Harwin opens £3m factory extension in Portsmouth

Connector maker Harwin has opened its new £3m manufacturing centre in Portsmouth, increase floor space on the site by 33%.

The 3,000m² building was opened by HRH Prince Michael of Kent.

“We are committed to high quality manufacturing in the UK  and we had outgrown our existing facilities, so to meet our growth plans, we had to expand,” said Harwin chairman Damon de Laszlo at the opening.

Harwin not only makes products, but also makes much of its own manufacturing equipment.

All key manufacturing process – stamping, plating, moulding, turning, assembly and tool making are in house. Plant and equipment is replaced on a on a five-year cycle, and the company takes on two, three or four apprentices from local schools every year – several members of the management team are ex-apprentices.

Most manufacturing processes are connected to a single manufacturing computer system, including in-house tool-making, and Harwin aims to increase automation.

“That means embracing Industry 4.0 smart factory practices, investing in the latest equipment, designing products for automated assembly, and empowering and training our workforce,” said de Laszlo. “At the same time, we are working on developing our operations using ‘big data’ methodologies – from a customer ordering perspective as well as manufacturing data – so we expect significant productivity gains to be made  along with the increase in capacity.”

Not a lot of people know that: while Harwin supplies connectors for professional applications, it also makes the 40pin IO connector for Raspberry Pi.

The top left photo shows HRH Prince Michael of Kent (left) and Harwin’s Terry Crout.