One of the UK's leading aluminium facilities, Alucast, located in the West Midlands, the country's industrial core, has stepped in to harvest the fruits of 'servitization', a process by which a company can directly involve customers in its revenue collection by offering them some chargeable service. The company foretells this might increase their earnings by 10 per cent resulting in an additional £800,000 turnover by customers accessing one-off services.
Alucast has enhanced its CNC machining capability to provide five-axis machines and less-destructive testing methods that include dye-penetrant testing and X-Ray.
The company's Wednesbury facility has an employee list of 100 people, and the list is expanding. Alucast claims the £500,000 investment for new technology in the above factory will grant users access to Magmasoft casting simulation, prototyping and heat treatment processes.
This entire business protocol is proving to be very beneficial for sales, and the management team is positive that an additional £800,000 of turnover is guaranteed by enabling customers to have one-off services or using a singular element for mass production in gravity, sand and high and low-pressure castings.
The Chairman of Alucast, Tony Sartorius, pointed out: "Manufacturing is extremely competitive, so the more value we can add to the customer, the more chance we will have of building strong, lasting relationships."
He proudly noted: "Our business model was already unique in that we offered fully finished and machined castings from one source, and we decided to build on this by embracing servitization, developing new services that would deliver extra revenue streams."
Tony Sartorius seemed optimistic when he stated: "Working with Aston University, we created a five-year strategy that would see us add a different offering every six months, and we have now got to the stage where our customers can tap into anything from simulation software and advanced metrology to our recently launched full assembly offer."
"This approach will soon account for £800,000 of our turnover, which is roughly 10 per cent of our annual sales. I fully expect this figure to grow as more people hear about what we do," said Tony, with a concrete calculation in his head.
Alucast performs various ways of aluminium casting like sand, gravity or high and low pressure. The company has a fixed clientele base in the electrification and hydraulics, fluid power mechanics and automotive sectors.
Alucast is currently at the peak of its order book history since fifty-five years of its operations, and part of its Manufacturing Assembly Network provides technical support for one of the largest automotive engineering agencies and total casting assembly services for a 4x4 manufacturer.
Mr Sartorius commented: "By offering these facilities to customers, it means we have eased supply chain complexities, allowing our clients to acquire fully functional parts ready for delivery at trackside at their premises with minimal delay.
"We still have lots of exciting plans for further additions, including ongoing training for our workforce, future collaborations with academia and the delivery of an 800-tonne die casting machine – the largest machine on our shop floor," he concluded.
Alucast has recently earned TS16949 automotive quality standard credibility and is continuously aiding carmakers and tier ones with lightweight structural components for application in Gen-X automobiles and electric vehicles.
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