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
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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
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