Minivator Group Limited is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of stairlifts and a leading supplier of independent living products. In June 2009 they opened their factory doors to a group of West Midlands companies as part of the Inside Manufacturing Enterprise (IME) Best Practice visit programme.
From its Kingswinford headquarters, in the heart of the Black Country, Minivator supplies life changing products to UK Local Government, direct to end users and to mobility dealers globally. Following its original spin off from a large US Corporation in 2000 and a Management Buy Out in 2004, the Minivator story is one of continuous growth and success.
Minivator’s success is due to its dedicated loyal and caring workforce, something of which they are rightly very proud of. Alongside learning about the unique set of motivational tools and traditions that make the business a success from key members of staff; the delegates were given the opportunity to experience these values first hand during the site tour.
Bob Walker a Continuous Improvement Engineer at Weatherite Manufacturing Ltd comments..
"The presentations by the team leaders and operators on the shop floor were excellent. Although nervous they were very enthusiastic and you get a true reflection of the reality along with the theory."
Phil Millard from Alcon Components Ltd (see left) also experienced one of their traditions first hand when he received a 'shock' Champagne Moment from Ian Burrows at Minivator for asking the most and best questions during the visits. Champagne Moments are just one of the ways in which Minivator recognise the contribution their staff members make to the success of the company.
As well as learning about people management delegates were keen to learn more about Minivator's strategic change in their approach to global manufacturing culminating in 2008 with the opening of Minivator Shanghai, a fully owned subsidiary of the Group. By establishing a high quality, fully owned base in a lower cost economy, this enabled the cost effective assembly of standard components, whilst retaining the highly skilled bespoke manufacturing processes in Kingswinford. Minivator Shanghai directly benefits the customer by keeping product costs and lead times as the best in the industry. Minivator sees the use of its Chinese operation as a real strength for the Group and for its continued presence in the Black Country.
Delegates were given this unique honest insight into the process of moving manufacturing to China alongside the problems and benefits experienced along the way. A clear benefit to those companies thinking of moving manufacturing to China!
Ian Burrows, Operations Director at Minivator comments...
"The IME visit provided a platform to share our experiences with other like minded UK organizations who want to hear how Minivator’s manufacturing strategy and shop floor participation has given us a real competitive edge. All Minivator Associates are proud of their achievements and it’s important that we recognize this success and their contribution as often as we can." 
Delegate comments from the day include:
- It was very useful to see a £5m company thoroughly implementing sound manufacturing principles and being open minded and realistic regarding the location of manufacturing Very honest in where they are in the journey,
- Supply Chain Development in China was very useful,
- See it in action was most useful,
- Excellent shop floor presentations,
Future visits to Minivator UK Ltd.
The visit to Minivator was heavily oversubscribed and already another visit in September is fully booked. To register your interest in attending a visit to Minivator please contact Michelle Connors via email or calling the number below.
For more information on the IME Business to Business visit or the benefits of becoming a host company please contact the IME team on 024 7623 6861 or email Michelle or visit the MAS-WM website.
