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PRODUCTION LINE WE ONLY DO SOLUTIONS'
Page 45
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The man in charge of transplanting the Dereham van line into the Springburn site, and establishing the manufacturing process, is production manager and former apprentice Tommy Pollock. He has been with the company for more than 33 years.
Today, the Carntyne factory turns out brand-new shimmering boxyans in its own right, and despite being limited to this style of boxvan, Pollock sees the design commonality as a real advantage.
He's quick to stress that "some of our early Fruehauf vans gave us over 30 years' service, so they've certainly withstood the test of time".
The factory's two new-build lines are complemented by one refurbishing line where it regularly renovates ageing boxvans, turning them into sparkling singleor double-deckers too.
Supporting the jig-build system are heavy new Kone overhead cranes, a Bronx 500-tonne hydraulic press, laser riveting, drilling and boring equipment, plus some rather impressive-looking metal-cutting gear. Once supplies of front bulkheads, side panels, floors and superstructures are manufactured, they're assembled ready to mount on to proprietary (mainly Concept) chassis, in one of a series of fullheight all-round safe working platforms, with harness provision.
The network of platforms were all fabricated in-house along with stepladders and trailer supports with their integral power supply, in order to make the working environment as safe as possible.
Other in-house products include the fabricated side posts for the second deck, the hydraulic plumbing, wiring harnesses and load security system.
While any extensive paintwork is outsourced locally, Pollock is constantly reviewing Carntyne's design and factory build methods so the manufacturing process is as finely honed as possible.
That leaves considerable leeway to tackle just about any sort of fleet refurbishment, accident damage or general repair work, and on schedule.
There's very little that we can't handle,' Pollock proclaims proudly. "We don't have problems here — we only do solutions."