Offsite specialist M-AR recently hosted its first factory open day, welcoming more than 50 visitors to its large manufacturing facility and head office in Hull for an in-depth insight into what goes on behind the scenes
The visitors, who had all signed up in advance to attend one of two sessions held on the day, included architects, potential clients, suppliers, competitors and students all keen to peek behind the curtain and see how M-AR operates and watch its manufacturing processes in action. M-AR’s passionate and dedicated team was on hand throughout the day to answer all the questions raised by visitors interested to learn more.
Touring M-AR’s 100,000 sq. ft. factory, visitors were able to see a live project in progress from start to finish – from the arrival of the raw materials, through each stage on the production line as the modules took shape before being finished, wrapped and loaded ready to deliver to site. At full capacity, the large factory is set up to be able to build 400 modules a year which equates to around five average-sized homes per factory operative per year.
M-AR demonstrated its new Combilift mobile gantry crane
The team also demonstrated its new Combilift mobile gantry crane, which is the largest crane of its type in Europe with a working capacity of 20t and a lifting height of six metres. The new machinery gives M-AR the ability to load, unload, move and stack if required directly from its manufacturing site in any weather, at any time helping the team to consistently deliver projects on schedule.
The factory open day, which is set to become a regular feature on the M-AR calendar with several events planned each year, forms a key part of its open-door, transparent culture. It went down a storm with visitors who attended on the day, with more already showing an interest in future events.
The majority of attendees said they found the day to be informative and useful and that they’d recommend the event to others in future. Visitors praised M-AR’s open and collaborative approach with the team encouraging open discussions on the day as well as adopting an access all areas strategy for the factory tour and not being secretive with its IP. They were also impressed by M-AR’s insightful and knowledgeable staff, the progression the company has made in few short years and enjoyed the opportunity to see work in progress.
Ryan Geldard, operations director at M-AR said: “This was something that we’ve wanted to do for a while now so it was great to be able to throw open our doors and welcome visitors from all different areas of the offsite industry.
“As well as showing off our manufacturing facility, the event provided an opportunity for the sharing of ideas – something which I am genuinely passionate about. Collaboration is key to maximising the benefits of offsite and the whole industry will ultimately benefit if we work together more closely by sharing best practice and new ways of working. It was a fantastic day and we’ve had so much positive feedback that we’ll definitely be making it a regular feature in the future.”
If you’re interested in attending a future M-AR factory open day, please register your interest by emailing buildingrelationships@m-ar.co.uk. For more information call 01482 635 08, email or visit www.m-ar.co.uk.
