Adapting to the global pandemic
International automotive manufacturer, Grupo Antolin, is one of the largest players in the global car interiors market. The company is responsible for producing interior door components for major automotive brands, such as Toyota and Jaguar. The company offers customers a complete component cycle for vehicle interiors, which includes design and concept through actual finished product.
Grupo Antolin is proudly committed to innovating the automotive industry for a sustainable future. The manufacturer has mastered a broad technology and digital portfolio that helps optimize costs and increases the value of their products.
During the pandemic, Grupo Antolin, like many other companies around the world, was forced to close their facility due to COVID restrictions. In order to survive through the pandemic, Grupo Antolin was going to have to pivot their production to personal protective equipment (PPE).
The company relied on their trusted technology partner, Gerber Technology, to help them seamlessly transition to producing PPE. At the beginning of the pandemic, Gerber had developed a PPE Task Force to provide companies with the technology, resources and support they needed to pivot to PPE production.
In the early stages of the pandemic, Grupo Antolin was able to produce and sell protective aprons to a customer in Ireland, but mainly focused on producing PPE for internal use. Once some of the pandemic restrictions were lifted, the company was able to quickly return to normal manufacturing and has actually seen a major increase in volume.
Choosing the right technology partner
When it comes to technology, Grupo Antolin understands the importance of choosing a supportive partner who is actively engaged in their success. Grupo Antolin ultimately chose Gerber due to the positive experiences from other Gerber customers as well as the company’s various service and aftermarket offerings that are designed to prevent downtime such as the eSTORE and GERBERconnect.
Optimizing the cutting process
Prior to integrating the Gerber Paragon into their supply chain, Grupo Antolin was relying on a third party for all of their cutting. Today, the company leverages Gerber’s complete end-to-end solution to go from pattern development to production. In addition to the Gerber Paragon, the end-to-end solution includes Gerber’s pattern making, marking and planning software, AccuMark, and GERBERspreader XLs, which allows Grupo Antolin to run a two-shift pattern department and cut around 50,000 components per week. Since implementing Gerber’s integrated process, Grupo Antolin has increased efficiency, improved the quality of the final product and reduced errors.
