Autac Celebrates Prestigious Recognition in Manufacturing Excellence.
We are delighted to share the exciting news that Autac has been awarded the prestigious Northern Automotive Alliance Manufacturing Excellence Award sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover in recognition of our solid commitment to lean manufacturing and our drive to be the “best-in-class” within UK manufacturing.
The Northern Automotive Alliance Awards are organised annually to celebrate innovation and excellence within the automotive sector.
In the Manufacturing Excellence category, the judges wanted to see evidence of effective lean methodologies and techniques focusing on improvements in: quality, cost, productivity, physical waste reduction, customer service and safety. And in particular, this year they were looking for companies that could demonstrate an engaged workforce and the development of a lasting culture of continuous improvement.
We have been able to share our journey over the last few years, with a particular focus on the successful expansion project to our second manufacturing facility, Guildford House, in December 2022 that has allowed us to triple our capacity from 9500 sq ft to 21,500 sq ft.
And how, with the help of the digital transformation support service CW4.0, using 3D laser scanning technology, we were able to create a digital simulation of the new facility, allowing us to plan and evaluate the most efficient and productive layout for our manufacturing processes across the two facilities prior to the move as well as manage the project with minimal disruption.
We highlighted how we have used the project as a driver to reinforce our “People First – Inside Out” culture, involving every team member in the process as we explored ways to eliminate waste and reduce distractions and importantly create a pleasant, engaging and safe work environment including new canteen areas, training areas and a state-of-the-art innovation and testing laboratory for our product research and development.
With our lean structure and hands-on approach, each member of the Autac team is encouraged to get involved in the day to day operations and in our continuous improvement strategy, and thanks to our 4 pillar Inside-Out approach, we can keep Quality, Innovation, Customer Service and Solutions Driven philosophy at the heart of our culture and everything we do.
“You can't begin to imagine how proud Sallie and I are to have won this award, and for the Autac team to be recognised for all their hard work and commitment every day across all areas of our business that goes towards making sure we are delivering high quality products and service every time.
A huge thank you to everyone for your continued support and confidence.”
David Lowe, Managing Director, Autac.
As a business we have clear and ambitious objectives, targets and defined KPIs in place to drive decisions, operations and how we communicate and our aim is to be the ‘best-in-class’ within the market for not only high-quality products and customer service, but as an ‘employer of choice’ and world-class manufacturer.