When a family-owned company needed to tackle a shortfall in capacity with new machinery investment, they turned to a company with an ever-increasing reputation for excellence – both as a company and the individuals behind it.
Shrewsbury-based Universal Trade Frames prides itself in providing the highest quality manufactured PVCu products available to the trade. Formed in 1995, the firm is renowned for striving ahead of the moving trends within the industry.
With 45 employees and an annual turnover of £5.5m, Universal recognised that new machinery would be necessary to increase output and reduce lead times for its customers and began negotiations with two established companies as part of its new machinery investment initiative.
It wasn’t long before one of those firms, Wegoma Machinery Sales (now Avantek), secured the sale of an Urban SV 800, which they had fully refurbished, before installing it along with one of their own new quad welders.
Universal general manager, Duncan Saunders, explained the decision: “We began talking to them and one of their competitors, but choosing which company to work with was an easy decision to make in the end.
“They have a great reputation within the industry. We knew about the quality of the machines the team provide and the service that goes alongside and that’s what we were looking for. We’ve also got long-established relationships with the guys there so we knew we could trust them.”
A projected installation time of three weeks was given and the work began – and three weeks later everything was fully fitted and operational with the minimum of fuss.
“We were delighted with the smooth transition. The majority of work was performed during the first weekend when the entire factory had to be moved around to accommodate the new machines.
“It was all hands to the pump to get it done but thanks to a lot of hard work and the tireless assistance of Dave Fox (Technical Support Manager) we got there in the end.”
So, has the new machinery solved the capacity shortfall problem? Duncan has no doubt about it.
“The two additions have made a massive difference to output and we are now operating far more effectively and efficiently. The production team is very happy with the two machines and we’re very pleased with the influence that they’ve had on our workflow.
“They have delivered exactly what they promised. An excellent company to work with, it has the right people offering the right products – which instils the right confidence. It’s no surprise that they’ve earned such an outstanding reputation in the industry.”
Universal Trade Windows can be contacted on 01743 442244 or at: www.utfl.co.uk.