Una "visión" de futuro

La empresa de protección de puertas de ascensores Formula Systems busca replicar su éxito norteamericano en Europa y el Reino Unido.

By trudi osborne

A subsidiary of the Airdri Group, the U.K.'s largest manufacturer of warm-air hand dryers, Formula Systems has supplied its elevator door protection and speech products to the U.S. market for almost 35 years. In summer 2019, it appointed Ian Martyn U.K. sales manager, in an effort to lay the groundwork for making the elevator door protection system provider a market leader in the U.K. and Europe. From its office in Chicago, Formula Systems has grown to become a major North American supplier of light curtains to international OEMs and leading independents. The company holds full ISO 9001/2 accreditation. Ian, who comes to Formula Systems after having worked for companies including KONE, Otis, Dewhurst Plc and thyssenkrupp, has been working alongside Formula Systems Director of North American Operations Cornelius Walls since he came onboard. He says:

"Over the coming months, I look forward to introducing Formula Systems to the European market and to replicating its success in North America, where it's earned an excellent reputation for its highly reliable door protection and speech products. From our headquarters in Oxford, our design engineers work to ensure Formula Systems continues to lead the market through innovation. For example, Vision, one of the company's bestselling products, incorporates a range of creative features designed to both enhance the passenger experience and reduce the risk of harm to both the passenger and the elevator door.

"I'm confident that 2020 will be an exciting year for the company. I look forward to introducing the current product range — in particular, Vision — to a new market. Moreover, 2020 will also see new products enter the market with the launch of both a new speech product and a new door protection product based on time-of-flight technology. By utilizing a patented, hybrid technology, the product will be a fraction of the size of current door protection systems, significantly reducing its carbon footprint. By reducing storage space requirements for stock and deskilling the installation process, there will be significant reduction in the total cost of ownership for both elevator manufacturers and aftermarket support companies."

Raíces en secadores de manos

Automatic hand dryers and elevator-door protection systems and speech annunciators may seem like strange bedfellows, but they coexist quite easily and profitably for U.K.-based Airdri and Formula Systems. Today, Airdri's products are sold all over the world.

In 1974, Peter Philipps and Peter Allen probably knew more about the field of warm-air hand drying than anyone else in the U.K.  They met working at Smiths Industries, an international supplier of aerospace electronics, medical systems and specialized industrial products, where they were qualified mechanical and production engineers with many years' experience in air dynamics.

Después de dejar Smiths, Peter Philipps se mudó a los EE. UU., donde se convirtió en consultor de gestión especializado en sistemas de fabricación. En 1973, regresó al Reino Unido, donde formó equipo con su antiguo colega. Se embarcaron en un estudio detallado de decenas de unidades de secado de manos fabricadas tanto en el Reino Unido como en los EE. UU.

At the time, no British hand dryer satisfied them in design, efficiency or reliability, and an ambition to produce the best warm-air hand dryer on the British market was conceived. Together, in January 1974, they formed Airdri Ltd. and set about designing hand dryers. Little could they have known then that a small partnership initially managed from a garage would quickly grow into the global engineering and manufacturing company it is today. An early contract with Hollywood, California-based Bobrick, one of the largest US-based washroom equipment companies, saw Airdri's hand dryer production grow. Within 25 years, Airdri was the largest manufacturer of warm-air hand dryers in the U.K. and one of the largest in the world.

La génesis de los sistemas de fórmulas

En 1983, Airdri vio un cambio de dirección significativo que fue la génesis de Formula Systems. Para mantenerse a la vanguardia en la industria de los secadores de manos, Airdri comenzó a buscar nuevas tecnologías. La tecnología de sensores automatizados que ahora se necesita para avanzar en la innovación de los secadores de manos ya se estaba utilizando ampliamente en la industria de los ascensores. El desarrollo de experiencia en esta nueva tecnología no solo llevó la automatización a los secadores de manos, sino que también permitió a Airdri expandirse hacia una nueva industria.

Formula Systems se lanzó en 1983 para proporcionar productos a las principales empresas de ascensores para protección de puertas y unidades de voz dentro de los automóviles. Veinte años más tarde, Formula Systems abrió una sucursal estadounidense en Chicago, donde desde entonces está dirigida por Cornelius Walls, y ahora está firmemente establecida como una autoridad en el diseño y fabricación de sistemas de protección de puertas de ascensores y anunciadores de voz.

Cambios en la gestión

In 2013, the management of the company passed to Peter Philipps' sons, Bruce and Toby Philipps, Airdri's president and chairman, respectively, who were committed to building on the previous 40 years and modernizing the business so it would continue to succeed over the next 40 years. 

Having manufactured in China for many years, the company needed to take new measures to ensure total control of its operations and support future growth. In 2013, its first fully owned office opened in China, establishing a sales, quality and administration base to support its manufacturing facility. "A company can only develop if it has a true vision for the future and works relentlessly to develop the landscape in which these developments can be realized," says Stephen Whittall, who was appointed group director of operations in October 2014. He says the company is committed to continual investment in R&D, which was evidenced when, in 2016, it embarked on its largest internal development project: the opening of two new facilities.

Lanzamiento de operaciones en China

Impulsado por la ambición de tener un control total de su ingeniería, desarrollo, calidad y cadena de suministro, en 2016, The Airdri Group abrió dos nuevas operaciones en China. La primera es una instalación de fabricación de propiedad exclusiva construida expresamente en Guangzhou. Las instalaciones de 30,000 pies cuadrados emplean ahora a más de 2 personas en ingeniería, control de calidad, almacenamiento, ventas y administración. Guangzhou fabrica más de 35 secadores de manos cada año y proporciona una base de oficinas para los gerentes de ventas tanto de sus productos de secadores de manos como de elevadores. 

At the same time, a joint venture with Formula Optics Technology (FOT), based farther north in Yuyao, was concluded in 2015. FOT is responsible for the manufacture of the company's elevator-protection and speech products. However, investment is not confined to buildings and R&D: Airdri has increased its workforce over the past four years and now employs more than 200 personnel worldwide and supports an ongoing recruitment and training programme.

The R&D team is currently undergoing intensive training in product design methodology to optimize and standardize the design process to significantly reduce time to market for new products. Based at the company's headquarters in Oxford, U.K., the R&D team is continually refining the safety features of its products and minimising their environmental impact through reductions in size and weight, energy consumption and improved materials recycling. 2020 will see the implementation of Formula Systems' strategy to become highly visible throughout Europe and the U.K., providing elevator door protection and speech products designed to meet its customer's specific needs.

Formula Systems planea exhibir su gama completa de productos que cumplen con EN 81-20 en septiembre en The Elevator Show en Dubai.