Investment brings universal benefits

Fortress Technology Europe is now manufacturing its high performance Phantom metal detectors for the UK and European food and pharmaceutical industries at a new 10,500ft² factory in Banbury.

Having injected a total of £2 million into the business, a busy 12 months has seen Fortress more than treble the headcount, introduce a raft of new products, make several high-ranking personnel promotions and focus strongly on skills training.

All of which bucks the trend among UK businesses to take production overseas, mainly to China and Eastern Europe. It also shows Fortress to be in a buoyant mood and continuing to reinforce a commitment to its corporate social responsibility and environmental policies.

Sarah Ketchin, Managing Director at Fortress Technology, explains the significance of the multi-million pound UK investment: “The new production facility is an important milestone for the on-going development of Fortress Technology, which up to now has solely concentrated on manufacture at its headquarters in Canada and from a production unit in Brazil.

“The hope is that our customers will benefit from increased flexibility, reduced lead times and extra production capacity as well as a strengthened ability to cater for European requirements and standards,” Sarah concludes.

Increasing sales are testament to the value for money and rapid return on investment that customers enjoy. According to Fortress, the recession has prompted customers to review metal detector suppliers, with Fortress Technology often coming out on top for the lifelong benefits. This has led to new business, and moves to expand its workforce and production capability inevitably had to follow.

Future proof

Among the latest launches is a groundbreaking metal detector called the ICON that was designed for long-term service and to be available to all customers, old and new: it is both ‘future proof’ and can be easily retrofitted to older models in the Phantom series.

The ICON stands out for its delivery of fast accurate detection of metal contaminants and detailed data collection. Information concerning product configurations, rejects and faults is stored in an onboard database and is accessible via USB or wired ethernet. The data can be exported as Microsoft Excel or Adobe Acrobat PDF file formats. A further advantage is that the ICON is suitable for use in any multi-language environments.

The graphical display shows performance results ‘at a glance’, giving clarity on events and activities by means of ‘traffic light’ images, graphs and bar charts. As required, the user can configure the software for greater visibility of an entire operation, by site, area, line or individual detector, and includes automatic recognition of newly installed detectors.

Custom designed icons and comprehensive menus make it easier for users of all skill levels to set up products, perform tests and produce reports. This is thanks to a mobile version of Fortress Technology’s Contact Communication Software, which has become important to routine testing procedures and product verification for quality assurance purposes, and for full audit trails.

Testing can be scheduled according to the desired test method; it can be set up to occur on specific days, times and can also be automatically activated when key parameters such as sensitivity or phase values change.

In addition, an SMS or email messaging option can be selected to ensure key personnel will be alerted to critical conditions on their production lines. Through the internet they can monitor performance when away from the main operation or access other site locations from head office.

A long-term storage facility means that data is easily accessible for years, without the need for paper records.

Ms Ketchin sums up why the ICON is such an exciting development for Fortress: “It provides the company with a building block for the future and enables us to easily introduce new features and functionality.

“More future proof than anything else on the market, the ICON will allow us to provide innovative and effective solutions to satisfy customer demands and market conditions.

“And by being backwards compatible, for existing users of Fortress Phantom metal detectors it gives a cost effective option, and it also reinforces our commitment to combining superior functionality with value for money.”