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New Capabilities With the Zund Cutter

Author: FASTSIGNS® Chelmsford

The Zund ably serves our overall product mix, with the main focus of improving efficiency and in-house capability.

fastsigns front shop

fastsigns front stop

What date was the new Zünd cutter installed?

We installed the Zund at the end of March 2018.

How much did it cost?

£115,000.

Is it replacing a previous machine, or is it an expansion of your equipment?

We purchased this router as part of a planned expansion of our existing equipment.

Was there a shopping-around period, what else was considered, and why was this machine selected?

The benefit of being part of a franchise, such as FASTSIGNS is that they dedicate a lot energy to research and development. When I was looking to expand my equipment and capabilities, I consulted the FASTSIGNS Tech-Services Team first. They spent time researching and testing all of the available sign making kit on the market, including, routers, printers and laminators. Their research and advice really reduced my ‘shopping around period’. FASTSIGNS recommended the Zund router as the best piece of equipment for our requirements, The Zund ably serves our overall product mix, with the main focus of improving efficiency and in-house capability.

busy workers

busy workers

What is the typical kind of job/application that this machine will support?

The machine is a router, and it allows us to cut through substrates in seconds.

We use the machine to help with a variety of products ranging from flat cut letters and shapes, to making sign trays in-house. It has the capability to cut through vinyls and magnets as well as other substrates.

How would you say to clients that this machine has enhanced your capabilities?

The Zund has greatly improved our efficiency,  we can respond to our clients requirements much faster and are able to produce a larger proportion of our signs in house, actively reducing the lead time for our customers and allowing us to provide a vastly improved service offering to our customers.

zund cutter

Can you tell me more about your two new staff – when they were taken on, what roles they fill, etc.?

In May, we appointed two members of staff to join our team, The first, Juan Gearing, is a production assistant who works within the production team, creating the physical signage. The other is Emma Bumpstead, a customer service representative who supports in an admin capacity, ensuring that customers receive the very best service from FASTSIGNS® Chelmsford.

Both appointments are apprentices and have slotted into our team fantastically well, they are both eager to learn. We actively ensure quality control with an assessor, who regularly joins us in centre to monitor their progress and we work with them daily to develop them in their roles.

It feels great to be giving back to the local community by helping two young people gain qualifications in such a dynamic industry.

How will the upgrading of your POS enhance your offering?

By upgrading our Point of Sale (POS) system to a cloud-based package, we are able to better serve our customers requirements, at any time.  Previously, our sales team had to be office based to gain access to customer records. If a customer were to ring whilst their account manager was out on a site visit, they would have to wait for them to return to the office before receiving an answer. With the cloud based system, our sales team has access to customer records whether they are in centre or out on site visits, which has improved productivity massively and has shortened our estimate response time.

How many staff work at the branch?

We currently have a team of eight, made up of production specialists, designers and a sales team.

How large is its premises (sqm)?

Approximately 1600 sq ft.