UKs Largest Truck Body Builder Installs Exel ERP System...

JCP, the UKs largest manufacturer of box van and curtain-sided truck bodies, is to install the Exel EFACS ERP system at its Aldridge, West Midlands manufacturing site. The company has commissioned the ERP system as part of a major investment programme that will also see a new robotics system installed in its assembly plant.

Established in 1921, JCP designs and builds truck bodies for many major household names, including Teco.com, the home delivery service. It has eight sites in the West Midlands and a turnover of 20 million.

EFACS will be integrated with JCPs Solid Edge CAD system, and will manage JCPs four-lane flow line fabrication workshop. JCP will also work with Exel to install further manufacturing systems, including a shop floor data capture package.

Steve Tandy, Financial Director, says: We have increased our output by 20%, now producing over 6,000 truck bodies a year. We are committed to aggressive growth and will look for a similar increase in output next year, so we need systems that will drive us forward.

I commissioned the Exel EFACS system at another manufacturing site I worked at previously and was impressed by its capabilities, so I knew it would more than meet JCPs needs.

Along with our imminent investment in a bespoke Modular Automation robotics system, EFACS represents a major investment for JCP that will underpin that planned growth.

We produce one-off bodies as well as high volume orders, so EFACS will be asked to cope with a whole range of product variables.

JCP operates a continuous production flow and offers just in time delivery with very strict quality levels, managed by a TQM system. This allows the company to consistently assemble vehicle bodies 25% faster than the industry norm.

Says Steve Tandy: Industry standards dictate that lead times range from three to six weeks, but JCP even offers a same-day service where we can receive an order in the morning and then design, build and finish it to be driven away in the evening.

EFACS will integrate and manage the whole process, from design to build to laying down the base, to bulkhead and sides, rear frame, roof, electrics, and interior fit to rear closure, to finally putting the body onto the chassis.

John Ellis, Managing Director of Exel Computer Systems, says: JCP is an industry-leader but it remains very ambitious and EFACS will underpin its further development.

They have set tough targets for EFACS to meet and we will be working closely with the JCP team to ensure EFACS plays its part in the future growth of the company.