Caerbont Automotive Instruments
A Wales-based business is proving “instrumental” in the success of vehicles as wide ranging as London Taxis, Morgan Cars, Jaguar, Aston Martin, MG, Land Rover and kit cars – as well as buses and canal boats and classic rally and racing cars.
Caerbont Automotive Instruments (CAI) manufactures high-quality vehicle instrumentation systems - including clusters and individual speedometers, fuel gauges, tachometers and other vehicle instruments, electronic control units, plus a range of switches, sensors, valves and transducers.
The company can trace its roots back to 1904, when the first speedometers were designed for the emerging British automotive industry by S Smith and Sons Ltd, London; but in the last few years it has not only weathered difficult market conditions but actually achieved significant growth through a bold policy of diversification - enabled by investment in flexible production facilities.
Today CIA focuses on medium and low-volume niche markets. For example, it supplies instruments for London Taxis, Morgan Cars, Caterham (Lotus 7), classics including Jaguar, Aston Martin, MG, Land Rover, kit cars, agricultural (Massey/ CNH), military, mining trains, buses and canal boats. In motor sport, CAI produces instruments for clubman and classic rally and racing cars.
As well as its distinctive round instruments, CAI also produces complete, customised instrument dash panels complete with wiring harnesses.
Meetings the varying needs of such a wide customer base demands a responsive, flexible approach. “In the late 1990s, the order book allowed the company to see about three months ahead; today, at the start of any month, we only see about 85% of sales for that month alone,” says Nigel Bruce, CAI’s MD. “There is constant pressure to respond to ever shorter lead times.”
To meet these challenges, the company has adapted production to include a hybrid of MRP and manual systems and introduced cellular manufacturing to the shop floor. Rather than moving work in progress around the factory, a product is now made entirely in one area - and people and materials flow around the factory to the cell. Kaizen techniques were used to optimise space, and the company achieving production within a much smaller area. When one major customer was lost to a global sourcing decision, the company was able to diversify and fill that gap.
Nigel Bruce acknowledges that assistance from the Welsh Assembly Government has played a key role in securing their future. “A crucial Assembly Investment Grant (AIG) helped us acquire our own refurbished metal pressing equipment so we can make our components when we need them, in the quantities we require and to our own priorities. We’ve also received support for consultancy, getting overseas contacts and work towards ISO9000.”
With its more efficient and responsive cellular manufacturing approach, CAI has now built a critical mass of business to underpin its future expansion plans.
