Christmas shutdown

We are closed for the Christmas period from midday Wednesday 23 December 2009 until 7.30am Monday 4 January 2010. However, e-mails and faxes will be checked on a regular basis throughout this period.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say a BIG THANK YOU  to all our customers and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

A Christmas bowl

This year we decided that the Ceramic Substrates Christmas party should be a democratic process, instead of management deciding what we should do, (e.g. not the karaoke that has taken place over many a years, but never received that well). A list of ideas was made with various options, extras could be added, and all employees voted for a first and second choice. Bowling and a buffet came out on top so the venue was booked and everyone was looking forward to it. The last 12 months have been challenging with some changes in management and of course, the world economic slowdown has affected some of our customers. I can honestly say that the team at Ceramic Substrates have been supportive to each other and the Directors for they want Ceramic Substrates to be even more successful in future years. As an MD, life at work becomes a lot easier if you can allow your staff the responsibility and the chance for them to show their initiative in different aspects in either the production process or other areas within our company.

In this picture: Jon our head of CNC Department enjoying himself.

After the buffet, it was time to change into the bowling shoes, and battle could commence in earnest. Teams where set up and the bowling begun, everyone always says, “I never bowled before” why is it that those people seem to throw many strikes. I think there are some closet bowlers out there who are not telling us the whole truth (you know who you are).

Overall, it was a very successful night’s entertainment in a relaxing atmosphere. I wish to thank everyone who attended and making this Christmas party one to remember.

One of us is also on Twitter, giving you a daily insight and plenty of light hearted moments living and working on the Isle of Wight (just don't take him to serious).
Just press this link or the blue " follow me" Twitter symbol and enjoy!

More from me next week.

Visitors

Is it the time of year, or just a coincidence that we seem to have more visitors to our factory?



This week a development and research company specialising in renewable energy products, visited our plant. This particular customer found us on google and after several telephone conversations and e-mails they thought that a visit would give more of an insight to our capabilities. Our visitors had a tour of the factory with many discussions along the way with several members of staff including our CNC Engineers and Toolmakers. When customers are talking to other members of team on the shop floor, it is great to hear our employees taking such pride in discussing our products and services. We are very lucky to have such committed and knowledgeable work force and I take this opportunity to say I am very proud of the staff here at Ceramic Substrates. Following the visit from our customer an order was faxed the very next day.

I will be travelling within the UK next week to visit some old and new customers to discuss future business and of course hand over a few Christmas goodies.


More from me next week.

All tooled up

In this picture Chris Gibson setting up a spark eroder.

Running a company selling industrial ceramics is one thing, running a ceramic manufacturing company is a challenge of a different kind.

Here at Ceramic Substrates we do both, making us more versatile and flexible in today’s ever expanding global market within our specific field.

What happens when an order or enquiry comes in?

First of all the office staff will have a good look at the correspondence i.e. Drawing, material and
specifications. In case of a repeat orders, the process is straight forward, a new enquiry or order is different. Depending on the type of ceramic and production process will deter what department within the factory the enquiry or order is sent to. However, today I shall be focussing on our In House Tooling Department, which is managed by one of our Senior Engineers Chris Gibson. Chris is responsible for design, advice of material for the tool and the time that they would spend on constructing the tool. Chris will start with a rough sketch on normal paper with several design ideas; he would then work this with AutoCAD for the final design. Chris will advise whether to use for example D2 tool steel or Tungsten carbide for the tool itself but this would depend on the type of ceramic material to be used in the manufacturing process. When he has finished his design, he then calculates the time and materials that are needed to complete the tool. It is then down to the admin team and myself to finalise the calculations for the Part Tool Charge and the component quantities. If the customer is happy with our quote, price and lead-time and an order is forthcoming, the process of manufacturing can begin in earnest. Making a tool is an art in itself and the tooling department are highly skilled engineers using various tools from hand milling, turning, cnc milling and a spark eroder. The making of a tool can take from two days to sometimes two weeks depending on the size, complicity of design and material used.

The customer will have exclusive rights to the tool he has paid for and the tool will remain at Ceramic Substrates for the customer’s sole use.

I hope the above can give an insight into our In House Tooling process and remember the Ceramic Substrates Team are always at the end of the telephone to assist with any questions you may have or to arrange a visit to our Factory.


More from me next week