Member Article

Brandauer eyes £500,000 EU opportunity at Productronica

A Birmingham manufacturer is looking to take on the Germans in their own backyard next month, with its first ever appearance at Productronica.

Brandauer, a leading presswork and stamping specialist, is targeting more than £500,000 of new orders from customers in the EU and believe exhibiting its capabilities at one of the world’s largest electronics exhibitions is the perfect way to start the sales push.

Five of the senior management will be travelling out to Munich on November 10th to showcase the firm’s new £250,000 Special Product Division (SPD), which gives it the capability to work with clients on prototypes and small quantities before taking it through to mid and high volumes.

This new addition to the portfolio is already reaping dividends, with nearly £320,000 of new contracts secured, including lamination motors for use in aerospace and wind farms and complex compliance pins – also known as ‘needle eye pins’ – for the automotive and white goods sectors

The bi metal lead-frame is another component that has benefitted from the early involvement of the SPD cell, starting as an exciting concept before moving into full production.

Graham Allison, Strategic Sales Manager, is looking forward to flying the ‘Great Britain’ flag.

“Exporting to Germany has always been a difficult market to crack and it has taken a good two years knocking at the door to get our first few leads.

’We have found there is a real capacity issue over there and in some other EU countries and we believe we can offer a viable alternative to clients looking for reduced lead times, flexibility in volumes and requiring additional added value assembly services.“

He continued: “The introduction of our SPD facility has been the real game changer for us. We can now work with the client on initial ideas for new components, then bring them to prototype stage to prove the process works and the product performs in the way it should.

“From there we can build the tooling for it and transfer it into medium or high volume production. The journey is seamless and we become a strategic partner rather than just a sub-contractor.”

The Special Product Division is the result of a six-month project and provides a dedicated cell housing more than £200,000 of new machinery, including multiple low tonnage presses (3 tonnes up to 60), hydraulic presses, a sheet metal guillotine, laser marking, CNC lathe and a second operation/final assembly area.

Brandauer has also set up a self-contained tool room in the SPD, not to mention its first 3D Printer that produces initial prototypes at a fraction of the cost of setting up tooling.

Graham concluded: “We’ve been to Productronica before, but just as visitors to meet a few key contacts.

“It’s a massive show and we wanted to prove that we were serious about growing our client base in specialist electronics and importantly in Germany and other EU countries.

“We’ve got a three-year plan to grow the business to £10m and international opportunities will be key to us exceeding this target.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .