Custom built to last

MiniTec's aluminium profiles have been in great demand since the company established in Germany 30 years ago. 

Basingstoke-based UK MD Gary Livingstone puts the company's success down to the simplicity and modularity of the system, combined with robust engineering.

"The Power-Lock Fastener is key to this as it saves time and is easy to use. This means you need very few components to make a complete system. 

"It is much faster to put together a system than be achieved by other means, with fewer design headaches, less stockholding, and no machining. The more complicated the structure, the greater the savings through using Minitec."

The company is growing and employs 300 people worldwide with branches in countries such as Mexico, Slovakia and China. It is investing heavily, including in a wealth of software tools to speed up design and calculation.

"This can help users double check designs and make sure there are no errors. It is part of the infrastructure MiniTec has invested in, we are two or three years ahead of competition, yet still a family company. We get the full support of MiniTec Germany."

The simplicity of the system brings with it cost benefits that are not immediately apparent, so Gary urges customers to look carefully at financials. He says while there are cheaper appearing systems in the market, they often work out more expensive.

"It comes down to the way the profiles are costed. Say we are £10 per metre, and a competitor is £8 per metre, a buyer might only be interested in that figure.

"But our fasteners are £2, others are £5. Plus if you have to machine a system, it costs more. It depends how the customer values their time, if you have to get in extra resource, it's not worth it."

MiniTec deploys standard M8 nuts, which are readily available, whereas competitors often have a shape that requires customers buy their fasteners, which tend to be more expensive.

Strikingly up to 80% of orders have a health & safety element, whether it is guards, enclosures, or the ergonomics of a workstation.

MiniTec has broad experience with providing conveyors from hazardous environments to models that track into lorries in postal applications.

"We also provided conveyors to a client that could be craned up into the air, when not in use, so they could improve space utilisation and increase productivity. This wouldn't have been feasible with a steel system," says Gary.

The company does a lot of work in the automotive industry, counting Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, and Bentley among its many customers in the sector.

"Car plants love the system because it's very easy to adjust," says Gary. "If they have to change anything on the line, they use the fasteners to unlock the systems and re-build as needed. There is no cutting of material, a specialist team is not required, and companies can do it all on-site.

"We did a lot of customised maintenance work cells for BMW, involving multiple configurations in terms of height, sizes, lighting, vices, worktops etc.

"We stock everything in Basingstoke, so there is no need to secure parts from Germany, and we find that local support is crucial in helping our customers minimise downtime. Often, we can get complete guards to customers within a week or a few days, and certainly parts and fixtures go out same day."

While automotive is a major sector, the variety of applications MiniTec has taken on is staggering. It has built scanner frames for liquid explosion detection systems in airports, ambulance shelving, even furniture and art. The technology allowed Monarch Airlines to revolutionise the way its hangars operate, with a mother workstation, and up to eight daughter stations. Online retailer Amazon also ordered £1m worth of picking trolleys.

"That was an interesting job, they needed the products quick and there were design constraints, such as weight, reliability of the trolley when loading on to shelves, and being able to be lifted by forklifts."

Looking to the future, Gary sees more customers demanding complete systems, as many companies have divested of their engineering capability and want a partner to provide that.

"It won't be for every situation, but that is the next challenge. We will need more people and different skill sets, more project managers and installation team leaders that will allow us to enter into more involved strategic partnerships."