20 January 2021
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Manufacturer extends further to meet demand
MANUFACTURER ScanStone is due to complete work on an expansion project early this year which will extend its capacity and improve its drying area.
The company, which makes bed formers, bed tillers, destoners, toppers, windrowers and harvesters for potato growers, moved its assembly line to a new building adjoining its existing building in 2018 to accommodate a bigger, more purpose-built, area for its assemblers, complete with underfloor heating, tooling and lifting gear.
The added capacity enabled the development and construction of an increased product range, including a new haulm topper range with a front-mounted version that can be coupled with a rear mounted machine or adapted to go on the rear of the tractor.
Further construction work has more recently followed at ScanStone’s main site outside Forfar, in Eastern Scotland and is due to be completed early this year. It will include an additional paint drying facility, adjacent to the painting and shotblasting area of the factory.
Colder weather at busy production spells through the winter has meant that the drying area has had to be increased and improved. The addition of underfloor heating and an automated carrying rail, means parts can be painted and dried within 24 hours.
Since Covid-19 restrictions have also called for additional staffroom area and canteens to be spaced further out, the firm has invested in a first floor mezzanine of 300 square metres for canteen space which will also have a training area.
The most recent building will include a service workshop for overhauling second-hand machines.
The factory services those in the Angus, Aberdeenshire, Perthshire and Mearns areas and the model is being rolled out and replicated across five newly-established ScanStone-owned depots across the UK and Europe, including ScanStone France in Cheppy, Northern France, Brigg, Lakenheath and Kilkeel (NI).
The new assembly hall of 2018 cost the company around £300k and the building under construction now is another £300k.
A statement from the firm said: “Although these investments are of significant magnitude, and particularly when they are in close succession like this, we want to give our customers and staff the best experiences and the best services. This can only be done by making investments in infrastructure as the number of machines working in the ground each year is always increasing. Typically, a destoner or any of our product line requires parts and service back up when it is being used, it is not really a one-off purchase for the farmer.”
ScanStone has seen revenue increase by 28% on the previous year, pushing sales of just short of £10M. The company has managed to stay open and supporting the food industry throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
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