Boalloy hits mark
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Boalloy’s new Congleton Fastruk factory has already reached its target for weekly output in less than 2 months since the first vehicle rolled off the production line in April.
Currently, Boalloy’s Fastruck site is producing 32 finished vehicles per week and, according to Boalloy, it is comfortably on target to meet the original annual output predictions.
Jim Gibb, Sales & Marketing Director at Boalloy Industries Ltd, explains: ‘Our rigid vehicle body manufacturing programme has really taken off this year, benefiting from substantial contracts gains from customers such as BT, Iveco, Burnttree and Ryder to name but a few. At the same time, we have attracted regular orders from retail dealers, who see the proven benefits of having their vehicles produced to short lead times and, most importantly, on time.’
On a separate site adjacent to its main trailer manufacturing facility in Congleton, Boalloy’s Fastruck operation uses a twin flow line system of body assembly, employing a workforce of over 50 people in a brand new 26,000sq ft factory.
Gibb says: ‘This new facility, with its own purpose designed production lines, has been a fantastic success for us from day one. Dedicated purely to the manufacture of box vans, including GRP Lutons, the factory is now looking to increase its productivity with a planned target output of 50 vehicles per week later in the year.’
If the OE chassis is delivered to Boalloy on time for its agreed production slot, the Boalloy Fastruck programme ensures that bodies will be built to guaranteed delivery times, normally in less than two weeks from start to finish.
Although the Fastruck site is purely devoted to box van body manufacturing, Boalloy has also set up a similar flow line production facility on its main site in Congleton for the production of 7.5-tonne and 18-tonne curtainsided rigids. Drop side bodied vehicles are also produced here, with the whole operation mirroring the dedicated Fastruck box van operation.
Boalloy says the two production lines established for rigid curtainsiders are currently running at a 20 vehicle output figure but this is scheduled to rise to 30 vehicles per week in the next few months, with a 3rd production line scheduled for dropside bodies to be added later in the year.
Although the Boalloy Fastruck programme is based around standardisation across vehicle types and weights, it also still caters for customisation of vehicles to individual operator requirements.
‘The rolling material programme for standard Fastruck vehicles enables bodies to be finished in less than 2 days from entering the production cycle. The same applies to customised bodies which can also be incorporated into the build programme with ease, taking no longer to build than standard products. By adopting strict production planning criteria behind the Fastruck operation, we believe that Boalloy is leading the market in terms of meeting deadline dates and producing rigid vehicle bodies to the consistent quality associated with Boalloy,’ Gibb adds.
