Room to live
A mezzanine floor covering three units helps mannequin manufacturer manage space efficiently.
The dress forms (or adjustable dressmaking models) manufactured by Adjustoform Products are life-size mannequins used by dress makers and can be adjusted to match an individual’s measurements. With up to 1,500 of these being manufactured each week, space is a primary concern for the business along with ease of movement within its premises of raw materials and finished goods.
When Adjustoform Products found itself having to relocate to new premises at the end of 2017 maximising available space became a priority.
While it found five linked units that were geographically suitable, given its reliance on local labour and sub-contractors, they didn’t provide the space required. The solution was a mezzanine floor that covered three of the units, along with conveyor systems to transport raw materials and finished goods from one floor to the other.
“System Store Solutions came in, did a site survey and quoted a very competitive price for the work,” says John Fagg, MD, Adjustoform Products.
The initial installation included the mezzanine floor covering 500 sq m, a single conveyor (a second would be added soon after the initial installation was complete) and fire safety systems to meet all the relevant building control regulations.
All of this had to be delivered and installed within a two-week timeframe to minimise disruption to production, so System Store Solutions did some pre-installation work off-site to ensure the deadline was adhered to.
“The process prior to installation commencing was important, with communication being key between ourselves, System Store Solutions,” says John Fagg. “The two-week deadline had to be met in order that other contractors could come on-site and carry out work to get the facility into production. I’m happy to report that the service provided by System Store Solutions was excellent, everything went smoothly, with the installation finishing ahead of schedule and we got everything relocated and running smoothly.”
With the second conveyor installed, Adjustoform Products now has a clean flow of raw materials in and finished goods out, with an open plan manufacturing facility on the mezzanine floor. Factory efficiency is improved with this flow of work and the additional space created allows for increased output and storage as the business continues to grow.