Following a very successful Interzum show earlier this year, Springform is busy building and installing pocket spring production equipment, some in new territories and some with existing customers.
The company’s first sales into Brazil are progressing well and repeat business is expected in this rapidly growing South American economy. Installations are also taking place much nearer to home in the UK, where a large British bed maker is ramping up spring-making capacity to meet growing demand. Other machines are being built for a new customer in Canada, where a small, top-end bed maker has had the vision to produce its own range of bespoke springs, utilising the inherent flexibility and versatility of Springform machinery.
The company’s managing director, Ian Whitworth told us: “Our international business has always been very strong, but we got a major boost following great interest in our innovative products at this year’s show. In fact exhibitions play a major strategic part in our marketing plans.
“The NBF Bed Show, for example, is also an important one for us, because it raises our profile in the British bedding market. When we had a sister company making springs for the UK market, we tended to focus elsewhere, but now we do not have that restriction and are keen to expand our client base in all geographic areas.”
Springform is committed to innovation and its ultra-fast DDBHT coiler can produce a huge range of products, but despite this it maintains efficiency through fast changeover and lean-manufacturing techniques. Mr Whitworth has a strong belief in the merits of lean manufacturing and is committed to doing all he can to ensure his company adds value to its products by making the customer’s life much easier.
He said: “When I joined the spring industry as a manufacturing director in 1991, I saw first-hand how mattress production was the victim of the low-tech equipment that dominated the market. Slow-change, inflexible machinery led to high inventory and poor customer response. It threatened quality and inevitably resulted in low profitability. Lean manufacturing techniques could not be implemented in pocket mattresses without a total rethink of the coiling and assembly processes. We took that challenge on some years ago and I am pleased to say our machines now make that step-change a reality.”
Another Springform innovation involves developments to the company’s automatic VGA pocket spring assembler making it even more versatile. What’s more, up to four coilers can be integrated with one VGA to form a manufacturing cell able to produce a king size interior in under two minutes.
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