News from Frocester Engineering

Rhino Rugby under new management.

December 2006

One of Frocester Engineering’s main customers, Rhino Rugby, has changed ownership.

Reg Clark, a former Oxford Rugby Blue, who has been a major shareholder in Rhino for 18 years, has put together a consortium of investors to take over the business and will become Chief Executive.  Martin Johnson, the former England and British Lions captain, is becoming an executive director and is also taking a significant stake in the business.

 Rhino, founded in 1982, has established itself as one of the foremost players in the rugby equipment market.  Rhino has Official Supplier status for scrummaging machines and contact equipment with England Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and the Bath and Cardiff clubs.  The company had previously been run by Derek de Glanville, father of former England captain, Phil, and Heather Quest. Derek and Heather are now retiring from the business.

 Reg Clark, the new Chief Executive of Rhino Rugby, said, “We are delighted to have Martin on board. He is the perfect ambassador for our brand and his obvious experience of Rhino’s products and markets will enable him to make a significant contribution to the management of the business.”

 Martin Johnson added, “I welcome this opportunity to invest in and be associated with such a high quality rugby brand. Not only does it have a deserved reputation for the excellence of its products, but the brand has tremendous potential for expansion and development. I look forward to using my experience to support this process.”

 The whole Frocester Team was invited to Rhino’s re-launch party at Twickenham Stadium in recognition of the input Frocester Engineering has made into the success of Rhino over the past years.

Team Pictured at Twickenham with Reg Clark (left) and Martin Johnson (rear centre).

Jetshape Installs Second Water Jet Machine

 November 2006 -

Just over a year after its launch, sister company Jetshape has installed a second water jet machine to cope with the increasing demand for the service.  The machine is a new Omax 2652 abrasive waterjet machining centre supplied by Aquajet.  It’s a smaller machine than the original Omax 55100 but since a lot of work is for small parts cut from smaller pieces of material it will fit into the set up very well.  The new machine comes with a drill head to enable laminated material to be cut and also a mini jet nozzle for very fine and intricate work such as patterns inlaid in marble flooring.

 New Powder Coating Facility Installed

October 2006 -

 Frocester Engineering has installed a new powder coating facility in a new extension to Blackcomb works.  The facility includes a Rotajet wash to clean and degrease parts, a spray booth with an extraction and filtration system and a gas fired oven all supplied by Berridge Paint Systems of Nottingham.  The new equipment will greatly improve control over quality and lead time on the finishing of manufactured parts.

Powder Coater, Rob Manlow, Pictured With His First Load

 Frocester complete prestigious London Hospital Garden project

September 2006 -

 Commissioned by Richard Marti Garden Architecture, Frocester Engineering has produced a range of metalwork required for a prestigious garden revitalisation project at St Georges Hospital in London.  The metalwork produced included curved sloping steel walls, curved steel benches with wood cladding, steel pools, litter bins and planters.

Led by Technical Manager, Tony Sanford, Frocester worked very closely with Richard Marti to take his architectural design through an engineering design phase and into production. 

Sister company Jetshape was also involved in the project and had the arduous task of cutting over a thousand pieces of Cota Blue Limetone from slabs to produce the shaped pieces required for the stone terraces. 

The results speak for themselves!

 Two More Federation of Small Business Awards for Frocester Engineering

November 2005 -

At the 2005 Somerset Business of the Year Awards organised by the Federation of Small Businesses, Frocester Engineering scooped two runners up awards.  The first was in the Training Initiative of the Year category for the lean manufacturing project undertaken earlier in the year.  The second was in the Most Successful FSB Member category in recognition of the continuing success of the business.  Four members of the team went up to the awards ceremony in Taunton which was a thoroughly enjoyable evening celebrating the success of Somerset Businesses in general.

 

 New Production Manager appointed

 July 2005 -

Frocester Engineering have appointed a new Production Manager.  Gary Hunt joins the company from local sheet metal specialists Wilsher & Quick.  Gary has worked in engineering for 18 years, 11 of which were at his previous company. 

Commenting, MD Anthony Locke said “We’re delighted that Gary has joined us.  He brings with him a wealth of welding, fabrication and man management experience which will have an immediate positive impact on the company”.

 Frocester embrace Lean Manufacturing

 June 2005 -

Frocester Engineering has completed a 3 month project with the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service to implement the basics of 'Lean manufacturing' into the company.  The project took the form of a 3 way learning process with two other companies, Clares of Wells, the shopping trolley manufacturer and G&S Smirthwaite, suppliers of furniture and equipment to the disabled.

The project highlighted the following areas of improvement: 

• Agreed new layout of machinery and equipment to reduce waste associated with movement of people and machinery.
• Application of '5S' method to the entire workshop to improve workplace organisation, material flow and health and safety.
• Introduction of mobile trolleys to increase efficiency in the movement of materials and work in progress.
• Introduction of a jig storage trolley enabling rapid jig retrieval.
• Introduction of rework and quality problem measurement and root cause improvement forms.

Commenting on the outcomes of the project, MD Anthony Locke said: 

"Working on this project has brought the whole team together and has made us all think in a much more structured way about what we do and how we improve the manufacturing operation. The biggest challenge is to maintain the momentum and ensure we develop a true culture of continuous improvement."

Read the full case study     HERE                          

 Frocester Engineering launches Water Jet Cutting Service through sister company Jetshape

April 2005 -Extract from 'Industrial Focus'

 The acquisition of an Omax 55100 JetMachining Centre by Frocester Engineering Ltd is not only maximising core production for the Somerset based company, but also helping open up lucrative new opportunities in terms of water jet cutting services through it’s newly formed sister company Jetshape.

 Visiting the Mach 2004 exhibition at the NEC Birmingham, Frocester Managing Director, Anthony Locke, reviewed the leading water jet systems and narrowed these down to two – the Omax JetMachining Centre and a leading competitor.

 Mr Locke then visited reference sites for both systems and requested that a component commonly used by Frocester Engineering was machined from a dxf file during the visit.  The results of the trial showed that the speed, accuracy and quality of the part produced on the Omax 55100 was far superior.

 The new machine was delivered in April and so far Mr Locke and his staff are very pleased with the new acquisition.  He commented “Though a sophisticated piece of technology, the machine is remarkably easy to operate and it is already contributing significantly to our engineering operations.  Installation and commissioning went very smoothly and service back-up from Aquajet, the Omax UK distributor, has been excellent. 

“We can cut components on demand now, which reduces our spares inventory and lead times, while prototype one-offs can be readily cut and tested without committing ourselves to costly batches that might need reworking.   

“The Jetshape sub-contract operation which was formally launched by local MP The Rt Hon. David Heathcote-Amory, is also a very exciting venture.”

Frocester Engineering wins two
'Federation of Small Business' awards

November 2004

Frocester Engineering scooped two winners awards at the Federation of Small Businesses 'Somerset Business of the Year' awards for 2004.  They were awarded 'New Business of the Year' sponsored by Lloyds Bank and 'Somerset Business of the Year' (in the under £500,000 turnover category) sponsored by Business Link – the only company to come away with two winners awards.

The judges were impressed by the way Frocester Engineering work closely with their current customers to solve problems and improve products and also with the excellent teamwork and processes used within the factory. 

MP Scrums down at Frocester Engineering!

Extract from The Cheddar Valley Gazette

The England rugby squad’s ability to roll over the opposition during the World Cup was helped by a Mid Somerset Engineering company.

 Scrums collapsing under the pressure from the England forwards brought a smile to the face of Anthony Locke, Managing Director of Rooksbridge based Frocester Engineering.  His firm makes the scrum machines used by England and other top rugby squads after sealing a deal with the major sports equipment company Rhino Rugby Ltd.  As well as manufacturing machines and other equipment for Rhino, Frocester Engineering also works with Rhino to improve machine design and develop new products.

MP David Heathcoat-Amery, a respected athlete in his youth, got to grips with the actual machine used by England on a visit to the company after seeing a report on the company’s contract with Rhino. 

Mr Locke said “he contacted us after seeing that a manufacturing company had started up in his constituency.  With the bad news about companies like Clares and Nutrica he said it was good to see a business like ours in the area.”