Invest in personnel and equipment, the formula of success of moulds j. Cherry

It is a family company formed by a team of 30 professionals who currently is able to offer its customers a very high quality product but also the possibility of technical advice in everything that surrounds the mold and the piece, offers Moldflow simulation studies of filling, feasibility studies, redesigns of piece, reverse engineering, manufacture of mold prototypes, development and manufacture of molds from series for plastic injection, injection with gas, bi-materia, injection with fabric, diecasting of aluminium and Zamak and mould-blowinglaunched product in any country in the world and after-sales service also in anywhere in the world who will be our molds. Offer a range of services as possible is the only solution to compete today with low-cost countries.

In a crisis like the present, the sector of mould lives an extremely complicated situation but coming from far back, much before that you start to talk about recession at a general level. At first they were the countries of the East but soon began to hear about the possibilities of China and India and suddenly, no time to react, our customers just sending projects to bid. What could we do in a family business dedicated to the design and construction of molds (especially for the automotive industry). Leave us to see what was the reality of all these markets at the same time that we started a hard and expensive (at all levels) reorganization of all of our company.

As a strong point, suffice it to say that we had a number of factors in our favour:

• an high know-how.
• a park of machinery machining and modern with the latest in technology and especially in regards to design in five axes and high speed.
• most of our investments were retired.
• a clear idea of where the market was going and implying globalization.

On the other hand, we decided to go out all over the world and prospect countries, Mexico, China, and India as potential suppliers of the mold, or at least of some of its parts. And, at the same time, we made a very aggressive commercial campaign to expand our portfolio of clients going through countries such as France, Germany, South Africa, Italy and some United States, etc.

We had experience building moulds in China, we propose the possibility of set us up there with 'own' workshop (telling that nothing itself there is in that country) and we also set some kind of agreement 'joint venture' style. But finally, and after seeing the cost of a product like that moulds j. Cherry prepares, with the same specifications, quality and productive results, we decided that we had to betting the store us her, we had to bet on a new concept of enterprise, new strategies of work and the most cutting-edge technology available in market.

At the time, in that when you told the staff the difficulties of the sector and how difficult that was to get new projects people doubted your sincerity and thought that what was wanted was to impair their quality of life at workWe had to decide to carry out a major restructuring by eliminating costs and creating a new team of professionals who understand the needs of our customers, the needs of flexibility at work and to be aware of deadlines to tight and infima prices requiring doin the same time, many more moulds and more cheap.

Thus managed to create and consolidate the team who currently form molds j. Cherry, which until today has been able to stand up to the emerging countries.

As technology is concerned if eight years ago we introduced our first machine 5 axis and high speed (a Breton Matrix 800 with 2500 x 2000 x 1500 Caucus), three years ago we bought a C40 Hermle with dish of 800 x 800 and this year we are installing a Roning FPT with changer up to 3 heads and 60 tools and two benches, a fixed and a Rotary which generated a real area of work of 6 meters.

At the same time, the staff of moulds j. Cherry, from the hand of its suppliers of software and tools, has been concerned much in developing new strategies for machining and testing with new tools thereby optimizing the processes and ensuring continuous innovation in machining section.

With this we have achieved a machining with high quality finishes, we have managed to access tool to areas previously unthinkable to work if it was not with an erosion of penetration we have reduced the work of erosion over 85%We we have avoided a lot of hours polishing and adjustments either movements or general closures of moulds.

The Breton Matrix 800 T2 is a machine just to finish that, if it works appropriately, with correct parameters and tools, allows to achieve really impressive finishes. It is equipped with an electromandrino capable of turning to 24,000 rpm and turn in five axes continuous in both 3 + 2. The frame is fixed, which allows to support all the weight you want and are only limited to the size of the table (2,500 x 2,000).

Our next investment in machine tool was a C40 Hermle. It is a machine that we qualify high yielding completely different but complemented very well with our work. It has a rotating table (with 2-axle it) 800 x 800 allows us to mechanize parts such as slides or movements inclined block or figure plates provided that they do in their dimensions. The head is mechanical, with a high torque power which allows a great capacity for chip startup and up to 18,000 rpm. When we need more laps to get very high precision finishes and quality is activated the system of pressurized air, along with multipliers stored in the loader, we can achieve continuous speeds up to 60,000 rpm. This allows us to start machining from 0 with slab to the phase of finishing with strawberries of up to 0.3 mm in diameter.

Our latest investment (installed this month), is a Roning FPT. A machine with changer tools (up to 60) both as heads (three different), with two distinct but complementary benches, a fixed 4 meters and a Rotary of 2 x 2 meters which will enable us to work with a large plate and several smaller plates put into squadrons specially designed for this.

The rotary table will allow us to yet more versatility allowing turns beyond the 5 axes that offers the head finishes and can reach a total of 7 axes with the added possibility of deep holes, which is also essential in the type of mold that we do.

This investment will allow us to reach a kind of works hitherto remained out of our reach to weight and dimensions as moulds of pasoruedas, Ip Carriers, etc.

Some say that we are crazy but madness is staying still and not moving. We are committed to the future, for the future of all of us who work here and, like all bets, sometimes seems risky

And last but not least, is the continuous process of training of our personnel and machining software update. The team formed by the members of the machining area has while annexes teams machines for CAM programming machines working in automatic permitting on-site training for those who are in the process of learning. Staff with more advanced knowledge also receive training by the software vendor in a room specially empowered to do so.

It is essential not only to keep abreast of developments and progress in the sector, but go beyond and be we who, seeing the needs imposed by the market, let those who propose to our progress and improvements that we need and are thus always a step ahead.

When planning an investment like this (of around 1'5 million euros) in a situation like the present the ideas that we run through our minds are not other than the following working and investing in the future. We want that our clients continue depositing their trust in us, we want to offer prices and terms to make low cost such as Chinese markets are not so interesting for them.

I would like to take to express my personal gratitude and that of the family to the entire team as moulds j. Cherry and prototypes and useful D. Cemar that his interest, continuing efforts and responsibility, make it possible to us overcome every day and be able to deal with the moment that we live.