INDUSTRY NEWS


KNIPEX launches 250k Instagram Challenge, Go For Gold!


TO celebrate reaching 250,000 followers on the @knipex_official Instagram account, KNIPEX is giving away 250 limited edition and numbered golden Mini KNIPEX Cobra® water pump pliers, packed in an exclusive collectors' box.


All you have to do to enter is send the best picture or video of you and your favourite KNIPEX pliers to the company’s Instagram feed. Your entry can be funny, passionate, artistic – whatever you like.


Upload your picture or video to https://bit.ly/ knipex250k and let the KNIPEX community vote on it. With 20 likes you get to the final


round, where a KNIPEX jury will choose the winners.


“KNIPEX wants to celebrate this landmark worldwide: We are really proud – and would like to thank everyone who is part of the large KNIPEX community!” explained David Barnes, UK Marketing Manager.


Conditions of participation can be found HERE.


Closing date: 17/08/2020 www.knipex.com


Makita steps up to support Ventilator Challenge UK


IN times of crisis, it’s important for businesses to rally together to find new, collaborative solutions. To this end, leading manufacturer of power tools, Makita UK and valued distributor Terrier Tools, recently assisted specialist contract electronics manufacturer, Surface Technology International Ltd (STI), in its contribution to VentilatorChallengeUK - a consortium of companies rapidly producing ventilators in the fight against COVID-19.


Makita UK has helped specialist contract electronics manufacturer, STI, take part in the UK Government’s Ventilator Challenge UK. STI joined a number of leading technology and engineering firms to help produce 11,000+ ventilator units as quickly as possible, to help the NHS cope with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.


To meet this demand, STI looked to use its existing tooling options for manufacturing ventilators. However, the manual torque wrenches and screwdrivers were not suitable for the task in hand and in turn, the company’s ventilator build process was not fully optimised. With an urgent need to speed up production, STI contacted its local tool supplier Terrier Tools for advice on more suitable tool solutions to help stream-line and speed up the process. Steven Hughes of Terrier Tools immediately recommended Makita’s highly engineered range of specialist production tools, which outperform traditional construction tools


for mass production assembly applications, enabling faster production and greater torque accuracy.


With this critical task at hand, technical specialists from Makita UK liaised with Terrier Tools to identify which specialist tools would best meet STI’s specific project applications. So far, STI has received 21 specialist production tools, which have helped the company to deliver ventilators in a more efficient manner. This has included a selection of programmable speed control screwdrivers, both pistol-grip and angle, which were used to assemble components to a specific torque. Additionally, the company has received a number of standard drill drivers to help secure non-specific fasteners. To run these specialist tools as efficiently as possible, STI purchased 36 of Makita’s innovative LXT battery units and


15 charging units. As a result, STI was able to speed up production and ensure its important work could continue around the clock so that the ventilators could be delivered on schedule.


Speaking on Makita’s assistance, as well as his company’s role in the VentilatorChallengeUK, Jon Ashford, Project Engineering Manager at STI commented: “Using Makita’s range has really helped us to increase our production efficiency, as well as allowing us to remove additional inspection steps for torque checking. Initially, we attempted this project using manual torque drivers, but this soon led to a bottleneck in the production process. The Makita tools provide the user with a visual and audible aid to ensure the correct torque has been applied to each individual fixing. As such, adopting the solutions have helped to make a big difference”.


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