This new cell enables the ISO: 9001 manufacturer to produce and store annual production quantities for customers that can be called upon with 24 hours' notice. On average subcontract companies work on a 4-6 week lead-time, so the ability for Sub-CNC to offer this service will clearly appeal to volume manufacturers.
Commenting upon the offering, Sub-CNC managing director Yian Stavrou says: "Our success has been built upon paying careful attention to what the marketplace wants. Our customers wanted high volume production whereby annual order coverage is placed and components are produced in one manufacturing batch for the end user to call in from stock. Finished components are held on the shelf in the bonded stores and delivered over a 12-month period on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, to the customer’s desired schedule. The service has proven extremely successful since its launch in 2015 and it is little surprise when customers have a supplier like Sub-CNC that can deliver straight to their production or assembly lines with minimum notice."
The cell has four Citizen sliding head turning centres operating round the clock, manufacturing batch runs from 1,000 to 100,000+ off. The cell gives Sub-CNC a cost reduction from reducing set-up times and procedures; customers not only benefit from a drastically reduced lead time but also the cost benefits of purchasing on a larger economy of scale.
To support this extremely productive configuration, Sub-CNC has increased its floor area by 25% to provide stockholding. PSL Datatrack's MRP software that co-ordinates workflow, stock management and delivery throughout Sub-CNC’s general machine shop, Call-Off cell and the designated stock-holding.
However, the production cell is only one element of the Sub-CNC business. The remaining capacity of its fixed and sliding head turning centres that have a capability from 2 to 42 mm diameter is dedicated to spot orders. This division of the business welcomes any batch size and is dedicated to varying demands of the medical, defence, telecoms, electronic and motorsport sectors that Sub-CNC serves. To ensure the company can cater for the diverse demands of these sectors, Sub-CNC has invested in two new sliding head turning centres in the last 18 months. Like its other machine tools, the new additions are fitted with a host of set-up configurations as well as CCTV and alarm alerts to ensure that 24/7 production is always maintained.
