Ian Ritchie

Managing Director

The newsletter from the UK’s leading supplier of MRO products and services Issue 11

www.brammer.co.uk

The LinkForewordA strong manufacturing sector is the cornerstone of a robust economy and Business Secretary Vince Cable’s recent industry strategy announcement sets out a number of key initiatives aimed at optimising the UK’s manufacturing competitiveness over the next two decades, and beyond.

This is very much in line with our own commitment at Brammer to ‘Keeping Britain Manufacturing’. Not only is this the theme of our Manufacturing Forum this year, but we are involved in an increasing number of initiatives demonstrating our support for the long-term future and success of the manufacturing sector.

For example, our new Training & Development Centre is helping Brammer colleagues from across the UK add value to our customers in a wide variety of ways (see page 7).

Our lead article in this edition considers why total cost of ownership should be a key concern when purchasing MRO spares, while our guest contributor, Alistair Welch of Engineering Magazine, looks at some of the sectors offering cause for optimism despite continued challenging trading conditions.

Happy reading!

Brammer gains environmental awardBrammer has again had its environmental

credentials recognised, this time through

the award of the Certificate of Diversion from

Landfill for significantly reducing waste

output at the National Distribution Centre

in Wolverhampton.

Targets for reducing landfill waste to three

tonnes per month were originally set, but

this target was quickly surpassed with

consistently recorded levels of less than

1.4 tonnes per month.

A recycling programme for wood, paper,

cardboard, plastic and hazardous waste has

been introduced, while reusable plastic totes

are now used in the warehouse, reducing the

amount of wooden pallets used for transporting

goods around the site.

Furthermore, all desk bins have been replaced

with recycling bins for general waste, paper,

plastic and metal, and an employee awareness

programme has been established to educate

teams on the continuous environmental activity

undertaken by Brammer.

Leonard Ryan, head of quality, health, safety

and environment, explained: “Establishing an

effective environmental strategy has always

been a key objective for us. As a distributor of

MRO products, our levels of waste have never

been excessive, but we feel it is important to do

whatever we can to minimise our environmental

impact, particularly with environmental

credentials now often a key criteria in supplier

selection. The Certificate of Diversion from

Leonard Ryan

Landfill is a fantastic testament to what we have achieved so far.

“We are also committed to helping our customers understand how they can improve their environmental performance to meet current energy saving legislation and emissions targets. With benefits such as reducing cost to the plant and minimising carbon emissions from fuel consumption, improving environmental performance can reap significant rewards for a company’s operations.”

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Latest news

The latest top tips from BrammerThe latest videos as part of Brammer’s

technical advice series, Quick Tips, explain

the importance of wearing protective

eyewear in the workplace and the benefits

of the Roebuck Uniwrench.

The first video demonstrates the importance

of appropriate protective eyewear, protecting

against dangerous hazards in the workplace.

Every day, workers may be exposed to

hazards from sparks, chippings and larger

items, chemical or water splashes, glare

from sunlight or monitors and industrial

processes, radiant heat and biological hazards.

Brammer’s range of personal protective

equipment guards against these dangers.

The second video illustrates how the Roebuck

Uniwrench can offer a unique solution for when

fasteners become rounded or corrode, therefore

difficult to remove. Available in both open and

spherical box end versions, the product makes

removing industrial fasteners an easy and

straightforward task.

Both videos can be viewed at

www.brammertips.com.

The Mobile Centre of Excellence has been

showcasing Brammer’s market leading

product and service offering at customer

facilities and Brammer’s network of Sales

and Service Centres throughout 2012.

In August, Brammer chalked up a notable

milestone with the Mobile Centre of

Excellence completing its 100th customer

event, held at Unilever, Slough.

The Mobile Centre of Excellence

features product displays and video

demonstrations from many of Brammer’s

world-class supplier partners. It also

Mobile Centre of Excellence reaches 100

contains interactive demonstration rigs

exhibiting technological innovation within

a range of key product application areas,

including drive train energy efficiency,

hydraulic systems, innovation and

lubrication technologies.

Jeremy Salisbury, Head of Marketing at

Brammer, commented: “The feedback on

our Mobile Centre of Excellence has been

overwhelmingly positive, with visitors finding

it a valuable resource to help them learn more

about the extensive service offering we have

available. Our first one hundred customer

“Our first one hundred customer events

is a nice milestone and the forward

planning is already well advanced to

deliver the next one hundred. ”

events is a nice milestone and the forward

planning is already well advanced to deliver

the next one hundred.”

To book a visit and find out how Brammer can

add greater value to your manufacturing site,

contact 01902 395000.

Brammer welcomes industry strategy

Brammer Ireland Managing Director Chris Davies

3www.brammer.co.uk

Quality counts for Brammer IrelandBrammer in Ireland is celebrating the

award of a prestigious international

quality standard.

The Dublin-based company has achieved

the internationally recognised ISO9001:

2008 Quality Management Systems

standard, meaning customers throughout

Ireland can enjoy guaranteed, accredited,

levels of product and service quality.

Brammer Ireland Managing Director Chris

Davies explained: “The ISO9001:2008

accreditation is the result of an excellent

team effort and assures both our existing

and new customers that our internal

Brammer has welcomed the Government’s

new vision for British industry, announced by

Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business,

Innovation & Skills, during a speech at London’s

Imperial College.

The strategy, based on a long-term strategic

partnership between Government and industry

and building on the Plan for Growth published at

the 2011 Budget, looks at the areas where the

UK currently enjoys a competitive advantage,

and where this can be extended over the

next two decades.

Key announcements made by Mr Cable

included the creation of a new institution to

help companies invest capital and drive their

expansion; the development of sector strategies

in advanced manufacturing sectors such as

aerospace, automotive and life sciences; and

the first successful bids in the Employer

Ownership pilot scheme, through which £165

million is being invested to help employers

access the skills they need.

Brammer Managing Director Ian Ritchie

commented: “We are delighted that the

Government is backing its stated commitment to

a competitive industry sector with initiatives that

will enable manufacturing companies to obtain

the resources which are key to future growth,

such as finance, training and skills.

“However, while this long-term strategic

approach from the Government to is to be

welcomed, manufacturers should still continue

to look at all aspects of their own operations

and work with strategic partners who can

help them drive out unnecessary supply chain

and production costs, and so maximise

their competitiveness.

“As challenging economic conditions continue,

an increasing number of companies across all

sectors are working with Brammer to help them

reduce total cost of ownership and working

capital, while improving production efficiency –

positioning them to improve their profitability

and competitiveness.”

systems and processes meet the highest

possible, internationally recognised quality

standards.”

“It’s another key step as we continue to

work with customers across a range of

manufacturing sectors to help them

optimise productivity and profitability, by

harnessing innovative technology and

offering unrivalled product choice,

guaranteed local availability and competitive

pricing, backed by independent technical

expertise and service support.”

Brammer customers in Ireland include

Diageo, Kraft Foods and Becton Dickinson.

When looking to reduce costs, many companies still choose to buy MRO parts based solely on lowest initial purchase price, only to discover hidden costs throughout that product’s lifecycle, including maintenance costs and production downtime. Ian Ritchie, Managing Director of Brammer, explains that while a reduction in price may offer an immediate, short-term gain, this is far outweighed by the financial and operational benefits of purchasing based on total cost of ownership.

Taking ownership of total cost

be a sub-optimal approach to purchasing maintenance spares.

The reasons for this are clear. Once a part has been acquired, it will at some stage require maintenance, servicing, repair and, eventually, replacement. The time and costs associated with these factors can vary significantly depending on product quality and performance. For example, a product costing half as much as a competing item but lasting only as third as long will need replacement far earlier, potentially resulting in downtime which, even if planned, costs far more than the difference in purchase cost between those two components.

A policy based on simply looking for the cheapest product may also tempt some companies into ‘shopping around’ for the lowest unit cost, an approach which can result in choosing an unauthorised distributor to

supply their requirements. This introduces risk into the supply chain as products from an unauthorised source are often not to the latest specification and may have been incorrectly stored and handled. It is also not uncommon for companies to acquire far more of a product than they actually need to get a bulk discount – and so an even lower unit price – tying up cash in spares which may only be infrequently needed and may end up becoming obsolete.

Put simply, while making a decision based on initial unit price might appear to realise savings at first, purchasing the cheapest product available is almost never the best policy when it comes to MRO spares.

Companies across all sectors are beginning to realise the cost savings available when the total cost of ownership of each component is carefully monitored and

In today’s challenging economic climate, the

need to reduce costs is as important as ever.

A recent report from the Aberdeen Group

– a leading business intelligence and market

research consultancy – revealed that

‘identifying cost savings’ was the top pressure

that chief procurement officers face on

a daily basis.

Indirect purchasing spend is one key area

where many manufacturing companies seek

to make cost savings and the acquisition of

spares for maintenance, repair and overhaul

(MRO) often represents a significant element

of indirect purchasing spend. A simplistic

approach is often taken to reduce costs in

this area, purchasing the lowest price product

that will do the job with little or no thought to

costs that may result down the line from that

decision. However, the weight of empirical

evidence is increasingly showing this to

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The big topic

5www.brammer.co.uk

The big topic

measured, with this information then used

to inform future purchasing decisions.

Best practice in this area builds a strategy

around finding the best-performing, most

durable and most energy-efficient solution,

and factoring in anticipated maintenance

costs after purchase – only then is unit

purchase price considered.

Indeed, an approach based on total cost of

ownership looks at all of the additional costs

that may arise throughout a product’s lifespan

– everything from downtime for installation and

commissioning, ongoing routine maintenance,

servicing, repair, required consumables and

eventual replacement and disposal.

Another important factor, which may be harder

to quantify and is often not considered by

companies, is the support available should

a technical or performance issue arise with

a product or application.

This last area is one of increasing importance

given the need to extract maximum life and

value from MRO components and is one where

the availability of independent expert technical

support and advice can prove invaluable.

An authorised distributor, providing a

comprehensive range of engineering spares

and related services, will be able to review the

application and then recommend and offer the

purchasing on a total cost of ownership basis

is delivering real value for many customers,

with significant impact on operational

performance and profitability.

Through technical expertise and experience,

Brammer can analyse component performance

and recommend the best solution available

considering indirect maintenance and repair

costs. This will ensure the customer is using

the most suitable part for the job, delivering

the advantage of high quality and cost-

efficiency in the long-run. Brammer can also

provide a range of services to help customers

manage spares availability and reduce

associated spares procurement and inventory

management costs.

At an increasing number of customer facilities

across the UK, Brammer has established a

part-time or full-time facility – known as an

InsiteTM – effectively an on-site Brammer branch

which, as well as sourcing and supplying

components, can deliver added value by

managing parts inventories, standardising

and rationalising MRO products and suppliers.

These partnerships are adding real value

to customers by reducing acquisition costs,

maximising plant uptime, reducing energy

usage and reducing working capital all

impacting positively on overall competitiveness

and profitability.

best and most efficient solution from

a full range of products from an extensive

supplier portfolio.

From its experience, this type of distributor will

also be familiar with the issues with individual

components and their application that may

be encountered and action that can be taken

to mitigate against these, while also offering

advice on maintenance and servicing strategy

to maximise maintenance intervals – minimising

downtime and freeing up maintenance

engineers to concentrate on other

value-adding projects.

Meanwhile, working with a trusted and

authorised distributor guarantees quality

assurance, consistent part numbering, instant

confirmation of availability, total product

traceability and a full manufacturer’s warranty.

Working with Brammer to manage MRO spares

While making a decision based

on initial unit price might

appear to realise savings at

first, purchasing the cheapest

product available is almost

never the best policy.

Brammer active

6

Brammer hooks up to keep production moving

resolved the problem with no unscheduled stoppages reported since then due to

In the highly automated, capital-intensive plant environments found in the automotive sector, every possible step must be taken to avoid costly unscheduled downtime and so extract full value from equipment while ensuring demanding production schedules are met.

At one leading automotive manufacturer’s UK facility, an average of one vehicle is completed each minute. Before painting, each vehicle body passes through a tank to be phosphate etched to make the external surface more receptive to the paint.

For this, the bodies are attached to overhead conveyors using an arrangement of hooks and slings. The process is controlled by a camera which uses the hooks as reference points. However, on one of the coating lines, corrosion of the hooks caused by exposure to the chemicals in the tank was starting to result in the camera failing to identify the position of the hook. When this happened, production had to be halted and the equipment manually re-set.

Keen to ensure this did not become a major production issue, engineers at the site consulted technical experts from Brammer.

Brammer recommended that the hooks should be coated with a ceramic coating, which would eliminate the risk of corrosion and ensure the hooks remained identifiable to the camera. This was implemented in conjunction with Loctite, a key supply partner to Brammer, and immediately

Corrosion had the potential to cause major delays in processing

“Speed of production is a key

factor for many companies...

we are delighted to have once

again been able to deliver a

solution which is recognised to

improve production efficiency.”

non-detection of the hooks. The solution has

been so successful that is now being considered

for use on future modifications at the facility.

Trevor Wooding of Brammer commented:

“Speed of production is a key factor for many

companies. The solution we recommended has

resulted in reduced stoppages at this stage of

the process, ensuring body surface presentation

and painting can continue uninterrupted, and we

are delighted to have once again been able to

deliver a solution which is recognised to improve

production efficiency.”

(L-R) David Taylor of Babcock, Jon Halladay of Weirs, Paralympic athlete John McFall, Jeremy Salisbury of Brammer and David Cole of Atkins

Round-up

7www.brammer.co.uk

British Paralympic Association celebrates £50,000 fundraiserA cheque for more than £50,000 has been presented to the British Paralympic Association, following a fundraising effort that saw 30 EDF Energy employees embark on a 205 mile cycle ride from Paris to London.

Brammer contributed £2,000 to the total sum raised and attended the presentation of the cheque to Paralympic athlete John McFall, on behalf of the British Paralympic Association.

Jeremy Salisbury, Head of Marketing at Brammer, commented: “We were delighted to help sponsor EDF Energy’s Charity Cycle Challenge, and the tremendous amount raised is a testament to the hard work of the EDF Energy employees who completed this challenge.”

Taking the lead in trainingBrammer is actively demonstrating its commitment to helping improve the performance of the UK manufacturing sector by investing in a dedicated Training and Development Centre to help its employees add value for its nationwide customer base.

The Training & Development Centre, located at Brammer’s National Distribution Centre in Wolverhampton, comprises a classroom area, product training zone, and ‘break-out’ area for informal discussions and problem-solving.

The creation of the new facility marks the beginning of a new chapter in Brammer’s continuous improvement in training and development, an area in which the company already has a strong track record.

Ian Wearne, Head of Training & Development for Brammer UK, explained: “In order to deliver maximum value for our customers – our key business goal – we realise that we have to understand the issues and challenges they face, whether these be technical or more business-led.

“It is vital that we ensure our understanding of our customers’ operations – and the ways in which we can add value to them through our product and service capability – is excellent.

The first courses which have taken place in the Centre have involved a variety of sales, technical and local branch employees, covering product

training – working with supplier partners as required – understanding of manufacturing operations, and Brammer’s value proposition, which is geared to improving production efficiency, reducing working capital and lowering the total cost of component acquisition.

Straight Talk

For more information about Brammer’s products and services please contact us.

0870 240 2100 www.brammer.co.uk

Alistair Welch acknowledges that while the general outlook for UK manufacturing remains uncertain, some sectors are offering much-needed cause for optimism.

Tough goingAccording to an EEF survey, UK manufacturers are experiencing the toughest trading conditions in three years. However, recent activity in some sectors offers cause for optimism.

The EEF survey, carried out in partnership with business consultancy BDO, found that output is at its weakest since 2008/2009. Additionally, the Eurozone crisis and the slowdown of emerging markets appear to have further intensified the uncertainty.

The survey showed that an anticipated softening of challenging market conditions failed to materialise over recent months. Furthermore, responses revealed a more marked weakening than expected across a range of indicators. However, some positive news can be taken from the improvement in the short-term outlook and the continuing commitment to invest across manufacturing, as companies look to their competitiveness and market opportunities in the medium term.

“The weaker global outlook precipitated by the ongoing economic challenges in Europe has clearly hit home in our latest survey,” commented EEF chief economist Lee Hopley. “The sharp drop in export balances over the past quarter is a particular concern given their importance to UK manufacturers and also our economy’s reliance on exports as a source of growth.”

The organisation’s Route to Growth report will challenge the government to produce a clear vision of the better-balanced economy it is trying to create.

According to EEF chief executive Terry Scuoler, “Clearly we need measures to get growth going and priorities should include encouraging business investment, increasing access to finance, reducing energy prices, and rebuilding our infrastructure. But these need to be part of an overall industrial strategy for growing and rebalancing our economy and not a series of uncoordinated initiatives.”

Now the good news: while some sectors are struggling, other areas of UK manufacturing are belying the tough trading conditions.

Two major vehicle manufacturers have announced significant UK investment programmes. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to invest £370million to support production of its new Range Rover. The investment will

upgrade JLR’s Solihull factory, improving its high-tech paint shop and trim assembly facilities, safeguarding 6,800 jobs.

Rolls-Royce has also begun construction on a highly advanced jet engine turbine blade casting facility at Rotherham, which will produce 100,000 high-tech blades a year from 2014. These investments are all good news for the UK balance of trade, with much of the output at all three sites planned for export.

There can be no doubt that UK manufacturing as a whole is experiencing a testing period. Nevertheless, investments prove that the UK manufacturing sector has the heritage, the expertise, and the ambition to drive recovery and growth.

www.engineeeringmagazine.co.uk

Alistair Welch

Investments prove that the UK

manufacturing sector has the

heritage, the expertise, and

the ambition to drive recovery

and growth.