In 2015 The Temporary Kitchen Company (TKC) entered the insurance market with their innovative temporary kitchen solution, giving customers, for the first time, the choice to continue living in their own home after fire or flood damage, or during repair work. Since then, TKC has continued to disrupt the Alternative Accommodation market by offering a growing range of unique domestic kitchens and bathrooms; products designed to suit both the claim circumstances and the customers’ needs.

TKC’s ambition is to never say no to a customer and it’s this ethos that has seen this Queens Award for Innovation recipient grow and develop its product set so far. However, TKC identified that a recurring problem for customers during repair work, was space; whether that be within their property or on their driveway. To overcome this issue The Temporary Storage Company (TSC) was created, it’s aim – to provide scalable, secure, stay at home self-storage solutions.

Requirements

TSC are proud to have built a reputation based on reliability, quality and customer excellence and it was therefore imperative that TSC’s products delivered the same results. Having already identified a need for the temporary storage product, the challenge was to develop a product quickly and build stock levels to meet the anticipated demand.

TSC initially worked with a third-party supplier to machine the aluminium frames as the workload and time required for these processes was substantial. However, the supplier was unable to meet deadlines and the quality did not always meet the standards required or expected.

Due to the inaccuracy and inconsistency of this process and a desire to manage the process internally, The Temporary Storage Company contacted CNC Robotics with the intention of finding a solution to meet their specific manufacturing challenges.

Solution

Acting as TSC’s external R&D team, as well as working closely with the TSC team, we designed a bespoke solution, based on our expert knowledge of machining robots, for their manufacturing challenge. We aim to deliver the safest, most productive solution to ensure the highest quality output for our customers. We provided TSC with an industrial robotic arm fitted with an auto-tool-changing electro-spindle. This allowed the robotic arm to both drill and mill the aluminium depending on the process requirement.

Benefits

The automated solution developed by CNC Robotics, compared to the original process, is significantly faster and has quadrupled production and as continuous improvements are made to the process this is likely to increase. TSC have also benefited from a much higher level of repeatability, accuracy and consistency, resulting in fewer breakages and process stoppages, adding to the increased productivity. The Temporary Storage Company is now able to produce more storage modules which has subsequently helped The Temporary Storage Company provide its products to even more customers.

From the initial meeting with CNC Robotics we felt that our aim for being self-sufficient with our manufacturing and production would be achievable. Jason and the team have been very professional throughout the research, design and installation process. Their needs and ours were discussed through each step to ensure the space required for the installation and manufacturing was obtained; while ensuring the safety of our operatives using the equipment.

The installation and training were swift, but very thorough. Although there was much to learn, we never felt pressured or confused; our questions were always answered. We were taught all we needed to know to start our project, with the reassurance there is always support at the end of the phone if we so need it. Since the initial installation we have developed the equipment’s use and have already started to expand our capabilities for production.We look forward to working with CNC Robotics in the future.

– Thomas Downer, Production Manager

If you would like to speak to one of our specialists email info@cncrobotics.co.uk or visit our website to find out more