Show and tell Metal and Modular is a brand new exhibitor for EHS 2022. See the equipment and meet the team on stand i16, and www.metalandmodular.co.uk for more information.


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“For example, our pipe racks have lockable castors, meaning that pipes can be moved between rooms or floors, safely and with minimal disturbance. More importantly, this also reduces costly downtime.”


From the original pipe rack idea, then, how many core products are there in the Metal and Modular range at the moment?


“We have around 17 core products, some with minor variations, but really we’re an R&D company. We work with lots of other businesses, such as Power Towers/JLG – we design and manufacture safety frame for their machines,” says Michael.


“We’ve also developed a range of safety products, having looked at areas where accidents occur on a site and introducing features to improve them – such as ‘deadman brakes’ on our trolleys, which stops them moving if they ever get away from users,” adds Irene.


Unfortunate nomenclature aside, it’s great to see common sense applied in the name of improving site safety. Thinking specifically about more recent times, then, did the pandemic slow your efforts to develop new products?


“It interrupted us, but it also gave us an opportunity to think about doing things differently,” says Irene. “We began to think about what we were doing to the planet and what we could do to help. As a small company making equipment in sheet metal, our carbon footprint is enormous. So we now source up 80 to 90% of components with UK manufacturers.”


“This also inspired the development of our


‘SureLock Pro’ system,” continues Michael. “A typical vault or cabinet might have five and a half metres of welding on it, but this interlocking mechanism means we’ve been able to reduce welds by 85%. When you consider that we usually sell two thousand or more boxes a year, and the amount of gas and wire involved, it’s a tremendous saving.


“SureLock also means that our products help other companies to reduce their carbon footprints. Another advantage is that every panel can be replaced, which means that products can easily be repaired instead of thrown away. SureLock products are still very strong, and they have achieved the Sold Secure silver award.


“The laser-cut SureLock parts are delivered to us flat-packed so a lorry can carry up to two hundred in a single journey. Customers can also store them flat so it’s much easier!”


And that must minimise the company’s carbon footprint even further. Moving on, and Metal and Modular proudly proclaims its ‘Made in Britain status. In that regard, I wondered if Brexit had limited, or perhaps expanded its horizons?


“We don’t really export. We’ve sold a few things abroad, but nothing major. We’re speaking with an American company about the ‘Navigator’ – a new mechanical access platform we’re developing. They haven’t seen it yet, but they’re super interested as a potential rival to other push-arounds,” says Michael.


“Lee Crosse recently joined us from Power Towers. With his experience in the lifting world, I’m sure he will open up new opportunities for us.”


Metal and Modular - Profile


Hard to detect in this picture, but this cabinet is built using the new 'SureLock Pro' system - and it's just as strong as ever.


Without a doubt, but is Michael planning any further uses of the SureLock system beyond the current range of products?


“100% – we’re currently developing a range of equipment for garden and mower shops, many of which are targets for thieves. So we’ve worked with a local supplier who has been broken into several times, and we’ve designed a 5 x 3m cabinet that securely houses all the shelving for the most valuable equipment. The whole thing is made up of interlocking panels very similar to the current range.”


And does this point the way forward for the company as whole?


“We’ve been able to make the move from our previous range to our current products, which has given us the ability to stand proud and say that we are trying to make a change to our carbon footprints, and to yours. That’s what we’re doing as a company that basically sells boxes for a living.


“We’ve always been an R&D business that also fabricates, and we like coming up with solutions to problems. Because we’re not massive and we don’t have untold millions in the bank – and I’m too old to care about all that – we want to be something different and have our niche.”


something different and have our niche


‘‘ we want to be


Metal and Modular has its own powder coating plant, meaning that customers can have equipment painted to their own specification.


’’


Which is where we leave it, but it was an unexpected pleasure to find such innovation in what might otherwise be basic metal fabrications – see them for yourselves at EHS 2022. Meantime, my thanks to Michael and Irene for an interesting and edifying day out, and to Lynne Bowering for organising the trip. n


Nov/Dec 2021 - Executive Hire News 27


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