Ashton Seals Offering Sealing Solutions

But nothing as significant as the demand from customers for an ever increasing level of technical support.

Commented Matthew "The variety of technical enquiries we receive on a daily basis means we are no longer surprised at the weird and wonderful applications we are asked to advise on. Due to the diversity of the industries we supply, in a typical month our experience in seal applications means we receive enquiries ranging from Cryogenic Units in the Arctic to Norsok M-710 downhole applications for the oil and gas industry in South America. As well as for WRAS approved seals in the taps in every home and everything in between."

Alongside the comprehensive portfolio of quality ‘off the shelf’ seals and brand name products, the team at Ashton Seals have realised that their personalised sales team need to manage customers accounts rather than merely selling them a product.

"Customers need a completely different kind of service to what they required ten and even 5 years ago" added Matthew. "We have embraced these requirements and so the infrastructure of our warehousing team has been planned to ensure that they can pick, pack and despatch for a same day delivery for that critical breakdown repair or deliver products direct to a customers assembly line as part of a tailor made bin fill or Kanban agreement."

The customer led change in the service offered has affected every part of the business "The need for an increased level of product traceability has resulted in both the Quality and Commercial teams offering daily support to customers through the APQP process to completion of a signed off PSW and PPAP, all aided with material testing and prototyping through to assembly trials and best method assembly techniques" added Matthew.

Ongoing training for the Quality and Technical team at Ashton Seals ensures that they have the skills and knowledge to reverse engineer the seal kits that are no longer available for that 60 year old machine you need to keep running, as well as having the capability to work alongside customers designers, giving guidance on seal type, materials, housing and parameters for the latest technology that they may be introducing to their portfolio.

A recent visit to Offshore Europe as well as ongoing communication with customers provides further evidence of the technical shift. "The greater need for technical support from the seals industry was the most significant feedback I received from Offshore and so it was great to be able to detail to customers and potential customers that we understand this message" said Matthew.

"In April this year we became an approved distributor of SKF seals. This does not just give us the chance to offer our customers an extensive new range of products from a trusted Brand name manufacturer, but also gives us the added benefit of a fleet of highly experienced Technical Sales Engineers to complement our own technical department. This means that if you need advice on how much squeeze you need on your o-ring, or how to reduce friction on your piston seal or what rotary shaft seal you need to cope with 15 Bar of pressure, our team are ready to help."