Latest News

Press Release by Ameeca -a Northern Hi-Tec customer- Nov 08

A technology firm is bucking current trends and safeguarding jobs by investing in the development and manufacture of its new product in the north of England. Bosses at Ameeca decided not to look abroad when it came to developing its new children’s audio system, StoryPhones. And they chose to use Lancaster firm Northern Hi-Tec Ltd to manufacture the innovative product.

Ameeca managing director, Simon Johnson, said he was delighted to be giving the economy in the north of England a boost in the face of the current economic slowdown. He said: "We considered looking abroad, but decided that for what we needed the quality wouldn’t meet our high standards and we had to source in the UK.

"It was also better to work with companies on our doorstep as we needed to work closely together on the development. We are delighted to be helping retain jobs in the region. Some tooling was needed from China, but StoryPhones is a UK product and safeguards UK jobs."

The StoryPhones system will be assembled by Northern Hi-Tec Ltd in Lancaster, and director Eleanor Johnson – who came up with the original idea for the product – said it was a vote of confidence for UK manufacturing. She said: "Everyone keeps asking if we’re manufacturing in China, but we couldn’t get the quality needed. StoryPhones will be used by children and it needs to be of a high quality and has to be robust."

Kevin Smith, sales director of Northern Hi-Tec Ltd, said StoryPhones was a unique and challenging product to manufacture. He added: "StoryPhones demonstrates the very best of UK design and manufacture. It is a great product to be involved with.

"When choosing a partner, Ameeca wanted a manufacturer that not only had experience of manufacturing – which is readily available in the Far East – but a skill set in ‘design for manufacture’ and production engineering techniques that, over time and by volume, will drive down the costs and improve the product."

Eleanor said she was delighted to be able to use a company in the north that met their needs. "We were delighted to find the answer to our manufacturing needs on the other side of the Pennines. It means the concept, design, development and manufacturing of StoryPhones has remained in the north", she said.

Gateshead-based product development firm Octo Product Development Ltd and Newton Aycliffe injection moulding company DSM N.E. Ltd were chosen to help produce the innovative audio system.

Northern Hi-Tec Ltd Board Appointment - Sept 08

Northern Hi-Tec Ltd recently appointed Chris Mellor to the Board of Directors.

Chris has joined in the role of Operations Director from Lambda UK, part of the $6bn TDK Corporation - world leaders in the manufacture of electronic power supplies, as Northern Hi-Tec look to implement new methods in order to remain competitive and optimise productivity, quality, service and cost efficiency to remain at the forefront of design and manufacturing.

Chris, as the former Operations Manager of Lambda, has a wealth of production experience with an impressive record of implementing Six Sigma methodologies and Lean Manufacturing processes to help achieve our set goals. Having began his career as a Technician with Lambda/TDK in 1978, Chris progressed through Drawing Office roles and Production Support, where he achieved Six Sigma Blackbelt (trained in Asia) and winner of the Siebe Award for 'Best Cost Saving and Project', to the Lean Enterprise Manufacturing Manager and then his most recent role of Operations and Manufacturing Manager at the Devon site, responsible for 150 direct reports at the 70,000 sq. ft. accredited (ISO9000/14000) Manufacturing Centre.

Managing Director, Gary Hewitt, commenting on Chris Mellor's appointment, "My vision is to create a World Class electronic manufacturing facility in the North West and to ensure that the growth of Northern Hi-Tec is sustainable, with a multi-disciplined team that enjoys best-in-class results in continuously evolving and challenging markets, and Chris is integral to that vision".

Northern Hi-Tec Launches Further IPC Training - Jul 08

Northern Hi-Tec recently carried out further IPC training on its site in Lancaster. Gary Hewitt, Managing Director states, "We see IPC training as very important to the development of our business. It is vitally important that we continue to adopt recognised standards of excellence throughout the business. We have found that the IPC standard and the way it is taught by our training provider not only meets their technical needs but perhaps even more importantly gives our staff the confidence to both question details and empower them to make decisions, and as a result we produce better quality products".

Implementation of Lean - May 08

Contract Electronic Manufacturers specialise in managing variety. CEMs manufacture products for clients from a wide variety of market sectors, in varying volumes and using a variety of assembly and test processes.

As a result, it is absolutely vital that a ‘manufacturing system’ is developed that makes best use of all available resources, is driven by customer demand and can respond very quickly to changes in that demand.

At Northern Hi-Tec, we have chosen to develop a production system based on lean manufacturing principles, because lean addresses the key objectives of on-time delivery with exceptional quality performance.

Andy Davy, Cell Manager states, "We set up some new lines based upon cellular manufacturing concepts at the beginning of May 08. The results to date have been impressive with major improvements to product build quality, throughput and a significant reduction in floor space requirements. At the start of the programme we carried out a basic lean training course for our staff and have implemented a 5S project in tandem with the new layout. It is quite amazing what can be achieved in a short period of time when everyone pulls together working to a common set of goals and objectives".

Northern Hi-Tec
Wasco House
Willow Lane
Lancaster
LA1 5NA
Tel: 01524 67833
Fax: 01524 67544
Email: sales@nht.co.uk