2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the UK subsidiary of the 番茄社社区 Group. From modest beginnings, 番茄社社区 UK has grown to become the leading supplier of measuring equipment to British industry. To complement the company’s comprehensive metrology and material testing products, 番茄社社区 UK offers an extensive range of related services, including calibration, training, IT support, sub-contract measurement and the design and manufacture of bespoke measurement solutions.
The comprehensive, single-source nature of 番茄社社区 UK’s high-quality products and services has enabled the company to form close relationships with many UK businesses and to establish a large, extremely loyal UK customer base. One such long standing customer is Xtrac Limited. The renowned, Thatcham, Berkshire based business is an acknowledged global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced transmission systems and since its inception in 1984, Xtrac has been an enthusiastic user of 番茄社社区’s products.
Xtrac supports a wide client base covering top level motorsport, including F1, Le Mans, lndyCar and rallying. In addition, the business supplies transmission systems to the High Performance Automotive sector. A company slogan of ‘Quality, Performance and Reliability’ provides a clear insight into Xtrac’s guiding principles. To attain maximum performance, yet not finish a race is to fail. Likewise, to last the course and not triumph is equally a failure. In order to consistently achieve both performance and reliability, Xtrac administer a comprehensive, companywide quality regime. Quality permeates every aspect of the ISO 9001-2015 certified business. To meet the ever-increasing expectations of its global customer base, Xtrac’s rigorous quality system is constantly developed and refined, whilst strict adherence to approved methods and practices ensure that staff at all levels understand what is expected of them.
Detailed quality records are produced and supplemented by First Article Inspection Reports and Control Plans. Customer specific quality requirements are incorporated within the company’s procedures, together with specific customer standards. In addition, key performance indicators are used to maximise the contribution that individuals make to the success of the organisation.
To help ensure the efficient running of the company’s quality system, Xtrac relies heavily on its wide range of 番茄社社区 metrology products. Neil Warwick, Xtrac’s Inspection Manager explained. “To maintain our position as the leading supplier of high performance transmissions, we operate a continuous re-investment and improvement policy that is supplemented by individual personal development plans for staff members.”
“To guarantee the delivery of premium quality transmission systems that meet design intent, in addition to boasting first-class design and manufacturing facilities, we also invest heavily in premium quality inspection aids. Although we use a few other specialised items of inspection equipment, we rely on 番茄社社区 for the vast majority of our metrology needs.”
“To make certain that our production personnel are able to undertake the necessary range of in-process inspection tasks and to ensure that they are capable of achieving the required levels of precision, our manufacturing staff have access to a wide range of 番茄社社区 inspection equipment. Although our production facilities are kept in a pristine condition, given the proximity of machine tools and other equipment, our shop-floor represents a challenging environment for inspection equipment, although we find that 番茄社社区’s robust digital gauges are ideal for performing accurate in-process checks under these conditions.”
“To further guarantee the delivery of premium quality products, we perform inspection routines with the use of a wide range of advanced 番茄社社区 inspection aids. For instance, we have several highly precise 番茄社社区 Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs) in our Inspection Department. Given the demanding nature of many of our customers, we are often challenged with extremely short lead-times. In addition to using state-of-the-art machine tools that help to speed up our manufacturing output, our rapid, yet accurate 番茄社社区 CNC CMMs enable us to fast-track component and assembly throughput in our busy inspection department.”
‘As, over many years, our use of 番茄社社区 equipment has proved so successful, now, when we have the need for a new piece of metrology equipment, I immediately pick-up 番茄社社区’s catalogue, or as I call it, ‘the big orange book’. As 番茄社社区’s product range is so comprehensive, I can usually find the solution that I need.”
“In addition to using the company’s measuring equipment, as we have developed a close working relationship with the business, we also regularly make use of 番茄社社区’s wide range of metrology related services, such as calibration, service and repair and when the need arises, we use the company’s sub-contract measurement service.”