The customer was involved long term in the production of wood based modular furniture for the education industry.
During Covid, he was approached to make cubicles that had a demountable or portable element to them which would have proved difficult to achieve with wood.
He didn’t have a design or mechanical engineering background and approached several extrusion companies for support, none was forthcoming. Then he contacted us.
We arranged a visit and sat down to explore his vision, and he came up with some very rudimentary sketches as seen here.
We can up with a couple of initial ideas and sent some sketches which over a period evolved into a simple system utilising four extrusions two reversible with some bead options for different glazing unit sizes.
With these we were able to approach gasket manufacturers to establish the availability of standard ones which we could then modify the gasket grooves to accommodate. This would ensure tooling was kept a minimum.
We then 3D printed some samples which gave us a tactile feel and sense of scale plus the opportunity to check fits with their mating parts and gaskets – we do prefer wire eroded samples as they have the edge in accuracy.
At this point we were confident the product would do everything the brief we generated together with the customer required. Extrusion tooling is now underway.
Often, we are praised for the technical support we bring to a project which really sets us apart these days.
Backed up by 45 plus CNC’s, in house plastic injection moulding, state of the art powder coat over 200 staff across four sites in a private company we really are the first choice for machined and finished aluminium extrusions and components.
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Looking for help getting a complicated design into production? Let’s talk.
Congratulations to Paul Walker who has been promoted to Quality Manager. Paul has excelled in the quality arena in recent years and his achievements in 14001 and successfully getting everyone on site to buy into it were particularly noteworthy. We are delighted with his ascendancy.
New starter alert. We like to lock them in early at Inal so it was great to welcome our first new apprentice starter for 2041 last week escorted by his proud parents. Baby Seth is the first Inal baby for sometime and it was great to see our super programmer Sarah and wife Sammi Joe bring him to his Inal family. We are proud and delighted for you both in equal measure…now watch the years fly by…
Not many aluminium companies can boast an international pop phenomenon in their line up but this week, Inal’s Tim Hodgetts saxophonist extraordinaire became the final member at a gig for the acclaimed 90’s band Collapsed Lung. “Who I hear you say?” they of “eat my goal Jumpers for goalposts fame” I reply. Tim has previously played at Glastonbury, the Glastonbury pub in West Bromwich that is, so is no stranger to the big event, and was seen lapping up the adulation of the fan at the gig in Kings Heath on Saturday night.
Let me hear you say Ho Ho
Inal 2020 Ltd, as part of Sherwood Group, is delighted to have joined the Council for Aluminium in Building (CAB ) Closed Loop Recycling Scheme.
CAB is the largest UK “aluminium in building” trade association with over 140 members across the supply chain. It provides high quality technical information and guidance on regulations, standards and best practice. Its ambitious events programme includes regional members meetings, conferences and contractual awareness seminars around the UK.
And the Closed Loop Recycling Scheme is an important initiative in maximising recycling of aluminium and minimising the waste caused by the extrusion process.
CAB says “Aluminium is a “permanent” material, which means that its inherent properties do not change after repeated recycling. It therefore resonates with consumer expectations to produce and consume products in a more sustainable way. To keep aluminium in the loop, it must be collected and sorted properly. While there is always an economic incentive to recycle aluminium, one of the aims of this scheme is to increase closed loop recycling by encouraging the collecting and sorting of scrap into specific wrought alloy groups.”
CAB adds “While such closed loop recycling of construction materials is currently voluntary, requirements could be placed on “embodied carbon” content in the future and main contractors are increasingly seeking evidence to demonstrate the sustainability credentials of their supply chain. Scrap is an important resource and we should maximise the quantity and quality of recovered aluminium scrap in the UK to build the circular economy of the future.”
During the pilot project, CAB reported a total of 3,300 tonnes of aluminium recycling in 2019. This rose to over 6,000 tonnes by 2022 and more scheme members have been added in the years since.
Sherwood Group General Manager Paul Grimsley commented “Joining CAB’s closed loop recycling scheme is a key part of our own sustainability efforts and demonstrates to customers and suppliers that we take our responsibilities seriously” he added.
Over the next few weeks we will be introducing some of the key members of the team both here and on LinkedIn…you’ve seen the faces now wait for the bios!
Fantastic work at college from Pete Leonard and Jack Gibson two of our super talented HOME GROWN CNC programmers. Doing things like this makes engineering cool and appealing to the next generation of Petes and Jacks, which is very much what we need. Jack programmed the part and it took over 21/2 hours to machine giving them both a great insight into tooling capability feeds and speeds. Great job chaps, we’re proud of you..
Fantastic to recognise one of our outstanding employees in his latest achievement. Derek Wallwork joined us as a temp worker just a few short years ago, but with his drive, commitment, attitude and ability, progressed on to CNC programming, which is no small leap. This week Derek successfully completed his NQA ISO 9001-2015 QMS essentials auditing course, showing again he is up to any challenge, and we are all very proud of him. It is always great to see talent fulfilled…
With more and more important customers visiting the site it was about time we emblazoned our logo on a feature wall. A big thank you to our great friends at Envision Media in Skelmersdale for doing such a great job so quickly.
World aluminium day…reflections
I’ve been fortunate to have worked in aluminium (extrusions) for over 50 years. In this time starting from the lowest entry position, I’ve been a director of an extruder, a stockholder and a processor which makes me unique within the 000’s currently working in the UK aluminium industry.
My fascination with aluminium extrusions began in the longest harshest winter on record. I was 7 in 1963 it was the year the snow never went away, and it was way before you could buy a ready-made sledge from Tesco for three quid. If you wanted one you made it yourself or got your dad to do it. As my dad worked on the shopfloor of an extruder he had access to aluminium extrusions, thus mine was adorned with aluminium runners (originally destined for Harrison Drape as curtain track) but doctored to a level worthy of “Cool Runnings.” It was the then equivalent of the current Formula 1 DRS.
I was then photographed by the local newspaper going down Crouch Hill with everyone in my wake. Years on after I had done a speech at an Al Fed event in the Lords one of the Lords who lived in the adjacent county recalled the photo.
Over the years there have been quantum changes in the industry there are now just a fraction of the extruders from when I started, names such as Alcan, Midland Extruders, Ashley Aluminium, Almetex, James Booth, and many more now long gone. There have been huge advances in die making, die design, alloys, finishes, inspection, production methods and e`iciency. Indeed, there was no mention of sustainability back in the day, but now it is rightly one of the defining mainstays of our industry.
Throughout all this time the Al Fed have been a constant. It has been transformative in recent years in how it engages more conceptually with its members and the students and design engineers who in time will be the next generation of specifiers. I was proud to play a part in this, supporting many Al Fed events during the “noughties” and long may it continue this path.
There are always threats to aluminium, we would be unwise to ignore the potential that composites o`er and the rise in nano technology, but as an industry we remain in great shape, I believe, ready for all the challenges.
I’ve worked with amazing people over the years (thank you Liz at Inal in particular) I often introduce us as the Phil and Holly of aluminium though since his fall from grace I am currently rethinking this!
I’m enjoying the final chapter of my long and undistinguished career working with the Sherwood Group one of the few places where the owners, both industry titans, are older than me (thank you Paul and Terry). From winning awards to working with Apple, to speaking at the The House of Lords, to being held at gun point by the IRA, it’s been a journey….
