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Home > Garage Flooring > Flooring specialist receives government help to open Luton plant.

Flooring specialist receives government help to open Luton plant.

 The Versatile Flooring Company, suppliers of the EcoTile range of 100% recycled, interlocking floor tiles, is investing its way out of the recession by opening a brand new, state of the art, fully robotic manufacturing facility in Luton, Bedfordshire. The government funding scheme Grants for Business Investment, The Carbon Trust and committed suppliers, have been crucial in making the new plant possible in an area severely hit by this recession.
 

The Versatile Flooring Company makes a range of 100% recycled, interlocking floor tiles called EcoTile. The company imported its entire product range from Europe and China until December 2008, when it began manufacturing floor tiles in the UK using sub-contractors. This decision was driven in part by the huge currency fluctuations which affected profitability.
 

The next logical step was to bring production completely in-house, within the UK. Tooling for the entire range of EcoTiles will be complete by mid November. The company believes that in-house production at its new Luton plant will better service growing domestic demand, including the wholesale market, and aid the development of export markets.

 James Gedye, Managing Director of The Versatile Flooring Company commented, "We have seen growth in excess of 15% per year over the last three years and this year will be the same if not better, which is a remarkable performance in the current market conditions. Our two biggest competitors have either ceased trading or gone into administration in the last 9 months, which has created a huge opportunity for us."
 
 Getting government help

Firstly a detailed costing was drawn up for a brand new injection moulding manufacturing facility, tool room, and warehousing and distribution operation of approximately 12,000 square feet. To make this happen the company approached a number of organisations to assist with funding.

 With backing from the Department for Business, Enterprises and Regulatory Reform, the Grant for Business Investment scheme (GBI) offers grant support for sustainable business investment and job creation projects in disadvantaged areas in England. This is administered at a local level by the Regional Development Agencies, accessed through Business Link. The grant is pending but The Versatile Flooring Company expects to receive confirmation in November.
 
James Gedye explains, "We are able to finance the vast majority of the project in-house, but the grant has made all the difference and allow us to drive the project forward far faster, creating employment and export opportunities. GBI funding means that the project can start sooner rather than later."
 

The Carbon Trust is also providing funding in the form of an interest-free loan. Loans are available to businesses for the upgrade of equipment to save energy and improve efficiency. The Carbon Trust is a government-backed scheme that helps organisations reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low-carbon technologies. Further grants for prototyping and research and development have been applied for and will also help offset some of the costs.

 James believes now is the perfect time to start a project like this as excellent prices can be negotiated on machinery and premises. Also, excellent highly qualified people are currently available, and recruitment may not be as easy as and when the market improves.
 
The latest technology

The new Luton manufacturing plant for The Versatile Flooring Company will be state of the art. The company has worked closely with leading injection moulding company Sumitomo Demag and robotics specialists Hi-Tech Automation. The use of the latest high specification equipment and technology allows for high production rates and efficiency. At the heart of the project is the requirement to keep carbon emissions and energy costs as low as possible.

 Nigel Flowers, Managing Director of Demag Hamilton, believes the development of this plant offers a special opportunity for his company. "It’s great to see state of the art manufacturing investment going ahead in the UK with a clear focus on carbon efficiency, allowing us to implement some very novel technical solutions to dramatically reduce the plant’s carbon footprint."
 

A FANUC Robotics M710i robot, supplied by Hi-Tech Automation, will help The Versatile Flooring Company plant to produce its EcoTile range of 100% recycled, interlocking floor tiles in 12-hour periods without any human intervention. The facility can run as a ‘lights out’ operation.

 Ricky Thompson, Director of Hi-Tech Automation, commented, “This robot unload system has been designed with energy saving as the key objective. By using a six axes robot we have reduced the capital equipment cost normally associated with this type of operation, where a single robot would be required on each moulding machine. We demonstrated very early in the project development what would be possible by using the FANUC Robotics RoboGuide simulation software. This has the added advantage of ensuring the installation process time will be minimal before reaching full production levels.”
 
Exciting opportunity

James Gedye of The Versatile Flooring Company added, "Our new plant means we can create jobs, start exporting and generate healthy profits. It is a really exciting opportunity to invest in UK manufacturing."

 About The Versatile Flooring Company

The Versatile Flooring Company was established in 1996 and has a turnover of £3.5m with
18 members of staff. The company is the world leader in recycled interlocking floor tiles with its EcoTile range. The European market is growing and currently stands at around 1.5million m² per annum. EcoTile floor tiles are tough, low maintenance and environmentally sound and are suitable for a broad range of applications, including industrial, commercial, schools, sports and garages. The range also includesESD static dissipative floor tiles and Suregripanti-slip safety flooring products. The Versatile Flooring Company is comitted to quality, customer service and product innovation and the company has invested heavily in product development. Clients include architects, facilities managers and interior designers. For more information on The Versatile Flooring Company please visit www.versatileflooring.co.uk or call +44(0)1707 800060.

 
About Demag Hamilton

Demag Hamilton is part of the Demag Plastics Group based in Germany. Demag Hamilton was the original agency company for Ankerwerk injection moulding machines in the UK and Ireland and is one of the leading importers of injection moulding machinery. The Sumitomo Demag machines are generally accepted to be the best in the world. The major markets for the machines are automotive, IT, packaging, electric/electronic, medical and pharmaceutical, building products and leisure. Demag Hamilton is servicing more than 4,000 injection moulding machines in the UK and Ireland and has over 200 customers including Gillette, Avent, GCS Group, Hozelock and Sovrin.

About Hi-Tech Automation

Based in Northamptonshire, Hi-Tech Automation is focused on providing highly efficient and affordable automation systems for the plastics industry. A Strategic Systems Partner of FANUC Robotics, Hi-Tech Automation designs innovative solutions using well proven robotic components. 

 
About FANUC Robotics

FANUC Robotics UK provides integrated robotic process solutions for manufacturing industry. A wholly owned subsidiary of FANUC Limited of Japan, FANUC Robotics has been established in the UK since 1982. Operating from its 2,200 sq metre facility in Coventry, FANUC employs over 45 staff, and supports an installed UK base approaching 6,000 robots.