the Gema UK team for all they have done to make the transition from our old booth to our new quick clean system as easy as possible”. If you would like to know more about what we can offer please get in touch: Gresham Offi ce Furniture 01204 664422 [email protected] www.gof.co.uk Gema UK 01202 763942 [email protected] www.gemapowdercoating.com twitter: @surfaceworldmag