This month sees our managing director lead a team of staff on one of our regular visits to our international supply partners.
Andrew and the team will be in China’s third biggest city, Guangzhou, for around a week, setting up and monitoring processes relating to Edmo’s current and upcoming client projects.
Partnering with China
The rate of industry developments in China is staggering, and our Guangzhou supply partner’s facility is no different.
Our regular visits – usually every six to eight weeks – enable us to keep up to date with the continued investment in the plant, and the frequent improvements to existing equipment, as well as the innovations in its machinery and processes.
Before each trip, our operations team finalises an agenda, highlighting key objectives and new areas of interest at our supply partner’s facilities.
Once there, we set up and control projects in line with the standards at our UK production plants.
The control procedures and checking regimes – right down to the monitoring of individual gauges and fixtures – are all designed and controlled by us, ensuring that components produced overseas meet the same stringent measures as those in the UK.
With most of our overseas trips lasting for a week, we have enough time on the ground to not only observe new projects, but to monitor the shop floor and examine existing work throughputs to make sure operations are running as they should.
Capacity and capabilities
Guangzhou, located in the south of China, is a leading region in the country’s aluminium processing output.
Our production partner commands a 500,000 m2 site and employs a staff of around 1,500. Operational capacity is substantial, with 19 extrusion presses, processing billets ranging in size from 4” (660 tons) to 15” (7,000 tons).
The fabrication abilities on-site are comprehensive, and include CNC machining of components, anodising powder coating in a range of colours and finishes, and in-house billet and die manufacture.
What our MD had to say
Our managing director, Andrew Stride, commented on the latest trip to Guangzhou, saying:
“Dealing with the Far East is never as easy as dealing with a local source, if only because of the sheer distance and the time difference involved.
“But, properly managed and administrated, these international partnerships hold many commercial advantages.
“We’ve spent 12 years nurturing these supply routes and working closely with key partners to streamline the communication that is a vital component of successful Far Eastern supply.
“Not only do we have dedicated staff who administer all aspects of ordering, scheduling and expediting, but throughout the structure, we have closely forged links that allow us to put our name to the product and processes.
“As such, our overseas partners are simply an extension of our UK facilities in both their methodology and mindset. We look forward to this latest trip, and to continuing to develop and cement the personal relationships we enjoy with our Guangzhou supplier.”