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Dust and Things see Speedy growth with Trotec Laser.
A creative outlet.
Dust and Things is a Cardiff based personalised gift business founded by Mike Chamberlain and Sian–Louise Thomas in 2013. Their range of gifts includes personalised drinking glasses, notebooks and photo frames.
The company was born out of a desire to find a more creative outlet for the pair, who both had a passion for creativity. Since being founded, the company has grown from being a home-based business into new premises and now employs several members of staff.
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Finding the perfect production tool.
Even at the early stages of planning their business, Mike and Sian knew that they wanted to utilise a laser engraver as their creative tool of choice. Their first laser cutter was sufficient to start with, however as the business began to take off, its processing limitations became apparent. The biggest problem that Mike and Sian were encountering was the engraving quality, the glass tube laser wasn't capable of achieving the level of detail the duo were aspiring to.
Looking for a machine that would be able to create the detailed engraving that they desired, Mike and Sian began looking into new laser suppliers to give them the cutting edge that their existing machine was lacking. After extensive research, the pair realised that a Trotec laser provided perfect engraving detail and at faster speeds than their glass tube laser, meaning that the business could not only improve the quality of products, but also increase the throughput.
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Speedy growth with Trotec Laser.
Since their first two Trotec Speedy 100s were installed in July 2016, Dust and Things Ltd. has reached new levels of success. Immediatley impressed with the capabilities of the machines, Mike and Sian purchased a further machine which was installed in November of the same year. As of 2018, the company now operates 8 Speedy 100 lasers in tandem to create a wide range of giftware.
The decision to expand their Trotec arsenal was made as the Speedy 100 could personalise products in half the time of their previous laser cutter with superior results. The machine capabilities are particularly noticeable during busy periods such as Christmas, allowing the staff to work more efficiently while negating the requirement to hire temporary staff to cover the workload.
As with any busy production environment, efficiency is key for Dust and Things Ltd. Although they don't use Trotec materials, the Trotec laser software allows material settings to be stored for the products used, making processing repeat jobs a fast and efficient process.
Throughout their Trotec journey, the team at Dust and Things Ltd. have felt fully supported by Trotec. Special mention was given to Trotec's engineers and the machine installation. During the machine set up, the engineers made sure that the staff were comfortable with the basics of laser processing and machine maintenance as well as providing additional training on the machines such as tips and tricks to streamline processes and achieve optimal results.
Our Trotec laser cutters have allowed our company to reach the level we aspired to reach. The superior technology allows us to supply our customers with quality products in a timely manner, and has facilitated the extensive growth of the business.
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