HEAL’S Sales Director Elliot Rich and International Sales Manager Simon Dakin gave a series of presentations to the delegates. The theme of this year’s Conference was ‘Shaping the Future’, which focussed how HEALS are actively shaping the future of our business and the textile testing industry; through new product developments and continuous innovation to help us remain competitive and sustainable for the future. The Conference is an essential forum for HEALS to meet with our valued agents and distribution partners, to share market insights, knowledge and information, to ensure that we remain dynamic and pro-active to meeting customer needs and responding quickly to market changes.

The launch of James HEAL’S new Martindale 900 Series, the next generation of abrasion and pilling testers, which was met with great enthusiasm from visitors and the supporting media at the show. Read more...

HEALS also revealed its new TruBurst2 ‘Dual Control’ bursting strength tester, which after exhaustive assessment, now received the ultimate accolade of official approval by Marks & Spencer and comfortably exceeds the exacting requirements of the M&S P27 test, ISO 13938-2, ASTM D3786,and other retailer standards.  Read More…

HEAL’S Sales Director, Elliot Rich, commented on the exhibition:

“I am delighted that we were part of ITMA ASIA+CITME 2010. The show was an excellent opportunity for us and our exclusive China agent, Introtech Limited, to showcase new technologies and our commitment to new product innovation for the textile testing industry.” 

HEALS are proud to introduce their latest technological innovation in abrasion and pilling testing:

Martindale 900 Series^TM

The 900 Series includes the Midi-Martindale^TM Model 905 - an industry first with 5 stations, which, in comparison to other 4-head instruments in the market, gives users the best quality at lower costs to suit their requirements. For higher capacity testing, the 9 station Maxi-Martindale^TM Model 909 has been developed, and is the only 9-head instrument in the market which offers full, comfortable access to all abrading tables from the front (without removing the top plate).

> Fully populated as 9 or 5 stations - no upgrades!

A glimpse into the future...James Heal to reveal exciting new product range at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2010!

British textile testing equipment manufacturer James Heal will unveil an exciting new product launch at this year’s most prominent textile machinery show, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2010, between 22nd and 26th June in Shanghai, China.

Visitors to HEAL’S stand in Hall E3, Booth A06 will have the opportunity to view key instruments from the range of Physical and Colour Fastness testing instruments - plus view the new product launch including live product demonstrations using its own range of Quality Assured Consumables. HEALS staff will be available on the stand to provide advice and consultation on all aspects of textile testing.

Innovation is at the core of HEAL’S operation, and is what drives new product development to enable them to respond to customer and market needs, as Elliot Rich, HEAL’S Sales Director explains:

“The new product range represents our latest investment; however in 2010 alone, we have enhanced and improved several instruments, including: Impulse2, Titan3, TruBurst2, and Elmatear2 - reflecting our ongoing commitment to moving technological innovation forward, to benefit customers worldwide”.

In addition, samples of Multifibre, Crocking Cloths and Reference Detergents from the Quality Assured Consumables range for colour fastness and shrinkage testing will be available on the stand.

HEALS will be providing information on HEALINK ASIA, a Hong Kong based Service and Calibration division of James H. Heal & Co. Ltd. HEALINK ASIA is responsible for offering quick and affordable after sales services to customers in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and neighbouring countries.

Following the success of previous exhibitions in the region, HEALS are looking forward to meeting new and existing customers at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2010, to again have the opportunity to share valuable advice on full laboratory design and development, and showcase their latest innovations in product design, consumables and after-sales services.

James Heal gains M&S approval for its Bursting Strength Tester:
TruBurst2 ‘Dual Control’

HEALS is proud to introduce its new Marks & Spencer approved Bursting Strength Tester – the ‘Dual Control’ TruBurst2 Model 810.

‘Dual Control’ TruBurst2 is a modern and efficient dual control burst strength tester which operates in both flow and pressure control; resulting in a fully pneumatic and electronic, M&S approved instrument which comfortably exceeds the exacting requirements of the M&S P27 test, ISO 13938-2, ASTM D3786, and other retailer standards.

HEAL’S physical testing range for bursting strength will now include two models:

1. The original TruBurst2 Model 810, which operates using the latest technology and linear pressure control with a closed loop system.

2. ‘Dual Control’ TruBurst2 Model 810, includes all of the original features of TruBurst2 as well as the option to perform the M&S tests which use a non-linear, fixed orifice and fixed flow, without feedback and adjustment.
 
Combining digital microprocessor control with laser technology, both the ‘Dual Control’ and the original TruBurst2 include a range of innovative features, such as:

• Fast, accurate laser distension measurement
• Sensitive automatic burst detect system
• Magnetic clamps within the dome/bell for easy, tool-free replacement
• 5 test areas: 7.3cm2 to 100cm2
• Maximum capacity of 1000kPa
• Three-dimensional cyclic testing software
• Library of pre-programmed standards
• UKAS Calibration

In addition, a complementary new diaphragm appropriate for the M&S P27 test is being introduced.

Flexible, the ‘Dual Control’ TruBurst2 is capable of testing a broad range of materials manufactured by the textile, nonwoven, paper, board and plastic industries; plus medical applications such as Cyclic / Fatigue testing of wound dressings, hernia and blister patches.

Peter Goodwin, HEAL’s Technical Manager comments: “For the first time, users are provided with real choice - with a competitively priced, Marks & Spencer approved instrument. TruBurst2 Dual Control offers new and improved features, a modern design, and sophisticated technological advancements in comparison to equivalents in the market - to guarantee accurate, consistent and reproducible results.”

More Info | View Brochure

HEALS is currently working with the Manufacturing Advisory Service Yorkshire & Humber (MAS Y&H) on a ‘Lean’ initiative providing hands-on advice and support to manufacturing businesses to improve productivity and efficiency. 

In recent years, HEALS has invested heavily in new product development and CNC machinery, and decided to go Lean in 2009. ‘Lean’ stands for continuous improvement, maximising production efficiencies and reducing all kinds of waste from a customer’s perspective.

HEAL’S engineering director, Neil Pryke, explains: “The catalyst for calling MAS in was to look at ways of reducing the amount of stock we were holding without compromising the quick and efficient supply of machinery to our customers.”

The process aims to help the company become ‘stronger and leaner’, by finding find new ways of driving down costs to enable us to remain a strong and robust UK manufacturer whilst being more competitive; through market development and diversification.

Through this initiative, we have been chosen by MAS to host an Inside Industry factory visit on 15th June to showcase to other manufacturers the progress that our company has made on its Lean journey. We are also inviting journalists from the local press, such as the Yorkshire Post and Halifax Courier, to attend the event for a photo opportunity and hopefully gain some fantastic local coverage.

Neil continued: “For us to be asked by MAS to host a factory visit is an honour. Our theme is ‘starting on the lean journey’, and MAS think we have an interesting story to tell which should encourage other companies to follow in our steps. So far, I am pleased to see that internally we have really embraced the concept of ‘Lean’; MAS has made our company much more efficient and has helped us to look outside the box and attract new customers in new markets. We are determined to keep moving forward by continuing to introduce further improvements.”

Results to date...
As part of the introduction of ‘Lean’, which is based on maximising value and minimising waste in the manufacturing process, a ‘Kanban pull system’ has been introduced with the aim of reducing lead times by 50% and to date, has resulted in the amount of stock held cut by 15%!

Other benefits resulting from the MAS intervention include set up times reducing from 33% to 17%, and a 24% improvement in equipment effectiveness. Further savings have been made through streamlined methods of work, and this is expected to increase as more improvements are made.

We are also currently undertaking an additional MAS project to further enhance our inventory management and production planning, led by our Production Controller, Bernadette Wilson.

On this visit, we hope to help our guests pick up ideas and simple tips on starting their Lean journey, to find out what works, what doesn’t, and how implementing small changes to their manufacturing process, as we have done, can make a real difference to lead times, stock holding and customer service.

For more information about MAS visit www.mas-yh.co.uk
To learn more about inside industry visit http://www.insideindustry.co.uk/

NOTES TO EDITORS:

MAS is a national BIS initiative delivered by a network of independent organisations that have been contracted to deliver MAS for their region.  The Yorkshire and Humber MAS is jointly supported by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is managed and delivered by YFM Business Development, part of the GLE Group – a not for profit enterprise development company.

GLE Group is a leading provider of services, products and investment in business accommodation, finance for business, enterprise development and consultancy services.  Bringing innovative and commercial approaches to economic growth the Group successfully unlocks the potential of people and growing businesses.  Over the years, its YFM Business Development division has successfully managed some £30m of grants which have been used to deliver practical third party assistance primarily to the manufacturing sector. It has established robust processes which offer clients fast access to the support they need with minimum form-filling.  In recognition of this, the business development division became certified to Customer First in 2003.

James H Heal (‘HEALS’) can trace its roots back to 1872. When our current managing director, David Repper, took over from his father in 1982, he began to focus business activity on textile testing. Today, HEALS is the world leader in the design and manufacture of high quality Physical Testing and Colour Fastness Testing instruments, complemented by a comprehensive range of Quality Assured Consumables™. The company provides its equipment (the majority of which comply with international and retailer standards and test methods) to textile and garment manufacturers around the globe, many of whom supply well-known retailers renowned for high quality standards including Next, BHS, Marks & Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret and Louis Vuitton. HEAL’S ethos is based on quality in design and technological innovation; all instruments are designed and manufactured entirely from its facilities in Halifax (UK), and its products and services are channelled through a network of strategically-positioned and carefully-selected local agents and distributors across the globe. Customers are fully supported by the global after-sales maintenance and calibration services from HEALINK™ and HEALINK ASIA™. HEAL’S commitment to an innovatory culture results in high quality products supported by strong logistics and customer service - fulfilling the ever-increasing quality control needs of the textile testing industry.

James H. Heal, the world’s premier designer and manufacturer of textile testing instruments is delighted to announce that it has been independently audited by NQA and is now certified in conformance with BS EN ISO 9001:2008.

Following the recent NQA audit on the 24th and 25th November 2009, various areas of James H. Heal’s operations were independently assessed and scrutinised to ensure that its quality management system was operating efficiently and effectively, to the high standard expected of an organisation in its sector.

Areas assessed included:

• HEAL’S Management System;
• Sales;
• Purchasing;
• Manufacturing;
• Consumables;
• Goods In and Goods Out

Stephen Lister, Quality Manager at James H. Heal commented: “This is an important achievement for HEALS and proves that our quality management system is working successfully, to assure customers that HEAL’S products are produced in an environment committed to the highest quality standards.

“Quality is part of our culture,” continued Lister. “Information is shared so that a ‘Quality Culture’ is embedded at the core of our business and our Quality Policy is closely linked to customer needs. This means that we can continue to develop innovative and intuitive products which provide real benefits and help users meet the quality control requirements set by international and retailer standards.”

On March 9, HEALS hosted the annual BSI Committee TCI/24 meeting on the "Physical Testing of Textiles"

A meeting of several high calibre guests at HEALS, pictured below, were charged with the objective to review the list of standards under the jurisdiction of the British Standards Institute (BSI), and to decide the future of each standard, such as: Is the standard used? Does it need revision? Can it be confirmed? Should it be made obsolete or withdrawn?

Peter Goodwin, Technical Manager at HEALS commented, "After a call for a suitable venue, I offered to host the event at HEALS and the committee members accepted. As our products are specified by Standards, it is invaluable being part of the review process and gaining useful insight into the current and future use of Textile Testing Standards."

Pictured L-R (Back row): Graham Duncan (Advanced Nonwovens), Alan Ross (Alan Ross Consulting), Robert Lattie (SDL Atlas), John Hubbard (SATRA), Elliot Rich (HEALS*), Peter Goodwin (HEALS), Anthony Smith (STR), Mark Randall (SDL Atlas). Front row L-R: Sue Bolton (Bolton Consultancy), Carol Graham (ITS), Lisa Earnshaw (nee Strachan, (HEALS*), Sylvia Hillier (Tinius Olsen). (*=Not a TCI/24 member)

Between 22-24 February, HEAL'S Indian agents, Eurotech Technical Solutions Pvt Ltd visited us, in what concluded to be a very busy 3 days!

The intense schedule involved meeting key personnel from Sales & Marketing, Production, Design, Consumables and HEALINK; attending commercial and product development meetings, production tours, new instrument demos and product training.

Pictured L-R: Simon Dakin ( HEALS), RS Aiyar (Eurotech), US Gupta (Eurotech), Elliot Rich (HEALS)

Elliot Rich, Sales Director, James H. Heal commented, “It is important for HEALS to keep in close communication with our agents, and it goes without saying that both parties benefited greatly from this visit; Eurotech were given a valuable insight into HEAL'S current operations and developments, and in turn, HEALS staff benefited from meeting with them and further understanding the Indian market.”

Between the 2nd and 5th of February, in cooperation with HEAL’S partner in Bangladesh, OMC Limited; visitors to the Dhaka Textile & Garment Machinery Exhibition had the opportunity to view some exciting recent additions to the product range.

HEALS’ long-standing commitment to excellence in Design, Production and Quality Assurance was perfectly illustrated by the new instruments on display, which included:

Impulse2, the second generation random tumble pilling tester, which offers unrivalled technology and twice the capacity of its predecessor. New features include two test chambers and digital controllers compact with long life-led technology, designed to provide accurate operation in the most demanding of environments. Impulse2 enables users to satisfy the requirements of the ASTM D3512 Test Method and take high capacity random tumble pilling testing into the 21st Century. >Learn more

With the increased ability to work in Tension and Compression and the introduction of a wide variety of New Tooling and Accessories and updated Software, users will find Titan³ offers a whole new suite of opportunities.

This cost effective and technologically superior instrument has a maximum capacity of 3000N and is ideal for testing a wide variety of materials including Textiles, Nonwovens, Paper and Plastics.

Titan³ conforms to Test Standards from around the World including those of ISO and ASTM, along with the worlds largest Retailers.

Tensile Strength, Seam Slippage, Tear Strength, Security of Attachments, Cyclic & Elastomeric, Compression & Ball-Burst tests are all pre-loaded in the software and ready to use.

Controlled directly from a local PC, Titan³ is Easy to use, Safe to operate and is designed to minimise the possibilities for operator error. Unlike most other Universal Strength Testers, Titan³ provides additional safety features such as Soft closing jaws and Load cell overload protection.

Compression capability allows operators access to a wider selection of standards, including Ball Burst procedures.  

A wide array of New Tooling Accessories include the T7 Universal Jaw for tensile, seam slippage and tear testing, Loop Bars, C-Clamps, Needle Clamps and Button Holders amongst others.

Titan³ Software has been written with the support of Test House Laboratory Managers, Technicians and Operators to bring you a superbly configured, innovative and easy-to-use quality analysis software system.  Pre-loaded test methods are available at the touch of a button.

To ensure continued satisfaction and compliance Healink offers a complete Service and UKAS Calibration package. Customers holding an annual contract with Healink obtain Free Titan Software upgrades.

Designed and manufactured in the UK this instrument is sold complete with an extended Warranty of 18 months.

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