Wilmat Ltd

Stay tuned something is coming soon.........

It's a sad day here at Wilmat as we bid farewell to Marie Lacey who has been an integral part of our team for the past 32 years. Your dedication and exceptional work in sales have been truly appreciated, your absence will be genuinely felt by all of us.

You will be sorely missed by the entire team. Your hard work, dedication, and the spirit and energy you've brought to the workplace have left a lasting impact on everyone.

Wishing you all the best in your future endeavour's.

With heartfelt appreciation ❤️

The Wilmat Team

Thank you for your continued support during 2023 and
here's to a Healthy and Prosperous New Year 🎄🎄🎄

Please note:
Our offices will close for Christmas on
Thursday 21st December 2023 and reopen on
Tuesday 2nd January 2024

REHAU PVC casement windows offer a wide choice of styles and colours for a variety of applications in
both the new build and refurbishment markets.

Ian Cadmore contacted Wilmat when he had a need for another Wilmat Reel Handler to handle heavy rolls. Ian said ‘The truck is used to transport protective tape ‘logs’ from their storage location to our cutting machine. The truck benefits us by enabling safe, easily & quick movement of these ‘logs’.
No manual handling eliminates the chance of personal injury.
We already have 3 spool trucks manufactured by Wilmat which have proved to be reliable & durable’
The new truck is a Wilmat Heavy Duty Stacking Truck fitted with a 1200mm long Boom to handle a reel weighing 250kg at a load center of 665mm and with a core diameter of 75mm.
Raised height to center line of boom is 2950mm.
The unit has a 600mm inside straddle width to accommodate the reel diameter.
Truck is complete with 12v, 90 a/h battery and built-in charger suitable for charging from any standard
13-amp outlet

Ian continued ‘Dealing with Wilmat was very easy. Everyone has been very pleasant & helpful. The back & forth communication to ensure that the lifter as exactly what we required was excellent’

We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with Rehau helping them to solve their manual handling problems.

🎉 Celebrating Another Year of SafeContractor Accreditation at Wilmat! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that Wilmat has once again achieved Safe Contractors accreditation for the upcoming year! This achievement underscores our unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety and excellence in all our operations. 🏆

What is SafeContractor Accreditation?

Safe Contractors accreditation is a prestigious recognition that demonstrates our dedication to maintaining a safe and secure working environment for our employees, clients, and partners. It involves a rigorous assessment of our health and safety procedures, policies, and practices. By successfully obtaining this accreditation, we reaffirm our dedication to upholding the highest safety standards across all aspects of our business.

Key Benefits of Safe Contractors Accreditation:
Enhanced Safety: The primary advantage of Safe Contractors accreditation is the enhancement of safety measures across our organization. This leads to reduced accidents, injuries, and incidents, fostering a secure workplace for everyone.

Client Confidence: Our accreditation showcases our commitment to safety to our clients, building trust and confidence in our ability to deliver services in a responsible and secure manner. It reflects our dedication to their welfare as well.

Competitive Advantage: Safe Contractors accreditation sets us apart from our competitors. It demonstrates our proactive approach to safety, which can attract new clients, partnerships, and business opportunities.

Regulatory Compliance: Accreditation ensures that we remain compliant with health and safety regulations and industry standards. This minimizes the risk of legal issues and demonstrates our commitment to following the best practices in our industry.

Employee Morale: Knowing that they work for a company that prioritizes safety, our employees are likely to have higher morale, job satisfaction, and productivity. This leads to a positive work culture and a more engaged workforce.

Cost Savings: With fewer accidents and incidents, there is a potential for significant cost savings due to reduced downtime, medical expenses, and insurance premiums.

Our Ongoing Commitment:
As we celebrate this achievement, we also recognize that maintaining Safe Contractors accreditation requires continuous dedication. We will remain steadfast in our efforts to uphold and improve our safety practices, ensuring that our workplace remains secure and our operations run smoothly.
Thank you to our incredible team for their hard work and commitment to safety, as well as our clients and partners for their ongoing support. We look forward to another successful year of providing top-quality services in the safest possible environment.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲:
Specialised Engineering Products (SEP) is a globally recognized major manufacturing and distribution company that specializes in high-quality sealing devices for virtually all sealing applications.

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:
SEP had a need for tool handling and approached Wilmat for a solution.

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Wilmat provided the Die Handler, a hand-pushed equipment with battery lift, designed to load/unload tools in and out of presses and onto the tool racking. This solution proved to be highly effective, speeding up the loading and unloading process.

𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤:
Speed: The Die Handler significantly improved the speed of the loading and unloading process, enhancing overall productivity.
Health and Safety (H&S): The equipment eliminated strain on operators during the loading and unloading process, as it replaces the need for manual pumping of the truck to a height of 3 to 4 feet.
H&S - Tool Removal: The chain mechanism of the Die Handler made it easier and safer to remove tools, especially when they are heated to 160°C.
H&S - Tool Movement: The chain feature also ensured safer movement of tools around the factory.
Operator Satisfaction: This was the first time SEP used Wilmat equipment, and all operators were pleased with the Die Handler's performance. They use the equipment daily to enhance their workflow.

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞
SEP expressed their satisfaction with Wilmat's service, especially Marie's technical problem-solving expertise and guidance on using and applying the equipment.

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜:
Capacity: 400kg
Lift Height: 1700mm to the bed
Manual Die Handling Platform: Equipped with a rotation handle that can be used on either side of the bed
Charging: The unit has a built-in charger that can be plugged into a standard 13 amp outlet for charging.

𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤
Wilmat expressed delight in working with SEP and looks forward to continued collaboration in the future.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Hornsey is a train depot situated in North London with two classes of train, 387 and 717.

Govia had a requirement for a bespoke Lifting Beam to handle a coupler and safely remove it from the train and so contacted Wilmat as we have previously manufactured a similar Lifting Beam as well as other Materials Handling Equipment.

Danny Wood, Govia’s Heavy Maintenance Cover Team Leader said, "Our department is heavy maintenance which deals with all major work that is required on the class 387 train. The next overhaul that we are soon to do is a B5 overhaul. This overhaul has a lot of major component changes, the bogies, which are the structure that holds the wheels that the train rolls on, the intermediate couplers which are what holds the four individual coaches together and then the main coupler.

The main coupler is what allows more than one 387 to be linked together to increase the capacity of the train running in service. It is operated using mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems. This will be the first time that we have changed a main coupler as part of any of our overhauls.

The Wilmat Lifting Beam will be connected to the coupler and used to safely remove it from the train. As there is limited access to the front of the train at this depot, we use an A-frame that spans the road and the tracks that the train runs on. The A-frame has a winch attached to it that can lift the Wilmat Lifting Beam and then be moved into position to couple up to the coupler on the train. Once all the connections and securing bolts have been removed, we will be able to move the A-frame with the lifting beam and coupler suspended on the winch which will allow us to replace old for new.

The A-frame is the best and safest equipment to use in our particular depot that meets all of our site constraints. Obviously from this we needed a suitable lifting beam to safely remove the coupler which is why we approached Wilmat.

We have used Wilmat before to manufacture another bespoke lifting beam to remove the intermediate couplers from the train. They are of the same design as the coupler lifting beam but have a different attachment on the front to suit the intermediate coupler.

I had the opportunity to visit Wilmat during the planning stages of the lifting beam. We were greeted with positive and constructive comments and attitudes towards what we needed to achieve and were treated professionally throughout the visit. I have only positive feedback to give to Wilmat due to the fact that they achieved everything we required and even managed to do it ahead of the schedule that had been set.

We are delighted to be working with Govia again and continuing our long-standing relationship.

Vestatec Automotive were founded in 1987 and are a leading specialist and innovator in metal forming and the assembly of complex and detailed precision components for aesthetic or high performance applications for a wide range of industries.

Vestatec already had 3 C-Frame Hydraulic Presses on site and were investing in a fourth H-Frame press.
This investment enabled Vestatec to extend their pressing capabilities, however by doing so the tools got physically bigger and heavier, with no way to handle them.

They needed a truck that would handle tools ranging from 500mm x 300mm to 1400mm x 1000mm and weighing up to 2000kg up to a lift height of 2250mm.

There was also an issue with a low door height that the truck needed to pass through to the storage area.

This is where Wilmat came in! Vestatec contacted us to see how we could help.

Simon Bleakley, Vestatec’s Production Manager visited Wilmat with his colleague James to discuss the application with Marie Lacey. The application was discussed in detail and Wilmat proposed a solution for a Bespoke Powered Die Handler. Once we had the order, Marie carried out a confirmation site visit to confirm the specification.

The truck has:

• 2000kg capacity
• Lifts up to 2400mm whilst being able to pass through the low doorway
• Die Handling bed with a clear bed size of 1200mm x 1000mm
• Twin telescopic adjustable pushing/pulling arms which hook to the tool
• Docking on the bed to dock with the storage racks
• Pendant control for pushing and pulling
• Infinite speed control on forward/backward/lift and lower
• Power assisted steering with creep speed setting

Simon said ‘The Truck is used to load and unload Press tools weighing 500kg to1800kg from Tool racking to hydraulic Presses. Having the truck has enabled our staff to load and unload Tooling in a safe and efficient method after receiving training from Marie on site following delivery.
Marie and her team have been very helpful in providing a good solution to our needs, it has been a positive experience.

AETC Limited is a UK-based company that specializes in the manufacture of gaspath components – primarily rotating blades and stationary nozzle guide vanes for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine industries.

As an existing supplier to AETC, Wilmat were called upon to provide a new Wilmat truck with bespoke attachment, replicating existing equipment on site.

The new truck is used to manipulate ceramic clusters around the dipline area, mostly around the robotic cells. It is an addition to other Wilmat trucks which are already on site, but as they are used in other areas, it takes time to locate.
The new unit is dedicated to the dipline area and available when required, saving time. The truck is hand pushed with battery lift and complete with a built-in charger which can simply be
plugged into a standard 13 amp outlet when not in use.

An AETC Plant Automation Engineer said ‘I had a wonderful experience dealing with the Wilmat team.
They were engaged in the design process and forthcoming to discuss different, bespoke options’

We are delighted to work with AETC again and look forward to continuing to work together in the future.

Good luck for the season lads 🏏

Congratulations to Kim on 45 years of service with Wilmat. Kim is our longest serving team member! Thank you for your hard work, loyalty and dedication. Congratulations 🎉

Happy International Women's Day to all the amazing women who work at Wilmat! As we celebrate this day, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the unique challenges that women in our manufacturing industry face every day.

We understand that it's not always easy being a woman in a male-dominated industry, but we want you to know that we see you, we appreciate you, and we are proud of you. Your hard work, determination, and resilience are an inspiration to us all.

We know that women bring a unique perspective and set of skills to the manufacturing industry, and we are committed to creating an environment where all of our employees can thrive. We believe that diversity and inclusion are key to our success as a company, and we are grateful to have such talented women as part of our team.

On this International Women's Day, we want to remind all of the women at Wilmat that you are valued, you are appreciated, and you are making a difference. Keep pushing forward and breaking down barriers – we are with you every step of the way.

Congratulations Indi and Linda on reaching such a remarkable milestone of 30 years of service at Wilmat! This is a truly impressive achievement, and it speaks volumes about your dedication, commitment, and hard work. You both have been an integral part of Wilmat's success over the years, and your contributions to the company are greatly appreciated.

We look forward to many more years of your contributions and service to the company. Congratulations again on this wonderful achievement!

Happy Valentine's Day from Wilmat Ltd!
If love is about moving mountains, then moving heavy goods is a piece of cake for us! Let us lift your heart (and your heavy items) with our first class material handling solutions. Wishing you a day full of love and happiness! ❤️

𝗚𝘂𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺-𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀

Guy Raymond was founded in 1948 and is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of castors and components including; twin wheel castors for the furniture and medical industry, adjustable feet and fittings for furniture, retail and industrial applications.

Wilmat recently manufactured and supplied an additional 2 Semi Manual Platform Stackers which are used for lifting and stacking stillages of moulded components and work in progress.

Lawrence Daniels, Operations Manager said ‘The stillages are of our own design so an off the shelf solution was not available. We needed stackers that would fully support the stillage whilst avoiding damage. Wilmat produced a bespoke lifting bed which suits our requirements.

The Wilmat lifters replaced some older BT units which have been in service since 1973. We find that the new units are far lighter and easier to use and will hopefully last as long!’

Although Guy Raymond have been a customer of Wilmat since the 1980’s with us supplying stackers previously, this is the first time Lawrence has worked with us.

Lawrence continued ‘Marie and the team at Wilmat have always been easy to get hold of and to deal with. When we have very occasionally had issues, they have been addressed quickly and efficiently. The price and delivery was good and it is a
pleasure to be able to deal with another UK manufacturer’

We are delighted to work with Lawrence and Guy Raymond, and look forward to working together again in the future

Welfaux Materials Handling a family run Forklift Truck dealer had a customer requirement for moving large transformers weighing up to 9500kg into an industrial oven so contacted Wilmat for help. Wilmat supplied a Heavy Duty Powered Pallet Truck with a capacity of 10,000kg which is now on site and working well as shown in the photo at the bottom.

Simon Moody, Area Sales Manager for Welfaux said ‘The truck is used to move huge (7.5 – 9.5 tonne) transformers into an industrial oven. The benefits to the customer are numerous including no emissions into the workshop from the electric truck and less space required as it’s much smaller than a 10t forklift truck. For these reasons alone its much safer around the works area.

Although we have used Wilmat before, we hadn’t for a project of this size. I worked with Marie Lacey on this project and found her very helpful. Providing technical feed back and diagrams on our initial specification. Working like this enabled us to get approval from the customer quickly’

We are delighted to work with Simon and Welfaux and we look forward to working with them again.

Always nice to see great reviews from our customers they are all very much appreciated 🥰

Wilmat recently helped our trade partner Jofson Limited to solve a handling issue at one of their clients for handling audio/visual cases on wheels. We manufactured a lightweight semi manual stacker with wide straddle, adjustable forks and pendant control for up and down movement. Steve Topping, Jofsons Account Manager said:

‘My customer Sterling Events Group handle Audio/visual cases on wheels, which are transported for concerts and major events. The cases can be anywhere from 84kg – 120kg in weight, 350mm – 1300mm in size and handling them manually was causing some concern when trying to stack 2/3 high, these cases are required to be inspected and stored on a wooden mezzanine floor, with a rating of 4.8KN/metres squared, which again posed a problem of having a heavy piece of equipment, plus the load.

Having dealt with Wilmat when at past companies it was easy to establish that they offer lightweight units that can be modified to suit various applications, hence the purchase of the 303/AF/WS/S with widened straddle – 1360mm, to allow the castor wheels of the cases to fit neatly between, the extra fitment of the remote UP/DOWN pendant control made usage even more flexible.

Major factor with this application was H&S from a manual handling viewpoint but also the time saved now by having this unit in place, customer actually said, how ‘have we been managing before we got this’?.

From past dealings to present I have always found Wilmat to be very helpful and accommodating with product knowledge and any technical queries’

We are delighted to help and we look forward to working with Steve and Jofson again in the future.

Thank you for your continued support during 2022 and here's to a Healthy and Prosperous New Year

Please note:
Our offices will close for Christmas on
Thursday 22nd December 2022 and reopen on Tuesday 3rd January 2023

Exciting news! Our last truck of 2022 is heading out for delivery today. It's been a busy year for our team, but we are grateful for the opportunity to serve our customers and deliver high-quality products and services.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us in 2022. Here's to a successful and prosperous new year!

Our Reception looking Very Christmassy on a cold Thursday Morning today 🎄

Thankyou Marie Lacey and Indi for their hard work making it look like Santas Grotto it looks great!🎀🎁

Switchgear Trucks Made to Measure

Wilmat Ltd is the only UK manufacturer of switchgear handling trucks and provides a ‘made-to-measure’ approach across its entire range. Wilmat listens carefully to your switchgear handling needs and offers you free of charge design consultation. From there, Wilmat can design a switchgear handling truck bespoke for your application.

Sandvik Coromant, part of global industrial engineering group Sandvik is at the forefront of manufacturing tools, machining solutions and knowledge that drive industry standards and innovations demanded by the metalworking industry now and into the next industrial era.

They have recently opened their brand-new UK Headquarters in Halesowen and as part of the new investment, a solution was required for handling a number of heavy material and metal components safely from racking to their CNC machines.

Sandvik contacted Wilmat after finding our website via Google and following discussions, we suggested our popular Powered Counterbalanced Floor Crane with a capacity of 500kg which would give the capacity and reach required.

Peter Weaving from Sandvik said ‘The benefits of the Wilmat Crane are that we are moving metals much more safely. It’s very important from a health and safety perspective that we have an up-to-date machine that’s easy to operate and safe for us to use.

We’ve never used Wilmat directly before but we wouldn’t hesitate in the future to go back if we needed help with anything. Wilmat are a very professional and friendly company. It was great that we got the opportunity to visit their premises and to inspect the crane and have some training before it was despatched.

A very nice experience dealing with Marie Lacey and the rest of the team at Wilmat.

All Rolls Royce Engines are built exclusively at BMW Hams Hall Plant based in Coleshill.

John Dillon, BMWs Facilities Team Leader contacted Wilmat to help with a materials handling problem because they have many Wilmat trucks on site already.

Marie Lacey visited site to see the application first hand and recommended a Wilmat Hand pushed Battery Lift Stacking Truck with various attachments to carry out a variety of tasks.

John said ‘The truck will be used to lift heavy material of low-level storage into higher level storage. It will also be used in reverse when material is required for use, this will save on manual handling and larger lifting aids being used. The truck has forks, a flat platform, a crane hook and a roller platform so we can use it for a multitude of lifting requirements.

The benefits for us at Hams Hall is the removal of manual lifting. The truck helps us to move bigger products and helps protect our associates.

This is the first time I personally have used Wilmat in my time in control of this area. I know we have used Wilmat products all over Hams Hall and all in the aid of helping associates lift material without the use of manual handling/lifting.

From start to finish I have nothing but positive feedback with my dealings with Marie who is always helpful, courteous and on time in dealing with any questions/queries. Given the opportunity I wouldn’t hesitate to use Wilmat again’

We are delighted to be working with John and BMW and looking forward to continuing our Long term relationship.

Gripple Limited are an Employee owned World Leading Manufacturer of Wire Joining and
Tensioning Systems for a wide range of industries.

Claire Tunnard, Gripple’s Production Manager at their Norfold Bridge site contacted Wilmat due to a handling problem loading and unloading large progression tooling into their 100
ton press and storage racks.

We manufactured a Wilmat Fully Powered Die Handler with a capacity of 1000kg. We designed the platform to have a small bridge on the front due to a ‘step’ on the press.
This allows the bed to sit flush with the press bed for easy and safe transfer. The unit is powered forward/backward/lift/lower/push and pull.

Claire said ‘Our main goal was to ensure the safety of our press operators and by purchasing this truck we have removed the manual handing element of the job and
removed any chance of the operators being harmed by the process of loading the tooling.

It’s the first time we have used Wilmat but I would happily go back to the company again – Marie Lacey was very helpful and knowledgeable, she helped us to understand our needs to ensure we received the correct equipment, we are very happy with the outcome’ .

We look forward to working with Claire and Gripple again.