Building Partnerships with Trotec Laser.
About Building BloQs.
Building BloQs is a London based social enterprise with over 350 dedicated members. It provides a professional workspace for individuals in need and hosts a range of equipment that helps people work with wood, textiles, paint and metal, just to name a few. Within the workshop lives a Trotec large format laser cutting machine that is used by members to produce a wide range of applications, including laser cut fashion, acrylic jewellery, furniture, décor and theatre props. With this large range of crafts produced at Building BloQs, it's easy to see how a laser machine would come in handy.
The challenge for Building BloQs.
Reliability issues and lack of support experienced with the ownership of their previous laser machine proved to be problematic. Members typically book in and pay hourly to use the workshop equipment and expect a professional service. So, it was paramount that Building BloQs could trust the quality and expertise of any supplier they partnered with.
Building BloQs sought to invest in more than a product, they wanted a solution for their business. This meant not only finding a machine that was reliable for their members, but also a supplier who would support them and their evolving needs as the organisation continued to grow and expand. That's where Trotec came in...
As our members pay hourly to use the workshop, we needed a machine which was fast, reliable and more importantly, easy to use. The SP500 delivers on all fronts as a large format machine.
Developing a Partnership.
The purchase of a Trotec SP500 laser cutter has proven to be the first 'building block' of an ongoing partnership between Trotec and Building BloQs. Having experienced frequent breakdowns with their previous laser cutter, the team made the decision to choose Trotec as their new laser supplier, not only for the quality of the laser machine and Trotec's status as a global market leader, but because of the outstanding service that Building BloQs received from the Trotec staff.
From the initial enquiry, Trotec were enthusiastic about Building BloQs and understood their current and future goals. The area manager of London made sure that the team got the best machine for their needs. The experience was so positive that it kicked off the development of an ongoing partnership between Trotec and Building BloQs. In June 2017, the first "Introduction to Laser Cutting" event was held in the workshop on their SP500. Hosted by Trotec, attendees benefitted from the industry experience of Trotec staff as well as seeing firsthand all the possible laser cutting applications - it opened people's eyes to the world of lasers. The collaboration has been a great success, and there are even plans for future events to take place.
Trotec's laser software with a comprehensive material database makes it easier for even first time users to get started straight away using our laser to produce their applications and for regular users to run repeat jobs, allowing them to make the best use of their time. The speed and reliability of the laser machine also helps our members to be more productive.
Building with Trotec Materials.
For internal applications, Building BloQs is proudly using Trotec materials.
"We didn't consider Trotec materials until after the purchase of our laser machine, but now we use them for all of our internal applications. Out of the Trotec range we particularly like the TroGlass series of acrylics, which are head and shoulders above the competitors. Our consumables area manager was also excellent. She sent us out different samples and once we saw them, we knew that we wanted to use them... While we exclusively use Trotec materials for Building BloQs projects, Trotec are quickly becoming our go to supplier for all the member projects as well."