We’ve built the UK’s first Industry 4.0 factory for fasteners. Here’s why that matters

You’ll be familiar with the usual accreditations like CE or UKCA marking, ISO and Factory Process Control as ways to ensure you’re getting a quality product. Now, there’s an additional factor to consider, thanks to Industry 4.0 manufacturing techniques, because fasteners made in a data-driven facility will be noticeably higher quality than ones made in traditional factories.

And with the construction industry under more scrutiny than ever before, that higher quality could end up making a massive difference to you on site.

What does Industry 4.0 fastener manufacturing look like?

Industry 4.0 manufacturing is already the standard in many other industries. Picture the highly automated production lines that manufacture aero engines or cars – they run on tried and tested technology that dramatically improves production accuracy.

Our new facility applies that same technology to fastener manufacturing, making it the most advanced fastener production line in the UK. We’ve taken best-in-class machines from specialist plant providers all over the world, and integrated them into a single, network connected cell powered by data.

These machines allow us to monitor each stage of the manufacturing process in real-time, and with unprecedented accuracy. We process over 14 million data points an hour, and measure up to 99 dimensions per fastener. That means we know exactly how each fastener was made, with which tooling, and to which tolerances – for every single one of the millions of fasteners our new facility produces each year.

What does it mean for customers?

For our customers, our new facility means more speed, more reliability and a higher quality product.

Having ultraprecise production data means we can be completely confident in the quality of each and every fastener we produce. Instead of dated statistical quality control methods, we can take a ‘live’ 24/7 quality assurance approach instead. This reduces the risk of substandard product making it through to installers on site.

Removing unnecessary human intervention also reduces the risk for human error and variance in quality control. For example, if one operator holds callipers more tightly than another, they may ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ products with different tolerances. Our data-driven manufacturing means our customers will know they are getting a product of the highest quality, made to the strictest tolerances, every single time.

An Industry 4.0 facility also makes our manufacturing capacity far more agile. We can pivot quickly to change the products we manufacture – 10 times faster than on a traditional production line. That means you experience shorter lead times as we can more rapidly meet sudden spikes in demand. It also means we can prototype new products or develop bespoke solutions far more rapidly and cost-effectively, so you can source the best fastener for your specific needs.