7th April 2008

Hepworth moves on up!

B Hepworth & Co relocated to new, larger premises on 14th March 2008. Still based in Redditch, the move began with the offices and administrative staff, followed by the Assembly Departments on 17th March. The specialist machinery and heavy plant will complete their move by the end April.

The new premises give a much better working environment for all the staff, from the large, airier offices to the huge open plan warehouse, housing all the production facilities from welding and powder coating, to inspection and despatch. Lines of communication between all departments are better and the move will ensure increased productivity and the more efficient streamlining of orders from receipt to delivery.

A new Robot Welder was installed and welding bays were built on 24th March. Trained personnel who do not necessarily need to be experienced classified welders can operate the new machine. The Welder doubles productivity, accuracy is increased and a consistent quality of weld is maintained, which is capable of meeting both national and international welding standards, dependant upon customer requirements.

A Powder Coating Facility is being installed in May, becoming operational in early June. Again, this increases work capacity both in volume and size, shortening delivery times and further improving the quality of the coating applied.

The potential capacity of the laser cutter has doubled due to the larger premises giving this particular area of operation more space. This enables larger plates to be loaded, allowing for longer uninterrupted running times.

Hepworth has seen a continually growing demand for its products and a steady increase in its volume of business. The original premises had become a significant bottleneck, with the unfortunate result that lead times were being unavoidably extended. There is never a good time to move a manufacturing facility and, in the very short term, this has not helped the existing delays. However over the next few months, with the new layout, larger working areas and improved processes and product flows, we expect there to be a big increase in output levels to match the increased order book. We will also have the facility to increase capacity further as we continue to win more business in the market place, especially from our competitors!

The new address is:

2-4 Merse Road, North Moons Moat, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 9HL.

Telephone and fax numbers will remain unchanged.

1st LRQA approved UK company to achieve the coveted IRIS accreditation!

Hepworth Rail International, based in the West Midlands, became the first LRQA approved UK company to achieve the coveted International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) accreditation. IRIS has been modelled on similar quality standards that are already in place in the aerospace and automotive industries, and complements the internationally recognised ISO 9001 quality standard.

The West Midlands based company is now in the enviable position of being a first tier supplier to the industry’s main players, such as Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom.

Mr Jonathan Eddy, CEO, proudly commented “the successful implementation of IRIS has created a win-win situation for both Hepworth Rail and our customers. It supports our commitment to provide an ever more proactive supply chain process, which achieves continuous improvements in our Quality, Customer Service and Project Management Systems, in line with both Hepworth’s and our customer’s demanding procurement strategies.”

From Left to Right: Adam Burrows (Rail Project Engineer), Jonathan Eddy (CEO), Linda Bates (Rail Project Quality Manager), Alastair Timmis (Rail Account Manager), Mark Jones (Rail Account Executive)

Hepworth and Wynn - 3 years on

Following B Hepworth & Co Ltd’s acquisition of Wynn, a settling down period followed by change and reorganisation was inevitable, in the interest of both companies futures.

The strongest positives that have benefited both companies have been centred on the strong product brands, reputation, and the worldwide network of Distributors and Agents, who now have access to both Hepworth and Wynn Wiper Systems and Controls.

Streamlining of products and production
A major rationalisation of the competing products was undertaken: Wynn Straightline took precedence over the Hepworth Seawiper and, conversely, the Hepworth Pantograph range took precedence over the Wynn copied version.

The recent introduction of the now completed 6000 Wiper Control System will give major benefits for the group but, more importantly, to the installation engineers of our systems, with greater flexibility in operation and on site programming, as well as very simple exchange of modules, making both refit and servicing very simple.

Further rationalisations are currently being incorporated. This includes the production of the Wynn 1801 Externally Mounted Pantograph and the range of pantograph wiper arms that are now to be made by Hepworth, but with ongoing support to customers whom Wynn have supplied for the last 10 years.

Major changes have been introduced to the Wynn Straightline range, all of which will significantly improve the production time. This has been achieved by investing in new casting and extrusion tools from UK suppliers (not from the Far East!), so that the C and D models now share common parts.

Centralisation
Changes in the working practices through assembly cells, changes in personnel and the installation of the Hepworth Computer Production Control system in December 2006 now gives us a high degree of visibility in the whole production process.

In September 2006 Wynn was completely transferred onto the Hepworth computer systems, an investment of £80,000, so that there is now full access to the 2 companies from either site and also from any part of the world, through remote internet facilities.

In January 2007 we centralised the Sales Departments to Hepworth enabling us to focus on a common sales policy and further improve response times for quotations and sales acknowledgements.

Looking ahead
The introduction of the IRIS Quality Control system, initially being driven by our Rail customers, is a major step forward from the existing Quality Standards already held. We expect to achieve this by September 2007 and we may well be the first UK manufacture in Rail market supply to do so. Obviously this will also bring significant benefits for our Marine and Commercial customers.

New plant investment is currently being considered for Hepworth, ranging from automatic stacking machinery for the laser plant, a cad operated bending machine and another cad miller.

Key goals for the next 12 months are:

• Improving on both delivery and customer response times
• Ensuring that all orders are fulfilled correctly first time around
• Tightening up management of our supply chains, resolving poor supplier performance
• Putting steps in place to iron out the few installation issues we are still experiencing.

Our Year End to March 2007 has produced very satisfactory results and the current year looks promising. The very difficult issues that we faced in the first couple of years have been overcome, thanks to our very committed and professional management team who have successfully delivered good results and, as a company we are looking forward to the next stage of our development.

Sales News

In order to continue to offer the best possible service, we have decided to move the Wynn sales department to Redditch, merging with the B Hepworth sales department.

Bert Thijssen (Marketing Director) and Andrew Pedlingham (Sales Director) are responsible for the active side of sales and will deal with queries, with Andrew focusing on yachting and special vehicles, and Bert more involved with the commercial shipping side of the business.

James Sprosen (Sales Administrator) is responsible for quotes and will be working closely with the engineering department for technical support. Denise Timmis (Sales Office Manager) and Paula Felce (Sales Assistant) will be looking after the admin and orders side whilst Lyn Smith (Sales Co-ordinator) is still based in Cheltenham and is responsible for claims and chasing orders.

The After Sales Team for all your technical support is Phil Gardiner (Design Director), Moiz Poonawala (Electrical Design Engineer) who are based in Redditch, and Carl Puckett (Electrical Technical Support) who is still be based in Cheltenham.

For contact details click here

Hepworth / Wynn 6000 Series Controllers

The 6000 Series of Wiper Controllers was introduced in 2004, however as part of Hepworth’s continual R&D policy, further enhancements and improvements have made, together with additional features which now include:

• Different types of wipers with variations in voltage controlled by one system
• Modules have more outputs for greater operational flexibility
• Synchronisation of low voltage wipers (pantograph / pendulum) in low and high speed
• More than one keypanel can be integrated into any operational system.

Hepworth carried out testing with the systems supplied two years ago to the following countries:

• Denmark: 29 wipers controlled by one system with heat, wash, and purge.
• Norway: Two straight line wipers 230v AC 3 phase, four 50Nm wipers 24v DC with heat, wash and purge. Controlled by one master and one slave keypad and two remote control switches.
• UK: Two systems with 50Nm wipers including wash, purge and synchronisation in low and high speed.

Hepworth would like to thank Servi Motion, Norway and Gertsen & Olufsen, Denmark for their support, ensuring that the 6000 Series meets the requirements and high standards needed by today’s shipping.

Wynn Marine Modify Wiper Motor Housings

Wynn Marine has modified and launched its popular D Mk 4 Window Wiper Motor Housing ahead of schedule,
now renamed D Mk 5.

The following changes have been made:

• There has been a reduction in the number of parts and sources of supply required; the Mk 5 casting will now be fully produced in the UK, streamlining logistics and reducing lead times.

• The internal size of the housing is slightly bigger, giving a larger air gap. The number of lid bolts has been reduced and the drive pulley assembly is now integral to the casting. The cable glands are mounted in the bottom lid, making it more accessible if maintenance is needed.

• The new housing is exchangeable with all existing systems (Mk 2, Mk 3 and Mk 4). The IP rating is IP68.

The changes implemented do not have any effect on the existing approvals (DNV, Lloyds, etc) as all other components and parts are identical.

Wynn was planning to introduce this at SMM 2006 in Hamburg and start supplying the new systems in January 2007. However increasing sales quantities of the Mk 4 in the last 12 months put pressure on the development schedule of the Mk 5 and so Wynn started supplying the new motor housings from July 2006!



Faster turnaround for Hepworth Marine orders

For a number of years Hepworth Marine has been supplying key overseas Distributors with the KD stock system (Knock Down). Hepworth Marine has produced a standard range of components, subassemblies and assembly tools, allowing their Distributors to set up an assembly area within their premises, giving them the capability of assembling 80% of the Hepworth Marine Pantograph range.

The major impact is that the time to market for Hepworth products is greatly reduced and can be the same day or next day delivery, direct from their Distributors. Orders are accepted from other countries where demand is a major issue; the key objective is to meet a customers needs.

The system covers models 20Nm, 30Nm, 50Nm, and 80Nm, all of which are available in 12v and 24v, together with a range of assembled Pantograph wiper arms covering sizes from 12” to 39” (310mm to 1000mm). The new 70Nm can now also be supplied as part of the KD system, the major benefit being voltages of 115v and 220v for the larger shipping market are used with the robust Hepworth wiper linkages and arms and blades. Hepworth backs the normal warranty offered for these systems.

The following Distributors are part of this scheme.

Obsermet - Holland
Noah - Singapore
North West Marine - Canada
Elna - Germany
Window Wiper Technologies - USA
Servi - Norway (from Autumn 2006)



Hepworth Introduce High Voltage Wiper Systems

Hepworth Marine International has introduced a new high voltage Pantograph wiper system.

Specifically designed for 110v / 220v operation, the 70Nm and 100Nm window wiper systems are suitable for both the super Yacht and the Heavy Shipping markets.

A direct replacement for the Wynn Sea Serpent (1762), it can be supplied as a variable arc system and is a valuable addition to the Hepworth Pantograph range of wiper systems.