A high-quality workshop and a focal point for the business, created for Lubbering

Lubbering is a global leader in manufacturing high-precision tools for the automotive, aerospace and defence sectors. The success of their expansion into the UK has resulted in a larger purpose-built facility. Central to their new facility is the design of their new workshop, and Lubbering chose Dura for their design expertise to future-proof their operation.

The Background

An opportunity arose for Lubbering to bring two distinct facilities of their UK operation under one roof. As they started thinking about how to manage this merger efficiently, they needed to ensure the design of the space and the equipment they used would aid this. In turn, they needed to ensure their new facility would reflect Lubbering’s aesthetics and corporate branding. After their first consultation with Dura, Lubbering saw immediately they would be able to provide the high-quality workshop equipment needed.

The Design

During the consultation process Alex Cuthell, Business Line Manager from Lubbering visited the showroom at Dura’s head office to explore the product range. Their visit also enabled Dura to understand in more detail Alex’s requirements for their workshop; valuable information required for the design stage. This was combined with a local customer of Dura’s, giving Alex the opportunity to see the furniture being used in a busy working environment.

Lubbering had provided Dura with some initial sketches, but it was the consultation which allowed Dura to turn Lubbering’s desires into a reality. As part of the process, Dura presented 2D visuals and 3D renders, demonstrating to Lubbering how they could make best use of the space and the choice of furniture to best support their objective for lean working. These visuals provided a platform with which Lubbering could get approval for the project from Head Quarters.

Alex Cuthell commented: “The 2D and 3D layouts sold it for us and brought our ideas to life! It allowed us to turn a thousand words into a succinct visual to show the team at Lubbering in Germany what we wanted to achieve in the workshop. It also allowed time for us to make any final adjustments before Dura started manufacturing our units”.

The main workshop was fitted out with six distinct workstations. To fulfil Lubbering’s need to operate an efficient workflow, Dura designed the stations in two rows ‘back to back’. It enabled each technician to work closely to each other, whilst allowing them enough space of their own. Each workstation was integrated with monitors, cupboards, drawers, space to sit or stand, back panels for tool storage, an air reel and waste bins. 

To provide flexibility, Lubbering also chose additional storage in the form of mobile tool cabinets. Dura designed these to sit centrally in the room, when not being used as an extension of the technicians’ workstations. Additional workstations were fitted into a room adjacent to the main workshop, for more intricate tasks.

The Results

The new workshop has achieved Lubbering’s desires to create an ergonomic environment in which their technicians can enjoy working. This area also forms part of regular visits made by their key customers, and has become a ‘wow’ factor when they go in.

Alex commented “We are thrilled with the final design. The thought and detail Dura put into every area of the room is incredible! From using our branded corporate colours on the furniture, including the lin bins, through to hidden details such as power units within each cubby hole has really made it a fantastic place to work in. The layout of the room is logically organised and provides more storage than we could ever imagine. The variety of storage alone provides flexibility for organising stock components, which is useful for segregating parts and managing stock control.” 

As Lubbering continue to grow their UK operation, they have the confidence the flexibility of their Dura system will support this. “We now have a transferable and reconfigurable system which will grow with us.”

If you would like to hear more about this or any of the other projects in Dura's case studies section then please call 01280 706050 or email info@duraworkshops.co.uk.