Interview with Adam Ball, Solutions Sales Manager at Lantek UK

How did Lantek become a leader in sheet metal software?

AB – By investing in people. Software relies on the skilled people within the company operating in a good working environment and this, is something that Lantek has always done really well. It is investing heavily in human resources, employing around 380 people worldwide now, with plans to rapidly expand to 500. We have just returned from the international meeting in Spain which gives everyone an opportunity to network and spend time together, building a global team. Everybody knows one another across the company which gives a small company feel to a global enterprise. Some employees have been with the company many years building an intergenerational team combining experience, innovation and energy, driving us all forward to create the best solutions for our customers and making Lantek the powerhouse it is today.

We can offer our customers 35 years development, an international presence, innovative development and highly skilled and knowledgeable support.

Why is Lantek’s multivendor policy so important?

AB - The software has been designed so that it can program hundreds of different makes and models of sheet metal machinery which makes it easy to nest parts and generate CNC code for almost every machine on the market in one system.

I always say this is our USP. Generally, our customers prefer to use only one piece of software within their factories. It means everything is in one place, there is only one system to learn, and they only need to deal with one company for support. Being able to run multiple machines from many different manufacturers gives them choice and stops them being driven to purchase from one machine vendor. This can also help with them get the best possible price by allowing good healthy competition between the machine suppliers.

How has Lantek expanded it offering to further benefit sheet metal companies?

AB - We have offered Lantek Expert CAD/CAM from the beginning, and we are proud to release Version 43 this year. CAD/CAM is the backbone of the software and is constantly being developed. The depth and quality of the data generated by Lantek Expert, allows us to build solid and reliable solutions around it. The buzz word is “Smart Factory” and our new offerings are all aimed helping companies work towards this, starting with fast, reliable and accurate quoting. The aim is to connect to other software within the factory to give seamless control and information flow, implementing concepts such as Artificial Intelligence and Analytics to give companies feedback on issues such as profit and workflow and where it is working or not. CAD/CAM is the foundation for these advances, making the analyses and predictions far more accurate.

How does this benefit the sheet metal industry?

AB - With increasing digitisation, supplier chains will be brought together through closer collaboration, superior control of manufacturing and accurate costing and delivery timing.  The ability to predict, monitor and improve profitability will be crucial to success, while automating as much of the process as possible will help to fill the skills gap with intuitive and easier working methods.

Is the UK industry ready for this technology?

AB - More and more companies are realising that digitization and Industry 4.0 are topics that need to be addressed and are examining working in the Cloud. Stage implementation makes the changes affordable and easy to assimilate into a company’s working methods. With solutions available to work with existing technology and suit how they operate, companies of all sizes can benefit. Fast quoting is usually the starting point for small companies, and we can offer off the shelf solutions right through to fully customised and integrated systems. We work closely with our customers to see what is needed and propose a suitable solution.

At Lantek, we are passionate about software, and we have a mix of people specialising in technology, IT and production with in depth knowledge of machinery. In the UK we have 10 Systems Engineers and further support from 180 at the Spanish headquarters. Around 90% of the global team is technical. All of Lantek’s software is written by Lantek, giving our customers confidence in any solution we propose.