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Guthrie Douglas - product, industry and company news
Tel: 01926 452452 November 2014
No compromises on safety, speed or reliability
Supplier to automotive industry requests performance package that meets latest safety legislation ...more

GfA distribution centre opens
Short supply times expected from new multi-million euro GfA distribution centre in Dusseldorf ...more
 

Where to find us at R+T Stuttgart
GfA to have significant presence at world’s leading trade fair in February ...more
 

No compromises on safety, speed or reliability

 

A GfA UK solution is helping one company put health and safety at the fore without compromising the speed and reliability required by its customers. 
 
The company makes robot cells for the automotive industry. These are used for various applications on production lines and are sealed by high-speed doors for physical protection of operators. Unlike light curtains which have been used in similar environments, the customer believes in the physical barrier of a door which unequivocally shows operators whether access to the cell is possible or not.
 
The doors cannot be opened until any procedure in the cell has been terminated, and then must allow quick entrance and exit.  
 
Any slow running or failure of a cell door would delay or force the production line to stop. This is particularly unwanted in the automotive industry where any downtime has significant cost implications.
 
In a new application for our systems, GfA UK was approached to help design a complete package of drives and controls to ensure the cells comply with the latest regulations. A Safedrive Fi was provided for a test rig and performed many thousands of operations over a two-week period. This drive was specifically developed for powering non-balanced doors where speed, frequency of use and durability are key requirements.
 
Our sales and technical sales teams worked closely with our customer. Including visiting the site to fine tune the parameters of the TS971 control panel to give the customer the performance they required.
 
Each cell door is also installed with a wireless safety edge. This presents a huge benefit according to the customer as it overcomes the problems associated with traditional curly cables that can break and be disconnected creating potentially dangerous health and safety situations.
 
 
  
For expert advice on choosing the right safety device for your application please call our technical sales team on 01926 452452. 
                                                                                               
 
GfA distribution centre opens

In a year that GfA in Germany celebrates its 60th  anniversary in business, it continues to invest heavily in the future with the opening of a new  multi-million euro distribution centre in Dusseldorf.
 
Ten years ago GfA supplied approximately 75,000 drives, today this number exceeds 160,000 units. The new high-rack and small parts warehouse was built to ensure efficient and flexible customer support with short supply times and provide sufficient space for future growth. The centre is extremely hi-tech, using advanced environmental technology, meaning it requires minimum heating whilst the indoor temperature is kept constant.
 
Storage capacity has tripled compared with the company’s former facility.
Removal of previous high-rack systems has created more space so that  the prototype testing and inspection area can be expanded alongside production capacity.
 
The scale of the investment reflects GfA’s commitment to the industry and will assist in its expansion plans in Europe and globally.
 
Where to find us at R+T Stuttgart

GfA will have a significant presence at the 50th anniversary of the R+T trade fair in Stuttgart from 24th to 28th February 2015. Andrew Collett, Peter Whittles and Joe Ferrara will be joining the GfA group stand and are keen to introduce any UK customers attending to the global GfA family. It will be a great opportunity for you to exchange thoughts on our industry with our global colleagues and customers.
 
At the last R+T trade fair in 2012, the topics of energy efficiency and building safety met with huge interest. The 2015 show puts a focus, among other things, on ‘the networked building’, providing insight into the topic of building control and automation.
 
If you would like to attend R&T Stuttgart, please contact Becky Laird at GfA UK for tickets.
 
Christmas closing dates
As this is our last newsletter before Christmas, please note the following dates. Our offices will be closed from midday on Christmas Eve and will reopen on Monday 5th January 2015.
 
We would like to thank you for your support this year. We will be making our traditional donation to a charity chosen by our employees in lieu of sending Christmas cards.