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Keeping emergency blood supplies safe on blood bikes

Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikes deliver urgent supplies to medical settings across the three counties and beyond.

Often relied on in times of emergency, they can provide anything from breast milk for neonatal units to urgent supplies of blood or platelets when hospitals are running low. The service is entirely manned by volunteers, and the team’s 16 motorbikes are a lifeline for its users, covering 350,000 miles a year to support people in need.

Unique solution 

When the charity updated their fleet, they needed help to configure a specialist tray which could be fitted to the back of each bike to transport the much-needed blood boxes and containers needed for deliveries.

Alpha Manufacturing designed a specialist modular tray with various fixing kits to fit multiple styles of bike, including the charity’s new BMW and Moto Guzzi models.

“It really has made a difference”, says Fleet Manager Nigel Howells. “We now have a system that can work with any bike we choose. It can be adapted and remodelled as needed to provide a simple solution which can even transport two different products at the same time.”

Collaborative approach

The HEX Group’s expertise in graphics meant they were also able to source and apply specialist motorbike livery that perfectly fit the charity’s new BMW and Moto Guzzi models.

Having clear signage on their fleet of motorbikes is essential in making sure riders are visible on the road and can be safely identified.

“Our 160 volunteer riders rely on clear signage on the Blood Bikes to keep them safe and make them visible on the road,” adds Nigel.

“When we had to change bike models, it was difficult to find a supplier who could provide the livery required. Working with HEX Graphics has made the whole process simpler, and we can now quickly and easily brand up new bikes so our riders can continue to get out on the roads providing the much-needed support to the NHS.”

Updating eight new bikes and with another three in the pipeline, the Group is hoping the idea will become best practice in helping other Blood Bike teams across the country providing a simple solution to keep volunteer riders safe on the road.

Alpha Manufacturing – supporting great start-up businesses

Supporting great British businesses is at the heart of Alpha Manufacturing, working with some of the UK’s leading pioneers in the markets they serve. Tufftruk, the market-leading articulated walk behind mini dumper, is a fantastic illustration of how Alpha Manufacturing has supported this dynamic business to achieve global success.

Neal Lafford, Alpha Manufacturing Operations Manager and Andrew Simpson, Tufftruk Managing Director talk about the importance of collaboration in delivering new innovations into the construction industry.

“There’s no question, our founder Ron Blackhurst knows the construction industry inside out and back to front. With decades of experience growing the Belle Group to a fifty-million-pound business, nobody can question his capacity to deliver innovation-led products into the market.  However, the construction industry is very wedded to working with the same types of tools and equipment – breaking into the sector with new innovation is notoriously difficult.”

Despite that, in 2009 Ron did just that with the launch of the TRUXTA 4 x 4 Mini Dumper, which today is accepted worldwide as the construction workers preferred articulated, walk behind mini dumper. Neal Lafford continues: “Our relationship with Tufftruk goes right back to 2013 when they approached us about delivering the first parts for the rigid machine. This was the start of a truly collaborative relationship.  As a start-up business with big ambition, we worked hard with the team to value-engineer solutions that made the TRUXTA an appealing proposition both in terms of costs and durability.  By 2014 we were supporting the business with the development of the BENDie, which today, remains the Tufftruk flagship model.”

With Tufftruk expanding at a rapid rate into overseas markets, by 2018 the business moved into much larger premises in Leek, Staffordshire while retaining its original Sheen site as a new product development (NPD) facility. Andrew continues: “The business has experienced such rapid growth we have become heavily reliant on our supply chain partners to ramp up their own production to fulfil our needs. There’s no question, Alpha Manufacturing has become a highly trusted partner in the delivery of parts for our product range and we value Alpha’s expertise in helping us evolve our product range. We’ve grown our business with Alpha five-fold in the last five years and we have come to rely on the team’s proactivity, customer-centric approach and capability to value-engineer our increasing range of machines. In truth, the construction industry is a bit of a double-edged sword, on the one hand it’s a challenging sector to break into, but now we’ve gained the trust of the wider construction community, the appetite for new products and innovation is vast – it’s a pace we must keep up with.  It’s with Alpha’s support that we’re able to meet this increasing demand.”

With sustained and continued growth across Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Tufftruk is conscious of the wider environmental impact of its operations, with the vast majority of suppliers, including Alpha Manufacturing, operating within a 30-mile radius of the site thus reducing the overall carbon impact of its operations. Neal picks up on this point: “The geographical proximity of Alpha to Tufftruk brings about many advantages – not least of all from a production efficiency point of view.  But the wider narrative of achieving net zero carbon is at the forefront of our relationship with the business. Every business is implementing ways to reduce its carbon footprint while retaining the same level of service and Alpha is exactly the same. In Atlas Coating, our sister power coating business, we are using materials that have a negative impact on the environment, this is a pre-requisite of working with Tufftruk and it’s a responsibility that we take incredibly seriously.”

As the construction industry embraces new methods of fuel to power on-site machinery, the emergence of electric vehicles (EV) is also becoming increasingly common. Tufftruk is undoubtedly one of the forerunners of bringing electric-powered machinery to construction sites, as Andrew explains: “Going back to the comment I made at the start, the construction industry is pretty wedded to the tools and machinery it knows best, so bringing an EV TRUXTA to the market was an inevitable, yet high risk move. Machinery needs to operate at maximum capability throughout the day so we needed to be able to confidently deliver a solution that a site worker could rely on throughout the day – in exactly the same way as the fueled version. Modifying the product, reducing the overall weight while retaining the stability of the machine is a key consideration and working in partnership with Alpha, has enabled us to design a solution – building on Tufftruk’s reputation as the market leader in this space.”

As Tufftruk continues to build its global dominance in the markets it serves, Neal concludes with these final words: “Tufftruk is a fantastic illustration of a business that in a relatively short period of time has achieved global success. Andrew and the Tufftruk team are progressive in their ideas and through their deep insights into the construction sector continue to develop a range of products that far surpass the performance of any rivals.  The very definition of a great British business.

First Iveco Protective Vehicle Partitions Fitted

The first Iveco Daily COVID-19 protective screens were successfully trialed this week after Alpha’s engineering team developed a new variant from the original design.

Having originally developed the vehicle partitions for a national roadside recovery fleet in partnership with sister company Bri-Stor Systems, Alpha are now able to offer variants to fit Iveco Daily, MAN TGM, Volvo FL, Mercedes Sprinter, Renault Midlum and D range vehicles.

With roadside recovery businesses currently being adversely affected by social distancing regulations, many are looking for a safe, practical solution which gives their customers peace of mind. Oasis recovery had got in touch after seeing Alpha’s solution in another vehicle and were happy for Alpha to trial the partition in one of their Iveco’s. Having seen the successful installation, they now plan to fit them in the rest of their fleet.

Alpha’s vehicle partitions are provided as a complete, easy to install, self fit kit and can be professionally branded to match any corporate identity for a smart, professional look. For any further information, please get in touch with sales team who will be happy to assist you.

Glazed Balcony Assemblies for New Build Apartments

When a leading UK balcony supplier won a major contract, Alpha up-scaled assembly operations to meet a demanding schedule.

Customer: A Leading UK Balcony Supplier

Sector: Construction

Product: Glazed Balconies

Quantity: 100

Duration: 5 Weeks

Project Background

This client, a leading UK balcony supplier, conducted an extensive procurement process before choosing Alpha as their chosen precision sheet metal fabrication partner for the manufacture and assembly of their products.

Having won a contract to supply and fit 100 glazed balconies to new build apartments, they placed their order with Alpha.

The project required Alpha to manufacture, assemble and store 100 unique, patent protected glazed balconies, before delivering all balconies to site in one.

Project Challenge

Initially, Alpha’s customer required a complete prototype including timber decking and glazing, with Alpha’s design team working closely with the customer initially. Once signed off, full production began with all 100 balconies required within 5 weeks of order.

The glazing element of the project was a new challenge for Alpha, having never worked with glass panes previously. Glass handling equipment was acquired and training quickly implemented.

New assembly and storage facilities were also quickly secured to accommodate the project and Alpha’s assembly teams were expanded.

Project Outcome

Alpha completed the initial prototype ahead of project commencement, working closely with the client to value engineer the design. Once the prototype was signed off, manufacturing of components began with new assembly areas set simultaneously up in preparation.

Having not produced complete balconies prior to this project, Alpha put in place several new resources to ensure the successful completion of the project.

A new dedicated assembly area was put in place, with Alpha acquiring new premises specifically for balcony build projects.

Assembly teams were up-skilled and trained in glass handling, using new lifting and handling equipment.

Both the implementation of the assembly resource and the build plan were carefully managed to ensure that all agreed deadlines were met, adhering to the delivery schedule.

What our Customer said…

“As the UK’s leading balcony specialist, we were looking to take our supply chain to the next level. I visited numerous factories across UK and Europe, following which we chose to form a partnership with Alpha. We chose them because we were very impressed with their lean set up, substantial investment in excellent equipment, and a consistent culture across all those we spoke with which was passionate about creating quality products. We are looking forward to a long partnership together.”