IAE

North West Club visit to IAE

On the 19th October 2011, 17 members and friends visited the IAE company who are very well known in the agricultural industry with many of us using their products on a daily basis. We were welcomed by Jack Jackson, the company Sales Manager, who issued us with our high visibility jackets, hard hats and safety glasses. Before touring the factory he gave us a brief presentation informing us of the history of the company.

Frank Klucznik who had settled in the UK after the Second World War gained manufacturing skills locally in Leek, Staffordshire before he founded the company in 1969 after being asked on a regular basis to make special items for farming friends. Starting out on his own and then with two staff the company grew in size adding further premises along the way.

The IAE (Industrial Agricultural Engineering) name grew out of necessity with many people unable to remember Frank’s correct name let alone spell it and anyone enquiring where a certain piece of equipment came from would be told ‘It’s that Pole in Leek’. This catch phrase is still fondly used until this day. In 1990 Frank’s son David took over the day to day running of the company and on the solid foundations increased the fencing range and added a new equestrian sector. The company grew in size until it was operating on five different sites with staffing levels today around the 480/500 mark.

Having the opportunity to purchase a 25acre site and put all the manufacturing, distribution and more importantly have their own galvanising plant on one site made a significant improvement to their operations.

However the site was on a slope and the monumental task of moving a 30metre depth of ground from one side of the site to the other to make an even platform for the plant was undertaken. Gradually the move of the various sites was made to the new premises. Two of the previous sites were in prime locations and thanks to the purchase of these sites by Messrs Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s this gave them the capital to further improve their manufacturing facilities with the introduction of robotics, laser cutting and profiling machines and installing their own galvanising plant.

Although they are always happy to discuss customers’ requirements and any individual special projects, any orders taken by them for standard equipment are supplied through their countrywide agents. Special project solutions are undertaken by their dedicated highly skilled computer aided design team with years of knowledge and experience who can assist with the most challenging of requirements. These projects have included, Hereford, Welshpool, and Stirling Livestock Markets, Waitrose Dairy Unit and Northlink Ferries as well as fitting out new on farm agricultural buildings.

The trip around the works was very impressive with the stock of steel waiting to be fabricated making them one of the largest steel stockholders in the country even though this is for their own manufacturing purposes. Although the robots are programmed to take care of the everyday products, such as standard sized gates, feeding equipment etc. the quality of the raw materials has to be without compromise as the robots will refuse to work if the sizing of any parts they are presented with are not to specification. This system is to ensure a consistent quality product designed to last.

The laser cutting machines are also automated and are used to ensure that all the lengths of steel, the fixing holes, slots and the essential venting holes are in the correct place and in sufficient number. Not only is this essential for assembly purposes but also if for instance the venting holes were not there and the steel sections arrived in the galvanising plant as totally enclosed pieces the temperature of the zinc being 447°C would simply blow it apart. The galvanising tank uses 4 tons of zinc a day.

Away from the robots they have a large number of individual bays that their skilled workforce use to produce manually the non standard item orders with individual detailed specifications

All items are moved around the factory with cranes on overhead gantries and the whole operation is geared to make the processes as effortless as possible.

Click on images to enlarge

The orders placed on the factory are all colour coded so that the parts warehouse can pick the required number of handles, hinges etc. that are required specifically for the individual orders. With the production of 3,000 individual items making sure that everything is ready to go on time and in one consignment leaves very little room for error.

Cattle crushes are assembled on site to their various standard designs but it is possible to vary parts of the equipment, such as foot trimming attachments and weighing scales etc.

Their fleet of articulated lorries and trailers is operated with a tracking system so that it can be seen where all the vehicles are at any one time. The capacity of the vehicles is such that they are able to accept return loads for other companies so that it is very rare to see one of their vehicles running without freight. When a trailer is returned to the yard it is loaded with another consignment and the driver can hitch up a waiting trailer without any loss of time. Having been caught out with assurances that the farm has good access and unloading facilities when in reality it has turned out that their optimistic customer has not taken into account the narrow lane requiring many manoeuvres to gain entry through the farm gate and the bale spike is not exactly the ideal equipment to reach never mind unload the vehicle, they are gradually equipping the trailers with mechanically off loading facilities that are able to be pre-booked through their transport department. The colour coding really comes into its own here as the driver can easily see if he has off loaded everything for that consignment.

Looking around the vast well stocked yard it is hard to believe that this amount of equipment finds a home to go to but then if we look around our own premises perhaps we could find a use for a large part of it!

Jackie Smith