ENCLOSURES & ENCLOSURE FURNITURE SUPPLEMENT “Hitaltech helped make us more efficient,” says ETC
How a chance meeting helped ETC reduce hassle, labour and storage, save thousands of pounds in manufacturing costs – and respond to a pandemic
I
n 2016, Julian Newton-Turner, manufacturing & supply chain manager with Energy Technology
and Control (ETC) met Hitaltech, the connecting and enclosing technology specialists, at the Southern Manufacturing Show. Newton-Turner was looking for fresh options for the company’s pad printed connectors which form part of the burner safety controls for high pressure steam boilers in breweries, hotels, hospitals, petrochemical sites, power stations, etc. “We were buying in connectors, sorting them
out and then sending them out again, 1000 a time per different type, to a local pad print company to print them,” he said. They were then held in stock - but with minimum orders of 5000 pieces, this was a lot of stock to be carrying. ETC’s CE and UL approved controls required
similarly approved connectors to safely regulate temperature, pressure, water levels and the firing up process of industrial burners. “When I met with Hitaltech they told me ‘we
have approved connectors AND we can pad print’, Newton-Turner added. “They keep them all in stock, and I know they can restock us quickly, which makes us more responsive.”
Newton-Turner estimates the switch saved ETC
£8-10K per year in pad printing alone. “Our contract partnership with Hitaltech fits the way we work, and enables us to run lean, meet our supply chain commitments and avoid the hassle and inefficiency of carrying large stocks. When the connectors arrive, we just use them,” he said.
MANAGING THE PRESSURE OF A PANDEMIC That efficiency has proved vital over the past few months, as ETC’s safety controls have seen huge demand during the pandemic. “Our clients are at the forefront of the drive against coronavirus,” confirms Newton-Turner. “Hospitals in particular need high pressure steam for cleaning and autoclaving. So we’ve been very busy.” ETC’s controls are sold to some of the largest
burner makers in the world who in turn sell to major boiler makers. With boilers working round the clock to clean and sterilise medical equipment, ETC has become perhaps the least known essential service in the country.
FROM CONNECTORS TO ENCLOSURES ETC’s relationship with Hitaltech didn’t stop at
pad printed connectors. “We’ve started to use their DIN rail products in connector hubs,” Newton-Turner explains. “This is for the control system for a new smaller boiler, aimed at the light industrial market.” It was a natural step to go back to Hitaltech for
the enclosure for the new control system. The enclosure needed to be customised and printed, and Hitaltech has been heavily involved in the development of the product. The lid will be laser printed with various logos,
bespoke for each client. It will be specially moulded in off white with black lettering, but we might have a bespoke colour - because we can!” Newton-Turner is confident of launch in late Spring 2021.
Hitaltech
https://hitaltech.co.uk
/ DESIGNSOLUTIONS
DESIGN SOLUTIONS: SUPPLEMENT | OCTOBER 2020
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