C A Laboratories - Straightening their waste production

Background

C A Laboratories specialise in the production of Clear Aligner, a clear appliance that aids minor tooth movement. The process of manufacture was labour intensive however and produced large amounts of silicone waste that went to landfill. They knew that they could automate the process by purchasing a scanner system, but they needed help with the cost, so they came to Low Carbon Business for support.

C A Laboratories have been trading since 2009 and moved into their current location in Laindon in 2010. Additionally staff numbers have risen from 2 when the company started to presently 7 being employed by the company.

To aid the further expansion of the business they needed to speed up the manufacture process, which was labour intensive and slow meaning only 4 models a day could be produced.

They knew they could improve the process by purchasing a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system that would design the models virtually and then would send the design to the machine to manufacture, making the process quicker and allowing for more work to be taken on.

Additionally the process produced large amounts of silicone waste that was being sent to landfill. The CAD system would eliminate this silicone waste.

Knowing what they wanted C A Laboratories came to Low Carbon Business to assist them, with the project. Low Carbon Business was able to guide them through an application for a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant towards 40% of the project costs.

Outcomes

The project cost of installing the new R700 scanner was £19,995 of which the Low Carbon Business Programme was able to approve a 40% grant of £7,998 from ERDF funding.

The new scanner has made the production process far more efficient and allows for the production of 20 models a day compared to 4 previously.

C A Laboratories have teamed up with a neighbouring business, WCM Rapid to manufacture the models using their Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) system. So the models are designed on the CAD system at C A Laboratories and then sent to the CAM system at WCM Rapid where the models are produced overnight.

This has saved costs for C A Laboratories who do not need to purchase their own CAM system and for WCM Rapid who are saving costs by leasing time of their CAM system to C A Laboratories. 

This new automated manufacturing will allow C A Laboratories to increase their productivity in the long term by a factor of 10. This will see the company take on new staff who they want to be local apprentices who can be trained. 

It is expected that C A Laboratories will be able to reduce their waste production by at least 5 tonnes a year. Eventually this will reduce their carbon footprint by 31 tonnes. As a result of the project C A Laboratories will be able to make long term savings of £150,000.

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C A Laboratories - Straightening their waste production