Established in 1758, Andrew Muirhead & Son manufactures seating leather and is the largest single supplier of quality upholstery leather to the airline industry. Part of the Scottish Leather Group (the largest manufacturer of bovine leather in the UK), Andrew Muirhead is based in the east end of Glasgow and employs over 100 people in the manufacture of technical leathers which are exported all over the world for a wide variety of applications including aviation, marine, rail and building interiors.
Alec Brycelend, Muirhead's Engineering Manager, first contacted Nu-Star in May 2003 with a requirement to reduce the manpower required to move the 2,000kg trestles in the tanning process. Due to their size, weight and four swivel castor configuration, the trestles required up to four staff to move about and also occasional use of a forklift truck.
Nu-Star recommended their PowerTug as the most suitable product and since initial trials in 2003, Andrew Muirhead have now gone on to purchase four such units.
Alec Bryceland commented, "We have found the PowerTugs to be very manageable and compact with the added value of the safety features installed as standard. What once required up to four people to move about is now easily done by one person and has saved us both time and space in the operation and improved our safety record.
Although we have utilised a variety of different design trestles at this site, the 'one-solution fits all' connection mechanism that Nu-Star designed saved a lot of time on money, that we thought we might have to incur standardising the fleet of trestles.
The production process means that in some parts of the factory the floors can be wet. Safety is a major priority for us in such circumstances and the PowerTug improved our safety record in these conditions.
The Nu-Star staff are very approachable with advice on any matter regarding the PowerTug. After-sales service is most reliable and quick. What impressed me most was the fact that they do not rest on their laurels, they are always improving on what is already a very good piece of kit. We will certainly be back to purchase again."