In the Summer of 2019, 3 nylon tube thermo-forming machines left the Sanoh UK Engineering Centre in Avonmouth bound for Sanoh France’s facility in Valenciennes France. The machines have now been trialled and commissioned and are now in mass-production, manufacturing fuel pipes for the Toyota Yaris vehicle produced at the nearby Toyota factory.

The machines have enabled David Desmis, General Manager at Sanoh France, to redesign the layout of the factory and to improve work flow in his drive for lean manufacturing at the plant. The Sanoh team worked closely with colleagues in Japan and with a specialist team from Toyota to design the layout and to deliver the new factory plan. The layout was finally implemented in early August and training on the operation of the new machines was given to the Sanoh operators.

Production has now started and is currently in the region of 26000 vehicles per month. Demand is expected to rise towards 40000 vehicles per month at the end of 2020. These levels of production are only achieved by using the dedicated bending machines designed and built by the Sanoh UK Engineering team led by Leyton Dunn. Leyton commented, “The dedicated bending machines for Sanoh France presented the team with perhaps our greatest challenge we have had within the Engineering Centre. We were working with very long tubes and the requirements for multiple processes required the skills and ideas of the whole team to deliver the finished product. I am delighted to hear that production is now up and running with very few issues. It is a tribute to my team that the machines have been accepted and commissioned on time.”

Mr Desmis said “I am very pleased with the outcome of this project. The new machines are running very well and are producing excellent product for our customer. The team from Toyota have been impressed by the operation of the machines and have commented on the efficiency of the manufacturing that they have allowed. I am very pleased with support we have received from Leyton’s team and we will continue to work with them as we continue on our plan for lean manufacturing at Valenciennes.”

As we return to something like normal working later this year Leyton Dunn and his team will be starting work on further dedicated bending machines for Sanoh UK customers.