A manufacturing partnership has been formed to create essential parts for new body drying technology.
Tooling2000, located in Winson Green, came to the rescue when iDry Limited’s roll-out of its iDry product was set to stall due to its existing Chinese supplier giving a nine-month wait time for three crucial parts.
The company specialises in metal stamping and precision components and were able to produce an emergency tool that could produce the same parts, in just seven days.
The partnership says the components are better quality and more aesthetically pleasing due to the use of stainless steel and initial orders placed are worth more than £50,000.
Gary Seale, managing director of iDry said: “The iDry, which was first developed in 1991 by Michael Godwin and brought back to life earlier this year, fits onto a wall and uses a patented design to push air through vents to dry your body in as little as two minutes.
“It is a breakthrough that is proving extremely popular with the care sector where it can help the elderly or disabled enjoy independent living for longer. This has seen a major spike in interest but just as the orders were rolling in, an existing Chinese supplier tried to hold us to ransom with lead times and minimum order quantities.
“A chance intro on LinkedIn has proven a match made in heaven with Tooling2000 delivering a solution that is better in what was an unbelievably stringent lead time.”
The reshoring success story could become a million-pound opportunity for both companies, with the Much Wenlock based iDry expecting to see 200 units every week.
Tooling2000 engineers created a tool that offered greater repeatable quality and facilitated a change from galvanised steel to stainless steel.
Using laser cutting technology and the latest CNC 3-axis machines, a new process has been developed that reduces manual work and assembly time – two important features as volumes escalate.
Gary Williams, managing director of Tooling2000 said: “This is a fantastic reshoring success story and shows that the UK can outperform international rivals when it comes to quality, lead times and, importantly, cost – we just need the opportunity to prove it.
“The way we are set-up is to combine the best design and engineering minds, with investment in the latest capabilities, investing over £1m recently into a large Hurco DC42XI CNC (used in this latest project) and a 5-Axis Trumpf TruLaser Cell 7040 that will deliver the best laser cutting expertise.”
The hygienic and eco-friendly iDry product uses Bluetooth controls for the first time and will have a more streamlined design that uses 28 air pores to push warm air through at between 50 to 70 degrees.
