Situation
Throughout our many decades as a rubber manufacturer, we have gathered and harvested a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Good or bad, everything we have learnt has given us the tools to help other companies with their rubber problems and cement us as a mainstay in the rubber manufacturing world. We are experts and we are constantly increasing our catalogue of capabilities and products giving our customers outstanding value for money with high quality products. Another notch on our belt.
We’re not the type to rest on our laurels and our mission is to continue this upward trend indefinitely. We’re forever improving and developing our practices and processes with our lean and agile approach. As you may have realised by now, we do not shy away from a challenge. So, let's get this ‘Case in Point’ on the road.
Our story begins with an engineering company who suffered a setback with their existing supplier (a reoccurring theme in several ‘Case in Points’). As a result, they were on the lookout for a specific design of formed rubber extrusion for their tobacco reclaiming machines. It was up to us to achieve what the company’s supplier could not and deliver the extrusion they needed, when they needed it. The question was, could we, do it?
Problem
Enter our new customer, a subsidiary of a large engineering company that operates in different sectors. Their automation business discovered us online after they received some bad news from their long-serving supplier. The supplier only sold one design of corner rubber extrusion (200x200mm) and they were unable to offer anything else.
We lent a compassionate ear as they explained their problem to us. The formed rubber extrusion is for a tobacco reclaiming machine which recycles old, defective and rejected cigarettes extracting the tobacco and doing away with the waste.
These corner formed extrusions are used to hold in the dust cloth that is pressed against the metal panels which is designed to help suppress dust build up. Fortunately for our customer, they came to the right place. We love to be challenged and we’re well versed in manufacturing formed extrusions.
Not only that but, another thing that sets apart from other rubber manufacturers is that we have a ‘no minimum order quantity’ policy. We did however have to design and manufacture a new sized former so we could deliver on and meet the required measurements they were looking for.
Solution
After a reassuring discussion we asked our customer to send us their design. In a short amount of time, we received it with all the necessary dimensions and measurements (250-275mm) which we established using our digital scanning technology.
Once we laid out an action plan, it was time to get to work. Firstly, we developed a new former, we designed this with a leg length of 325mm in case we receive orders for larger corner moulds in the future. Secondly, we extruded their desired bespoke profile of rubber, we then cut the rubber to size and attached the rubber to the former.
This gives the extrusion the 90-degree corner shape they’re looking for. We allowed the rubber to relax before transferring it into the autoclave. The corner extrusion goes through the vulcanisation process whilst on the former, giving it its shape. Once cured, the corner was removed from the autoclave and left to rest before being inspected and prepared for delivery.
Our customer was very happy with the order and was impressed with our sales team's responsiveness, our quick quotation turnaround and our value for money regarding tooling and products. We have already discussed future projects and are looking forward to working with them again.
Final Thoughts
We were approached by the automation business of a large engineering company who needed a corner moulded rubber extrusion. They had been let down by their large current supplier but as we have said time and time again, we do not shy away from a challenge.
Upon receiving the design, we created a new and larger former which will come in handy for future jobs and clients. We then extruded and cured the rubber in quick time, impressing our customer with our fast turnaround.
The response from our customer was high praise. They were very happy with the product and our ‘no minimum order quantity’ policy was another reason why they selected us. To add more to this success story, we are already discussing projects that will arise in the near future.
If you are in need of a formed extrusion, then look no further. At Walker Rubber we will not steer you wrong please make your enquiry today and you will not be disappointed.
This has been yet another ‘Case in Point’. Tune in next time where we could be talking about your order.