Godfrey Syrett invests in top technology to support continuous innovation of its furniture range
Lectra, a world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, reports that furntiure manufacturer Godfrey Syrett has chosen Lectra’s software and fabric cutting solutions to automate and optimise its production.
Founded in 1947, Godfrey Syrett designs and manufactures innovative furniture solutions for the education, office, healthcare and defence markets throughout the United Kingdom. With plans to double its turnover within five years, Godfrey Syrett recognised the need to become more responsive in order to quickly fulfil new orders and continually innovate within its product range.
“Previously, our products were designed, developed and manufactured by hand. Whilst we are very proud of this heritage, this approach did have the potential for costly production errors,” explains Michael Donachie, operations manager, Godfrey Syrett.
Lectra worked with the team at Godfrey Syrett to pinpoint its needs and demonstrate the impact automation would have on production speed and cost. “The results were fantastic, fabric savings were huge versus manual cutting, at around 33%,” continues Michael.
Godfrey Syrett took the decision to invest in a state-of-the-art Lectra cutting solution, including advanced pattern- and marker-making software, a fabric spreading solution and a Vector fabric cutter.
With Vector, Godfrey Syrett can cut in 2.5 minutes what would have taken 40 minutes using a manual process. It will also deliver consistent quality of cut parts that is impossible to achieve with hand cutting. Vector will be put to work on products such as Zip, the company’s modular seating offer which zips and unzips for easy reconfiguration, and Mr Jones, an award-winning soft seating range.
Michael concludes: “We expect to substantially increase our production capacity as well as our agility. By demonstrating such impressive results, as well as being able to connect us to a global network of manufacturers, Lectra stood head and shoulders above the rest as clear market leaders.”
Neil Tweddle, managing director at Godfrey Syrett adds; “In a market driven by the need for flexibility, style, innovation as well as function, we knew that we had to transform as a business to achieve our growth ambitions and secure new business. Technology is playing a major part in this transformation and I am excited to watch our partnership with Lectra grow into the future.”