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## Tour
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tour.name = DE BUYER UK CO
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HTMLText_A0192AB0_B58E_327F_41D7_7F897F3C6D6E.html = In the polishing workshop
The art of polishing is all about enhancing the raw material. This is a goldsmith's craft, which requires patience, precision and expertise. Having applied the polishing paste to a cotton disc, the polisher adapts his movement and force to bring the material to a full shine. Manual polishing is reserved to copper. Stainless steel products are polished in robot cells.
Product packaging
This profession has always existed within the company. Not a long time ago, a simple sheet of paper was skilfully folded and was wrapped around the product as it came off the production line. Now, the packer must manage a host of different configurations: labels, sleeves, pouches, boxes, supports and protective inserts, as well as notices. Packaging is not only required to showcase the product, but also protect it and provide information. The final operator prior to shipping, the packer is also responsible for guaranteeing the quality of the product.
Assembly
The most technical products developed by de Buyer can be composed with around twenty parts. The assembler thus works step-by-step, with great precision, for the assembly, the fitting of screws, the clipping, the lubrication etc. He must then verify that the finished product is functioning correctly. Here you can see the assembly of the LE TUBE automatic dispenser, which enables the dosing of creams, pastes and foams, to garnish, fill, or even decorate.
Metal Sheet working workshop
This is where various pastry-making utensils are produced, such as dessert frames, pastry cutters in various shapes, Yule log moulds or pastry trays. Stainless steel or aluminium parts are here curved, welded, rolled, assembled and their corners are rounded off. All of these steps are performed manually, in accordance with traditional expertise.
Laser marking
Since its invention, there has been no end to the new applications of the laser. Engravers use it today by focussing the beam in order to engrave products. Based on an illustration, the selection of an appropriate lens and carefully configured settings, he may choose to vaporise the material or burn the surface. The engraver performs the final manufacturing step on the product, prior to its packaging. Marking provides essential & technical information concerning the product: gives a tracing number, allows a signature and customizes each product.
Riveting
A technique used in aeronautics for the construction of aeroplanes, or even to construct the Eiffel Tower, riveting guarantees robust and durable assembly. The riveter tailors the material of the rivet to that of the utensil being manufactured - he positions parts with perfect alignment and applies pressure, which will round the rivet by crushing it.
This can be the riveting of the handle of a pan made of steel sheet, or a non-stick pan, but also the delicate riveting of stainless steel or copper lining.
Shear
The shearer is the first to work on the large metal sheets delivered by the steelworks. He cuts material according to precise formats & specifications into strips, squares or discs, which will ultimately be stamped or folded to form products. This process enables the optimisation of the cutting, with a view to reducing cut-offs to a minimum and thus limiting waste.
On average, 40 tonnes of metal sheets are cut per week.
Small presses
In this part of the workshop, dedicated to cutting and press-forming, there are 6 smaller presses, which produce a force of 40 to 110 tonnes, and are intended mainly for the production of smaller parts and for cutting blanks or stainless steel discs. Various spare parts for mills, mandolins, pastry cutters or even Geoforme pie moulds are produced here.
MINERAL B robot cell
Production tooling has gradually become modernised, with the integration of robot cells that reduce arduous working conditions and increase productivity.
The programmer must be familiar both with the techniques of the craft (polishing, brushing, cutting...) and the digital language specific to the machine. When a robot replaces human manual intervention, the human must program its trajectories, like precise movements.
Here the robot is programmed to prepare the stamped metal part prior to fit the handle by riveting. The robot has very precise trajectories: it picks up the stainless steel stamped part, recentres it, deburs the edges and pierces the holes, so that it can then attach the handle of the pan. This robot along prepares 3,200 stamped metal parts per day.
The niche with the Virgin Mary in the old wall of the factory
A wall that is loaded with history: at the end of the 19th century, a fire broke out inside the factory. The dirt floor of the workshops was soaked in lubricating oil and, for several days, the fire was fuelled and remained impossible to get under control. The grandmother of Mr Hervé de Buyer, a very pious lady, thus threw a photo of the Virgin Mary into the fire as she prayed. A short time after her intervention, it was finally possible to get the fire under control. This is why, during the reconstruction in 1900, this niche came to house the Virgin, so that she would provide protection for the factory. It has remained always in place ever since.
Columns with slides
Originally, the factory used the energy from the river and a water wheel made the machines turn: an axle ran the length of the workshop via the slides in the columns, and the driving force from the water drove the balance presses, the lathes and the smiths' hammers. The original beams are still present in the press workshop.
Raw material storage
On average, 2,500 tonnes of metal sheets are purchased each year, of various different kinds:
stainless steel, steel, copper, aluminium
Around 70% of the raw materials come from France, which allows us to label various products Guaranteed French Origin. The remaining part of metal sheets comes primarily from the European Union.
Storage and shipping
After having passed through an average of 5 workshops, the 2,500 products offered in the de Buyer catalogue are stored in our warehouses. 3 lorries are chartered on a daily basis, not to mention the containers for large-scale export, and orders are shipped to 94 countries around the world. There are around 3 million pieces and 14,000 pallets that are shipped every year.
Recycling skip
Waste management is a priority. All scrap materials are collected and recycled. Cardboard and paper are also sorted. Water is treated for a use within a closed circuit in the factory. And, in order to take this CSR commitment even further, De Buyer also offers a service to its retailers in France whereby used non-stick pans are collected with a view to recycling their component materials.
Old press
This is the oldest press in the factory. Coming directly from Brooklyn, New York, it arrived at De Buyer in 1905. Given its height and its weight, it still occupies its original position today. It contributed to the effort during the 2 World Wars and is still used today to produce military equipment as well as conventional cooking products such as cookware in copper or stainless steel.
This press enables the metal former to apply 250 tonnes of pressure within an accuracy of 1/10th of a millimetre. With a controlled slide, the hollow bodies are drawn from metal discs. Each form has its own tool, and each tool has its own settings.
The largest presses are found in this same workshop, with a force of 250 to 500 tonnes. Some operators use an exoskeleton to assist them when lifting heavy loads repeatedly.