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News
20th March 2005
ibd deliver the light fantastic!
Switched-on expert advice and guidance from ibd
members Abigail Levin
and David Brannock via
the DTI’s Manufacturing Advisor Scheme (MAS) is enabling Sowerby
Bridge lighting company, Zodion, to look to the future with confidence.
Zodion’s roots lie firmly in Yorkshire. Before a recent re-structuring,
the business was known as Cableform, a well-known, well respected
local company. The firm had been located in old mill buildings which
had been converted into manufacturing units; accommodation far from
ideal for a 21st century business.
In 2003, Cableform was re-branded and two dedicated divisions were
established - Zodion Street Lighting Controls and Lumo Lighting,
which provides low voltage lighting for caravans, motor homes and
commercial vehicles. The next step was to move into modern premises.
Although a new site had been found, Managing Director John Fox
explains that a lot of work was still required. "The premises
were just a shell so we took the decision to bring in MAS specialists
to help us with the move. Abigail and David were brilliant and got
involved in many different aspects of our business, they particularly
advised us on the best office and factory layout.
"Our timetable was very challenging but they helped us hit
our target of fitting out the new building and moving within three
months. The MAS specialists provided us with some excellent ideas
that made the move seamless and relatively painless.
Our 62 employees have been involved throughout all the changes
and were extremely supportive. They now enjoy a modern working environment,
which has undoubtedly helped us grow our turnover, which is on target
this year to reach £5m"
Lighting plays a vital role in keeping streets and roads safe and
Zodion Lighting Controls has an unrivalled reputation in this field.
Zodion manufactures an extensive range of high quality electronic
photo control units and lamp ballasts for street and amenity lighting,
and also has the capacity to provide lighting controls for highway
signage applications.
John Fox said: "We pride ourselves on being an innovative
company and are constantly investing in research to ensure our products
are at the cutting edge of technology. For example, we are currently
running trials on a new photocell, SmartCELL, to switch street lighting
on and off. It has the capability to maintain an optimum power factor
and provides greater efficiency and, as a result, greater cost savings.
"Innovation is also important in our Lumo Lighting division.
Purchasers of caravans and mobile homes are ever more discerning
and we place emphasis on providing fashionable, high performance,
lighting designs. This, along with our reputation for quality, has
made us a leading supplier of interior, low voltage lighting.
"We remain in close contact with David and Abigail, they now
have an in-depth understanding of our business and we know we can
trust them to provide us with very simple but effective sets of
tools to help us continue to move the company forward.
"Their practical advice helped us reduce the levels of faults
and defects and improved our use of equipment. They assisted to
improve our stock turn with the introduction of an effective stock
management process.
This was an important factor in enabling us to provide our customers
with high levels of service. It is vital we have the right parts
available in the right quantities at the right time. I cannot recommend
them highly enough."
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