We have opened our own factory for the first time and more than quadrupled our manufacturing and warehouse space.
The decision was made to move our operations and staff, of more than 40 people, to a new 4000m2 facility in China.
It will be the first time that Stiltz Lifts will operate separate production lines for each of its class of products – the Stiltz Duo Lift and Stiltz Trio Wheelchair Lift with a third production line to cater for excess demand of either type of lift.
When we moved to our previous factory in 2013 in China, it was 982m2 in size with no production lines and we employed six people.
But the new Stiltz Lifts factory is split into three levels with manufacturing on the ground floor, electrical and research and development on the second floor and a cafeteria and recreation area on the top floor.
Back in 2015, we had organised a mezzanine and a demountable office for R&D which is now located at the new factory.
The mezzanine has three lifts installed and is used for testing, installation training, and certification. All staff has received training from UL – a worldwide safety consulting and certification company.
The Stiltz Lift has also been tested and approved at the China facility by Liftinstituut – a leading certification organisation for lifts.
The decision to open a Stiltz Lifts factory follows our recent move to a new headquarters in the West Midlands and opening of a new sales office in Leeds.
Our own Director of Operations in China, James Gillespie says the opening of the new factory is a ‘big step’ for us. He said: “It’s the first time that Stiltz Lifts has moved to its own managed and operated manufacturing facility and we are very proud of reaching that milestone.
“The new factory will allow us to meet the demands of our trade partners around the world, while the bigger floor area gives our research and development team the space it requires to test and launch new home lift products in the future.”