SubscribeThe observation that: "change is inevitable…. change is constant," was made by Benjamin Disraeli almost 150 years ago. Yet while his comments referred to the development of "a progressive country", they could just as accurately be applied to any successful manufacturing company operating in today's competitive world markets.
To not merely survive, but thrive, organisations must continually evolve and adapt to new market demands. The simple truth is that if you are not moving forward, then you are certainly losing ground to your business rivals.
It’s this commitment to embrace change that has underpinned the development of Newage Transmissions Ltd, a company that can trace its roots back more than 100 years to the birth of the UK automotive industry. The proof of its effectiveness can be demonstrated by the fact that today, the company is not only the dominant supplier of driveline equipment to the UK’s site vehicle industry, but the gearbox supplier of choice for more than 80% of Britain’s inland waterway owners.
The Newage story - and indeed that of the famous Riley motoring marque - dates back to the 1870s, when William Riley became a master weaver in his family’s Coventry-based textile business. An accomplished engineer, he quickly reacted to the rapid decline of Britain’s textile industry by diversifying into cycle manufacture. This soon led to the production of engines and later, the manufacture of motor cycles and the famous marque of Riley cars under the guidance of his son, Percy. The Riley car business was subsequently taken over by the Nuffield organisation, leaving Percy and his associates in charge of the Riley Engine Company, which was later renamed as P R Motors Ltd.
This company, which was later to evolve into Newage Transmissions, initially concentrated on the manufacture of gears and transmissions for the UK’s thriving motor industry. However, in the 1950s, it entered the off-highway vehicle arena by designing its first gearbox for construction site dumpers. The company expanded its range of driveline equipment over the next 20 years and, with the acquisition of Gear Drive Systems in 1975, Newage developed a comprehensive range of double reduction axles with enclosed oil-immersed brakes, specifically for off-highway vehicle use.
Newage demonstrated its continued commitment to product development by re-designing its range of off-highway driveline equipment in 2001. The company’s new ‘Driveline Solutions’ range features a series of compact, modular designs that meet the needs of vehicles with a payload of up to 10 tonnes. In parallel, the latest evolution products are offered with a comprehensive array of customer options to ensure their suitability for a wide variety of vehicle applications.
Consistent Theme
The consistent theme of versatility, flexibility and adaptability is not only reflected in the spread of industries and wide range of vehicles catered for by Newage equipment. The company’s axles, gearboxes and transfer boxes have long been supplied to the UK’s construction site dumper market. Yet Newage products are just as likely to be encountered at airports, as well as in industries as diverse as agriculture, mining and materials handling.
Typical recent applications include the supply of drop boxes and axles for prototype electrically-powered 25-seater buses; the specification of standard Newage 215 series axles by a US-based customer on a multi-purpose ground support equipment vehicle; and even the use of a modified PRM marine transmission in a low-capacity farming utility vehicle.
The company’s modular design approach and high component commonality are also reflected in the range of drive options available for most models. High efficiency mechanical units are typically employed in heavier duty off-highway equipment applications. Hydrostatic variants are widely employed in the 10-40 kW vehicle range, where their ability to be used for non ‘in-line’ applications provides increased packaging flexibility. In addition, electric drive options are more frequently specified for indoor use.
Each power source imposes a different set of demands on the driveline equipment; not least the requirement for a wide spread of gear ratios and power ratings. Again, Newage’s ability to cater for such needs through a family of products with a common space envelope benefits customers at a number of levels. Typically, it will enable design time for equipment integration to be minimised, spares stock-holding requirements to be reduced, or allow the same chassis installation to be used for both electric or hydrostatic drive applications, for example.
These advantages are further underlined by the growing emphasis on eco-friendly power sources and the continuing drive for more compact and versatile vehicles, particularly in the 10-100kW range. Customers’ latest requirements are mirrored in the range of axle variants offered within a single family of Newage products. Take the company’s 415 series axles for example. It is available with mechanical gear ratios from 14.8 to 18.04:1, as well as hydrostatic input gearbox ratios of 1.53, 1.76 or 2.13:1. A series of track widths is also offered - along with braking options and load carrying capacities up to 5.2 tonnes - and each model can be supplied with a wide variety of road wheel mounting options.
Diversity
The diversity of product variants within each product family poses its own potential problems in terms of fulfilling customer orders on short lead times, particularly if these are for small batch items.
The company has addressed this issue through a major initiative to streamline its manufacturing operations and associated supply chain management. Traditional methods of meeting customer delivery requirements through holding large stocks of finished products, sub-assemblies or work-in-progress carry severe cost penalties, which ultimately impact on any supplier’s competitiveness.
Newage’s approach has been to focus attention on lean manufacturing methods in order to drive both delivery lead times and production costs down. According to Operations Director, Roy Rushbrooke, the most visible changes have been the adoption of cell manufacturing methods for each of the company’s three principal product lines.
“With most of our CNC machines capable of being pre-programmed for the complete range of product variants they are assigned to produce - and several machines equipped with all the workholding options required - change-overs are often achieved simply at the press of a button or a flick of a switch, eliminating downtime altogether,” he adds.
As part of the company’s reorganisation, production control, production engineering and quality control staff for each of the product lines have been relocated to a central office within the manufacturing area.
Assembly and test areas are also now incorporated within the relevant flowline, enabling a dedicated team to build on its core in-house skills. “This has promoted greater involvement of the workforce and, in turn, has helped in the smooth introduction of self-inspection of parts and team working,” Mr Rushbrooke continues. “The result is increased responsibility, accountability and ultimately, greater control.”
Not that internal manufacturing operations have been the only areas to come under scrutiny in the company’s drive to increase its competitiveness and responsiveness. As a result, Newage has taken the decision to out-source many of its requirements rather than re-invest in the modernisation of in-house facilities.
Equally, the company now searches world-wide for the most cost-effective suppliers of other services and components. “We currently buy-in components from as far afield as Italy, India, Turkey, Germany and Poland,” says Mr Rushbrooke. “However, we are constantly evaluating new suppliers who feel they can meet our quality, lead time and cost targets.”
Further changes to the company’s purchasing procedures are seen in the transfer of responsibility for lineside consumable items - such as fasteners, seals and gaskets - to the suppliers of these products themselves, through the negotiation of long-term supply agreements.
“As part of the move away from traditional, foreman-led production to cellular manufacturing operations, we have encouraged cell managers to become more closely involved with major customers,” adds Rushbrooke. “As their requirements are normally determined on a weekly or daily basis, close liaison means that machine programming can be planned 24 hours ahead and raw material scheduled accurately - on the basis of true requirements.”
Significantly, the results of the company’s manufacturing initiative have not been limited to worthwhile reductions in set-up and delivery lead times. A significant cut in overall man hours per unit has also been achieved. This is reflected in a substantially improved on-time delivery performance and an increase of almost 50% in production throughput.
“All this has been achieved without any additional labour costs or investment in machine tools - other than fixturing and tooling,” reports Mr Rushbrooke. “Indeed, the only cost increases have been in areas such as raw materials and cutting tools, and correspond directly to the growth in output.”
“Our enhanced ability to produce items to order has also enabled us to further reduce inventory - and make corresponding cost savings,” he continues.
Traditional Strengths
The combination of modular design and latest production methods builds on Newage’s traditional engineering strengths to provide a powerful competitive edge.
As a result, the company is capable of meeting schedule variations from major customers at short notice, as well as able to react quickly to new market opportunities. That doesn’t just mean supplying standard range products to new customers within two weeks, but the capacity to modify existing designs and produce prototype units for in-vehicle trials in as little as eight weeks.
“Over the past two years, we have devoted substantial resources to developing our presence in Europe and North America,” comments Newage’s Off-Highway Sales Manager, Peter Townsend. “We have established a strong foothold in these important markets and are now looking to build on this in other areas of the world.
“I am confident that our ability to supply non-standard products in small volumes to meet challenging new applications - both quickly and cost-effectively - will be a key factor in ensuring Newage’s past track record of success will be continued long into the future.”