Building BloQs is a London based social enterprise with over 350 members which provides a professional workspace and a host of equipment to work with wood, textiles, paint and metal to name a few. Within the workshop Building BloQs incorporates a large format laser cutting machine which is used by members as well as Building BloQs for producing a diverse range of applications including everything from laser cut fashion and acrylic jewellery to furniture, décor and theatre props. With the diverse range of crafts produced by members working within the workshop, Building BloQs needed to find a reliable machine for their members to produce their applications.
The challenge for Building BloQs
Reliability issues and lack of support experienced with the ownership of their old laser machine proved to be problematic. Members book in and pay hourly to use the workshop equipment and expect a professional service so it was paramount that Building BloQs could trust the quality and expertise of any supplier they partnered with.
Building BloQs sought to invest in more than a product, they wanted a solution for their business. This meant not only finding a machine which was reliable for their members, but also a supplier who would support them and their evolving needs as the organisation continued to grow and expand.
"As our members pay hourly to use the workshop, we needed a machine which was fast, reliable and more importantly, easy to use. The SP500 delivers on all fronts as a large format machine."
- Avninder Nanray - Co-Founder of Building BloQs -
The development of a partnership
The purchase of a Trotec laser cutter has proven to be the first building block of an ongoing partnership for Building BloQs. Having experienced frequent breakdowns with their existing laser cutter the team made the decision to choose Trotec as their laser supplier not only for the quality of the laser machine and Trotec's status as market leaders, but due to the service that Building BloQs received from Trotec's staff.
From the initial enquiry, Trotec were enthusiastic about Building BloQs and understanding of their current and future goals. The area manager made sure that the team got the best machine for their needs. The experience was so positive that it was the development of a partnership between Trotec and Building BloQs.
In June 2017, the first "Introduction to laser cutting" event was held in the workshop on their SP500. Hosted by Trotec, attendees benefitted from the industry experience of Trotec staff as well as seeing the possible laser cutting applications. The collaboration worked well and there are plans for future events to take place.
The laser has also been an important resource in helping Building BloQs to be more self-sufficient, as it is being used for producing a number of in-house applications including physical branding and signage within the workshop.
For Building BloQs, ordering materials from Trotec was also an important part of making sure that their members could get the most out of their time in the workshop. Trotec's flatbed and large format lasers come with JobControl laser software as standard, which features a comprehensive database of parameters for all Trotec materials.
"Trotec's laser software with a comprehensive material database makes it easier for even first time users to get started straight away using our laser to produce their applications and for regular users to run repeat jobs, allowing them to make the best use of their time. The speed and reliability of the laser machine also helps our members to be more productive."
- Avninder Nanray - Co-Founder of Building BloQs -
Building internal applications and more with Trotec materials
For internal applications, Building BloQs use Trotec materials.
Avninder said "We didn't consider Trotec materials until after the purchase of our laser, but now we use them for all of our internal applications. Out of the Trotec range we particularly like the TroGlass series of acrylics, which are head and shoulders above the competitors. Our consumables area manager was also excellent. She sent us out different samples and once we saw them, we knew that we wanted to use them."
"While we exclusively use Trotec materials for Building Bloqs projects, Trotec are quickly becoming our go to supplier for member projects as well."
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