Networking and collaboration blog series: Part two
Auric Metal Finishers is a specialist in the precision plating of metal components with a pedigree for highly technical, reel-to-reel plating work.
As the complex needs for metal stamped components, often to micron tolerances, also requires the same level of detail and precision during the finishing phase, Brandauer puts significant emphasis on its relationship with Auric. It’s a relationship that began over 40 years ago and is still going strong today.
Some 43 years ago…
The relationship began in the late 1970s on the shared principles of precision, technical excellence, and collaboration. Auric had been approached by a potential customer with a view to gold plating complex and extremely small electronic clips, wishing to outsource the entire process of stamping and plating.
At the time, Auric was a newly founded business but knew well of the long history that Brandauer had in progressive metal component stamping. This expertise would be crucial in delivering for Auric’s new prospect and giving them the confidence to be a reliable supplier, benefitting from a unique new collaboration.
That original project kickstarted a fruitful partnership between the two businesses, where the business values Auric had founded its approach on were mirrored in those Brandauer had been refining for decades: Expertise, innovation, and reliability to name but a few.
Shared values to added value
Over the years, Auric has worked alongside Brandauer to provide cost-effective solutions for the selective application of precious metals. Millions of components have now benefited from the same approach that the partnership was formed on: Keeping the stamping expertise in Birmingham with Brandauer and the precision plating and finishing just down the road in Coventry with Auric.
One thing Auric has consistently delivered on is value. For Brandauer that has meant benefitting from processes that minimise waste and undergo the most cost-effective use of materials. That is particularly true when expensive process finishes such as gold plating are required. It was required of the very first project the two businesses collaborated on and is even more popular today.
New masking techniques and equipment have been employed since that allow two gold stripes of differing thicknesses to be deposited at the same time. And this has halved the potential process costs to Brandauer. Such examples of added value give Brandauer and its customers, a unique competitive advantage when tendering for new business.
Capturing demand
Selective plating is a sought-after service for many manufacturers but more and more, lead times seem to be increasing, particularly in Europe where supply can’t keep up with demand.
Even before the effects of the pandemic, Brandauer were hearing of 52-week lead times on selective plating in Europe – a conversation that would often dominate the exhibition and trade show spaces Brandauer were frequenting.
The collaboration and close partnership with Auric meant that Brandauer could alleviate lead time concerns overseas and drive reshoring activities with confidence as it had already secured capacity with Auric, bringing average lead times down to just three to four weeks.
These very short lead times on selective gold, silver and palladium plating were turning quite a few heads but so did the associated benefits with using Auric’s finishing services. Brandauer could also offer its customers and prospects cost reductions on precious metal in localised areas down to +/-0.127mm on stripe width, with the aid of custom-made belts.
Advanced capabilities
As is pivotal to Brandauer’s ongoing success, the ability to continuously innovate is a proposition that excites Auric and keeps them at the forefront of their discipline. Whether it’s the barrel plating of high-volume components or developing a solution for the selective plating of a novel new product, Auric is consistently one step ahead.
This is thanks to investment in the latest and widest range of advanced electroplating and surface treatment technologies, such as those associated with its reel-to-reel service.
Operating at up to 20 metres a minute, Auric can work with either plain strip up to 100mm wide, or pressed components, and can handle up to ¼ of a tonne. When multiple, pallet mounted layer reels are used, 500,000 parts per layer can be processed.
Component complexity is a phrase both Brandauer and Auric are more than comfortable with, which is why the emphasis on precision is always top of the agenda on any collaborative project. Selective electroplating is perhaps one of the more common requirements in the production of complex parts and is a specialist service that Brandauer has benefitted from over the years.
Auric can apply economical coatings of different metals in single or multiple stripes along the entire length of a reel. This can be a plain, part-blanked, or fully stamped component strip. The spot plate technique using custom built tools to deposit gold or silver onto a specific component area is also one of its capabilities. This technique is ideal for critical contact surfaces of electrical connectors, which can be accommodated to just 0.2mm in diameter.
A plating partner with quality processes and reliable technology is of the utmost importance when dealing with the level of complexity and quantities Brandauer has become renowned for. Auric set the standard over 40 years ago and hasn’t missed a beat since.
Collaboration is the key to growth
Whether it’s building networks across industries, leveraging association benefits and connections, developing the next generation of engineers, or expanding capability and service; collaboration is the key to getting there efficiently and effectively.
Since the pandemic, there’s been no better time to focus on collaboration. Collaboration gets things done and gets things done quicker. Collective voices, sharing resources and sharing knowledge leads to benefits everywhere and if UK manufacturers are serious about the UK becoming the epicentre of manufacturing expertise, then they’ll be serious about working together.
Thanks to relationships such as that of the 43-year partnership with Auric, Brandauer has always found itself in a position of strength, whether that’s navigating the storms of recession, Brexit, or a world-wide pandemic.
In the next networking and collaboration blog instalment, attention will turn towards a unique partnership that became Brandauer’s very first acquisition: Cable Clips.
