Youngman Group, whose product range includes the Boss mobile tower system, has invested £2.5m in automated manufacturing technology at its plant in Maldon, Essex. The company says that rising costs and growing competition from eastern Europe and China have forced a re-think of its largely manual manufacturing methods. This has resulted in the investment, which has been made in order to provide Youngman with a viable manufacturing facility in the UK, rather than outsource highly labour intensive processes overseas.

Youngman’s production engineers identified laser cutting and robotic welding as the optimum areas for improvement and approached ABB, a specialist in power and automation technologies, to undertake the turnkey project. The company says the new equipment will enable it to compete against imports from lower cost economies, whilst aiding flexible production and reducing stockholding.

The April/May issue of EHN will include a Market Report on the latest low level access equipment for the hire industry.