Hazel 4D opens up NEW efficiencies

at Distinction Doors Distinction Doors is the pioneer in the provision

of composite doors to the UK market. The

company has grown at a phenomenal rate since

its inception in 2004 and now provides over

50% of the UK’s composite doors with

distribution across Europe.

Operations Manager Dave Hoyland has seen the company go

from strength to strength, but he admits that managing such

growth hasn’t always been easy. Taking responsibility for the

delivery and onward dispatch of over 8,000 doors per week

takes planning, enterprise, efficiency and a packaging

partner that really knows your business.

Hazel 4D’s relationship with Distinction Doors began 4 years

ago, seeing Hoyland take the role of Procurement Manager.

He knew straight away that changes needed to be made.

He invited a number of packaging providers in but wasn’t

sure they’d deliver the right solutions.

“Being new to packaging I wasn’t familiar with the market

or the products” he explains. “I needed to be confident

that I was getting genuine advice and not just being sold

to, which sadly I often felt was the case with some of the

bigger companies”. An off-chance call from Hazel 4D led

Hoyland to have a conversation with Hazel 4D’s

Commercial Director, Neil Christie.

“Hazel 4D struck me as being different straight away” he

says. “They listened intently to the kinds of problems we

were faced with and then went away to find the most

appropriate solutions. They were happy to submit

prototypes and we underwent a few trials to ensure we got

it absolutely right. Today we buy all of our packaging from

them, most of which is both branded and bespoke;

including top sheets, tape, strapping, bags and foam and

cardboard protection. We also rely on them for stock

management.”

“The current packaging was bulky, didn’t provide

adequate protection or look presentable. A cost analysis

showed that most of the packaging was inefficient when

it came to application, taking up valuable human resource

that would be much better spent elsewhere” he says.

Suspension packaging proves the clearest choice for glass Glass is a key component of the majority of the doors that

Distinction offers. Shipped separately to the door itself, it’s a

fragile product that requires its own packaging that will survive

the demands of the supply chain.

“Until 18 months ago we were using polystyrene, which I really

disliked” says Hoyland. “When we ran a time analysis on how

long it was taking to pack it was over 90 seconds. It was doing an

average job in terms of protection, was bulky to store and messy

and cumbersome for our customers to dispose of. On top of that

it’s also bad for the environment”.

Retention packaging provided the perfect solution. A one-piece

sheet, shipped flat, it folds neatly into an all-encompassing box

with a transparent suspension film that forms a pocket that fits

to the product. There’s no void fill, extra protection or tape

required for sealing. For added impact, Distinction Doors also

chose to brand their boxes.

“Since switching to the retention packaging our damage rate has

reduced significantly”, states Hoyland. This means there’s been

virtually no complaints, returns or replacements to deal with and

the packaging itself looks really impressive, representing our

high-quality brand. Most importantly, it’s completely slashed

the time taken to pack a glass panel. It’s now down to 30

seconds; a third of the time taken with the polystyrene.”

JIT Delivery frees up STORAGE space With the warehouse operational 20 hours a day, 5 days a week,

Distinction’s packaging usage is high. The 86,000 square foot

warehouse houses all their manufacturing equipment so

packaging stock needs to be kept to a minimum.

“Higher minimum order quantities on bespoke packaging meant

it made sense for our stock to be held by Hazel 4D at their

warehouse to be delivered to us once a week for ‘just-in-time’

delivery.” says Hoyland. “We’ve got into a steady routine now, so

we know what we need to have delivered each week. We just get

one invoice a month so it’s really cut back on finance admin and

paperwork as well”.

The Rotary Arm has it all wrapped up

Doors are an awkward product to wrap on a pallet. Bulky, heavy and long,

wrapping them is a recognised problem in the industry. Pallets are much longer

than the standard 1 x 1.2 metres and are far too big for a turntable pallet

wrapper.

The Cousins Titan Ultra Rotary Arm remedies this problem by rotating around

the stationary pallet. The 100+ pallets wrapped per day are secured in minutes

with minimum manual intervention from the forklift operator. There’s

decreased breakage of the new film and a 20% increase in the efficiency on the

wrap itself.

Dave Hoyland is pleased with how the solution has worked out. “With payment

made through film usage, the machine will become ours within 3 years. Our

only cost was for the perimeter fencing which Hazel found and installed for us.

All our pallets now look neat and consistent and since using the machine we’ve

already received compliments from numerous distribution partners. One has

even asked for a demo!” he says.

ONGOING developments Hazel 4D is continuing to work with Distinction Doors in

developing new solutions and is already looking to introduce an

automated strapping system. “For me, it’s never just been about

the price of the packaging itself” concludes Hoyland. “Hazel 4D

has proved it is committed to working with us in driving

efficiencies that will allow us to see a much higher return over

the long term and support the growth of the business”.

“In labour costs alone, I would say we’ve saved over £10,000 by switching to retention packaging. The rotary A arm will also save us an additional £10,000.” Dave Hoyland

Operations Manager

About Distinction Doors After just 12 years, Distinction Doors has quickly grown to become the UK’s No 1 selling entrance

door. With over 118 staff, the company operates its main office from Barnsley in South Yorkshire. To

date, over 3 million of its doors have been installed in the UK.

Hazel 4D | Mill House | Troy Road | Horsforth |Leeds | LS18 5TN

0113 242 6999 | wecare@hazel4d.com | www.hazel4d.com