Charging ahead: a new spring for electric vehicles
At National Industries, our team is proud to work with clients that represent a range of critical sectors from across Australia and the world. For some of them – our defence clients, our unicorns and corporate giants, our clients with patents and proprietary parts – privacy is everything.
This case study covers a project we undertook for a leading global electric vehicle company based in the USA that has requested anonymity due to its proprietary designs and technology.
The background
Some of the time, it’s the appeal of our cutting-edge technology that brings clients to National Industries, but more-often-than-not clients find us because they need innovative problem solvers who are capable and ready to take on a real challenge.
For this project, our ability to get to the root of a problem and identify the best solution was exactly how we found ourselves working with one of the world’s most renowned and successful electric vehicle manufacturers.
Contacting National Industries with a seemingly unsolvable brief, this client urgently needed a bespoke spring component for its vehicles that would fit seamlessly into the surrounding design, while still functioning as intended. The design provided to the Asian-based manufacturing company did not fit the requirements… or the vehicle!
Needing a solution, materials and manufacture, this initial project has transformed into an ongoing and trusted relationship, and an opportunity for an Aussie company to be part of a global innovation.
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Project size
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Units delivered
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Relationship
The approach
Like so many of our projects, this one landed with National Industries after other suppliers – global companies in this instance – were unable to meet the needs of the brief. And though it began with an internet search and an enquiry call, it has resulted in a long, ongoing relationship that we truly value.
With this client, time really was of the essence, as any delays in production would potentially be felt in the bottom line, all around the world.
Receiving a call from a local company connected to the global vehicle brand, we were presented with a spring form for which the original manufacturers in Asia were having extreme difficulty producing samples with the required integrity.
Upon seeing the spring, the issues in design were immediately clear to us, and though it was a Friday afternoon, we set about solving the problem urgently.
By Monday morning, when the client’s representatives first visited our facility, we had tweaked the design as needed, and prepared samples ready for their review, despite the advice they had been given by engineers that no one could produce this solution.
In order to move at this fast pace, our experienced team worked through the weekend in both design and manufacture to ensure rapid delivery of a result that was fit for purpose.
With the design approved, we began immediate manufacture, combining it with our existing, stringent quality assurance process to deliver the vast quantity requested, with zero rejects during the project lifespan.
Despite tight timeframes, deliveries arrived as scheduled in the USA and production was unaffected by the previous challenges the client had experienced in trying to have this component manufactured.
The result
In line with our promises and our reputation, this project was delivered on-time and met the difficult requirements of the brief. The client was pleased with the outcome and has since made repeat orders, making our local Aussie company a proud part of its trusted international supply chain.
“Australian spring, wire form and metal fabrication companies are often overlooked by overseas manufacturers and brands due to a misconception about our capabilities and the perception that Asian production is much more cost-effective. What we delivered for this project – in record time – wasn’t just a part, it was an example of the expertise and experience we can bring to any project, and the extra value that delivers. It costs a lot less to get it right, than it does to get it wrong!”
Anthony, GM
The National Industries difference
Why did we get this project? Because we take the time to ask the right questions, and we know what those are because we have spent more than 60 years in this industry building our knowledge and honing our craft! There’s no such thing as a problem that can’t be solved, just a supplier who doesn’t have the right skills to solve it!