High Torque Fastener Systems
High Torque Fastener Systems has patented a way of fixing two pieces of sheetmetal and sheetmetal components… without using traditional nuts and bolts or thread tapping screws. Their single fastener simply but effectively clamps the metal together - and with no need for nuts or washers, inventory costs are cut by a minimum of 50 per cent.
Welding and mechanical nut insertion processes are removed completely and expensive assembly equipment is no longer needed. Thinner materials can be used and products can be made more compact - opening up exciting design opportunities. And the absence of bolts makes it easier to recycle material and dispose of products after their useful life - both highly relevant to the end of life vehicle (ELV) directive.
The idea was developed by HTFS founder and MD John Emmett, together with a colleague. At the time John was employed as a toolmaker, but a period of development and testing proved the validity of their concept. Early research and development demonstrated that not only is the HTFS system more effective than traditional nuts and bolts, but the cost savings for manufacturers adopting the system can be substantial.
“Existing supply chains have tended to react on a cost basis only,” he explains. “Our product was designed from day one to remove cost and to enhance existing supply chains - making them more profitable and more sustainable.”
HTFS’s impressive customer base is testament to John’s assertion that the company’s technology can produce benefits for almost any business that produces any kind of metal box: the extensive list includes Marconi, Rangemaster (cookers), Johnson Security (armoured vehicles), Lear Corp (automotive), Land Rover (automotive), Panasonic (microwaves) and Envirotec (air conditioning).
One major manufacturer of off-road vehicles will achieve a capital saving of £1.8 million by removing an insertion and welding cell from its production line. Another manufacturer plans to reduce the weight of its car; yet another is planning to harness the HTFS system in conjunction with thinner, stronger super steels.
HTFS currently operates with a small core team and subcontracts the manufacturing of production tools and fasteners. “The business support strategy in Wales has got the company to its current position, starting with an initial grant from Swansea Council to patent my original idea, to the more recent backing from the (then) WDA and Welsh Assembly Government,” says John. “The challenge now - with their continued support - is to take the company, currently based at the Automotive Technium, to the next stage in its growth and development.”
This does not mean that the business will be abandoning Wales; in fact the next stage is an enhanced R&D resource and an HQ to make South Wales the centre of a new, global technology.
