A Made-Smarter backed campervan manufacturer has secured a ‘transformational’ partnership with Mercedes-Benz after investing in new technology.
Crozier Campers, based in Lancashire, is now part of the automotive brand’s Bodybuilder programme.
It means the Poulton-le-Fylde company can order pre-registered Sprinter vans directly from the factory in Germany to convert and sell.
Mercedes-Benz agreed to the collaboration following Crozier’s £40k investment in leading edge design software and CNC machinery which was supported by a £20,000 grant from Made Smarter’s North West adoption programme.
The company was launched by engineer Conor in 2020. Its team of six designers, engineers and carpenters, produce a range of conversions from day vans like Volkswagen Transporters to full size off-grid tiny homes in Minibuses.
Crozier turned to Made Smarter to help solve its capacity challenge caused by its reliance on subcontracting some parts of production.
Adopting an Apollo 1325 CNC for the precision cutting, milling and drilling of sheet wood, metal and plastic, and Autodesk Fusion 360, a cloud-based CAD, CAM, CAE, and PCB software platform, Crozier brought all production back in-house.
With complete control, the company has been able to reduce build times of its Beyond range from eight weeks to seven and increase capacity by 50%. This is forecast to grow profits by 25% over the next three years.
The technology has created a new production role and freed up its team to work on R&D projects and devote more time to social media marketing which has given the business international exposure.
The software enables the business to reduce wood waste which is used to create biofuels and donate to local woodworkers and artists. This supports Crozier’s 2027 net zero target.
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