15/12/2016

Everything under one roof: The benefits of in-house production

Martin de Groot

In our previous blog the benefits of an optimised spare parts inventory we mentioned that our production facility, warehouse and office are all situated at one location, in the Netherlands. “The basic rule of in-house production is to keep a grip on things like flexibility, quality, efficiency and fast delivery times”, says Martin de Groot, Manufacturing Engineer at Lagersmit. In this blog we highlight the different advantages of in-house production.

The advantages summarised

The quality of the products is guaranteed and remains level
Guaranteed fast delivery times
The ability to switch quickly to a changing demand
Can keep a grip on flexibility
Able to work more efficiently
Customer-oriented production
Efficient layout and flow in the new factory

From traditional craft to a controlled production process

For years, Lagersmit manufactured its seals in a traditional way in its factory in Kinderdijk. The different parts of the seals and liners were made using conventional lathes, milling and boring machines. In the last years in Kinderdijk, eight operators were working daily on processing the products.

Lagersmit grew. The demand for the products increased, which created high pressure on the production. It was no longer possible to manufacture all the products in-house. Many components were outsourced to suppliers. Due to lack of space at the location in Kinderdijk, Lagersmit decided to move to a new building in 2008. In 2010 we had a celebration opening of the new location.

More about our history

We have to produce faster and smarter

The following questions were important: What do we do with the production? Are we going to produce it ourselves? And how do we keep the costs under control? Because quality, delivery time and flexibility is important to Lagersmit, the choice was made to start producing in-house. Manufacturing the products had to be done faster and smarter. On the other hand, the costs to the customers should not increase. The idea for process-driven production was born.

The step to automation

Lagersmit started automation. Even before moving to the new location in Nieuwland Parc, a number of machines including robot cells were installed in a temporary location. A small group began working with the machines. The aim was to produce the products as good, and as quickly as possible. In 2010 the new building was ready. Lagersmit officially started working with the machines. “If we have the materials in stock, we are able to make a complete seal ready in one day in case of an emergency”, said Martin de Groot.