52
INSIGHT
Dragons for quality
Travel 400 kilometres due west of London and you’ll
fi nd the BAS Components factory and head offi ce in
Pembroke. It’s a long drive, particularly in the torrential
rain that, although we have our doubts, allegedly
does not prevail every day at this very tip of South
West Wales. Worth it, though, to see a fastener plant
committed to lean manufacturing and assured quality.
BAS Components, as managing director, Lee Timbrell, puts it, Pembroke plant. In 2005 BAS Components carried out a strategic
“has been around for 60 years in several guises and locations.” business review and determined to replace inhouse manufacture
The Pembroke facility owes its location to Government incentives of standard fasteners with sourcing from selected manufacturing
in the 1970s encouraging manufacturing employment in the area. partners in Taiwan, in order that Pembroke could concentrate on
Today, BAS Components is part of the TT Electronics Group, a 600 manufacturing in die technologies and specialised cold forged parts.
million euro United Kingdom PLC, employing around 8,000 people The company now sources a wide range of weld nuts, blind rivet
across several continents. In addition to the Pembroke head offi ce nuts and studs, tamper resistant screws, ball studs and a host of
and factory, BAS Components has a technology centre in Sevenoaks, male and female specials.
Kent, sales offi ce in Germany and employed representation in As markets have convulsed over
Spain. It also has a subsidiary in Youngstown, Ohio the last 18 months, it proved a
providing technical, sales and logistical prescient decision. “We have been
support to the North American able to improve the profi tability
market. With around 9 million euro of the business, deliver economies
sales BAS Components employs 51 to our customers and focus our
people, the majority directly involved design, engineering and manufacturing
in production, quality and technical sales. The company holds resource on value added activity,” explains Lee Timbrell. “I am
accreditation to ISO 9001, ISO EN TS16949 and ISO 14001. particularly pleased with how 2009 developed. To come through it in
BAS Components provides automated fastening solutions the shape we have is credit to everyone in the business and to the
worldwide, with an extensive customer list that numbers most of confi dence our parent company invested in us.”
the world’s leading automotive manufacturers and tier suppliers. The company has also clearly demonstrated that even in tough
BAS feed systems are installed in plants throughout Europe and times opportunities are there to be grasped. “We pursued three
North America. “While our business remains strongly focused on the major projects last year, two of them automotive, and landed all
automotive sector,” says Lee Timbrell, “our design, engineering and of them,” says Lee Timbrell. As a result he projects Pembroke
production capabilities mean our technologies are more than able to will increase its manufactured output by some 27% in 2010.
fulfi l the needs of many other sectors The distributed products business is also growing and a recent
requiring high strength captive restructuring has seen the recruitment of Peter Evans as dedicated
fasteners and high quality cold production manager to allow operations manager Chris Wilson to
formed components.” focus more strongly on the procurement operation.
Leading BAS The captive nut production at Pembroke is cell-based. Each ‘U’
Components’ range of in- shaped manufacturing cell consists of a fully automated transfer
die nuts and studs is the system incorporating an in-line wire drawer, 5-station cold former
well- established Flangeform
®
product. “Excellent for thinner and with in-tool process monitoring, integrated with an automated
more ductile materials,” says Lee Timbrell, “Flangeform
®
tends to be conveyor feed system to transfer the product from the cold forming
signifi cantly lighter than competitors’ products and is particularly cost machines into the in–line tapping stations, supported
effective for the customer.” by sensors and poke–yoke prevention systems,
Last year BAS Components launched Gripform
®
, developed using through to the centrifugal spin cycle and fi nal
Flangeform
®
technology, to extend its in-die offer to a wider range collection bin. As a result a single operator
of material gauges as well as higher strength materials. Gripform
®
is able to control two cells, using
has the same well-defi ned rib formation as Flangeform
®
providing a networked statistical process
excellent torsional resistance but can be inserted in materials, control system to record regular
including aluminium and plastic as well as steel, with thicknesses dimensional checks to ensure
ranging from 1.2mm to 6mm. “Gripform
®
is going very well indeed,” quality compliance. Stud
says Lee Timbrell. production is carried out in a
Both Flangeform
®
and Gripform
®
are manufactured at the separate cell comprising three
Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 61 January 2010
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