UK lock maker brings die-casting back 'in house'

UK lock-making company has taken the decision to bring back zinc die-casting 'in house' as it has a massive inventory of parts and wanted them in store for as little time as possible.

Frech UK's latest customer is probably one of the country's oldest manufacturing companies - and undoubtedly its newest diecaster.

In business since 1846, J Banks and Co was one of the many companies that made the town of Willenhall synonymous with lock-making, but last year it moved just a few miles down the road to Tipton at the instigation of present owner and managing director David Wellman, who acquired it from the third generation of the Banks family in 1991.

David is also behind the decision to move away from buying-in zinc alloy diecast components, and to entrust the task of in-house manufacture to a Frech DAW 80F.

The machine was delivered in May and was fully up and running by the end of July.

"We have taken on a separate building for die casting and there is room for more machines as we plan to expand our operation over the next twelve months." he said.

It will be a significant progress for the company, which already turns over in excess of GBP 2m a year and has a staff of 27.

The new Frech is already being equipped with new tooling and should be fully committed within the next six months.

At present the company's die casting requirements are met using local sub-contractors and a few components are being imported from the Far East; but Wellman will be happier when the company can produce all of their requirements in house.

"A company with as broad a product range as we have has a massive inventory of parts and we want them sitting on the shelf for as little time as possible," he said.

"It makes better sense to turn them out as quickly as customer demand dictates rather than having to 'guesstimate' ahead and then, in some cases, wait weeks for them to arrive.

Similarly, if quality issues arise, they can be quickly identified and rectified." The same philosophy of 'better on the doorstep than thousands of miles away' influenced the decision about whose machine to buy: "I could have had four machines from China for what I've paid for the Frech, but I've got the assurance that the 80F is the best technology available - important when you are starting out in a business - and I know there is help immediately to hand from the Frech UK office if it's needed." J Banks has built its reputation in locks and hardware for door and window fittings and that's still the case today, as demonstrated by its unique auto-engage and auto-locking Res-Lok Restrictor range, Frame-Guard locks and ERICA safety chains, which have earned it a good name amongst security-conscious government departments and public sector bodies.

Customers include the Ministry of Defence, Police, HM Prisons, housing associations; local authorities, distributors and door and window fabricators This core range was recently complemented by a sideways move into stainless steel and aluminium architectural hardware fittings for commercial entrances, which are marketed through its associated business, J Banks Architectural.

The company has recently developed a new range of hardware for vertical sliding sash windows, and die castings are a major part of the new products.

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