At the ULDALL iron foundry in Vejen, Denmark, we are fortunate to have many good and loyal customers. One of these customers is the renowned Danish pump giant Grundfos, with whom we have developed a strong relationship based on flexibility and trust over more than 30 years.
In an ever-changing world, it's important to have fixed points of reference that you trust and have in-depth knowledge of. Iron foundry ULDALL and Grundfos have had such a reference point with each other for more than three decades.
As with all relationships, they evolve over the years, and ULDALL and Grundfos are no exception. What started out as a traditional customer relationship is now more of a collaboration. An important element in this development is ULDALL's Fast Lane Prototyping service, which Grundfos was among the first companies to use.
Fast Lane Prototyping ensures efficiency and flexibility
Fast Lane Prototyping allows you to test a new design from drawing to finished part in just two to four weeks. The concept also ensures that even after the prototyping phase, ULDALL can produce the desired number of parts with the casting model used. With a complete range of 55 different iron alloys and the ability to make parts weighing anywhere between one and 4,000 kilograms, the flexibility that ULDALL offers is very broad.
In addition to the efficiency and flexibility of Fast Lane Prototyping, Grundfos also points to quality when describing the collaboration with ULDALL:
- ULDALL's range of cast iron is of the highest quality and they have the ability to produce products with high complexity and in many shapes and sizes. Our collaboration is based on a flexible and trusting relationship. When we come up with a new idea, ULDALL sees opportunities rather than limitations, and they are always ready to go the extra mile to make things happen, says Andy Schob, Lead Category Manager at Grundfos.
Close and trustful communication
When building a partnership over half a lifetime, it's not just the products that need to be of high quality. So the collaboration and communication between the employees of the two companies must be as well.
- The people at ULDALL have the right attitude. They are nice to work with and always willing to find the right solutions. I like informal communication where people are open and honest with each other. In addition, at ULDALL they work in small teams, which gives them flexibility and the ability to adapt to customer needs, says Andy Schob.
Dion Brun, Sales Director at ULDALL, also emphasizes the strength of the long-term relationship, which benefits both customer and supplier:
- It's a great advantage that we know each other so well. Over the years, we have become more of a partner that supports both development and design, and through the Fast Lane Prototyping concept, for example, we can help test the concept and product program in a matter of weeks before actual series production begins. The close and ongoing dialog is the way to creating the best solutions together, he explains.