TR FASTENINGS LTD. 

2022-08-19　 TR debuts next generation website with more content and functionality than ever before

TR, part of the Trifast plc Group is proud to announce the launch of a brand-new enriched content led Group website designed for the evolving global marketplace.

This new interactive site which is packed with enhancements throughout, showcases the capabilities across the Group whilst providing one of the best online experiences within the industry.

This latest investment by TR welcomes a consolidation of the investor site www.trifast.com and the corporate site into one new focused website www.trfastenings.com. Moving to a single, digital front door allows TR to engage its investors, customers and the marketplace as a unified global company.

The new TR website at a glance
There are a number of highly impressive new features incorporated into the site. TR has introduced enhanced content, including the product library and knowledge base which will be of particular interest to the engineering and design community providing the latest user guides, product and sector animations and a new range of fully interactive 3D models.

A unique bookmarking feature has also been introduced which will effectively allow a user to save pages of interest. This creates a personalised area that’s unique to them which can be quickly referenced and shared with colleagues.

Interactive Smart City animations
Key to the user experience for designers and engineers is the innovative use of the interactive TR Smart City animation within the media library and industry sections. These will help end users to envisage how TR’s components can be incorporated into new and existing designs.


3D models enhance usability for designers and engineers
TR provides products to a wide range of industry sectors. 2D and 3D models are embedded within the product pages to give a clearer indication of how they can be utilised. Our library of parts provides an enhanced level of usability for designers, engineers and specifiers.


New investor tools
The investor information provides a holistic view of the Company with features including interactive investor analysis tools for key financials and sustainability, a TSR (Total Shareholder Return) tool, a financial calendar, a Regulatory News Service and all of the latest Analyst Reports with an equity research tool.


The enhanced design truly reflects the multiple markets that TR services encompassing all key disciplines. Purchasing and technical specialists have been regular users of TR’s website; however, this has widened and now attracts those working in the quality, environmental, HR, financial governance and compliance sectors as well as the investment community. It’s a changing world, and the new site reflects this perfectly.


"As of today we receive over 5 million page views on our website annually and content is king. Therefore, we took the opportunity 9 months ago to completely revamp the website. The objective was to enhance the user guest experience with enriched content designed to appeal to a much wider audience of differing disciplines. I am very proud of what we have achieved in house as a team with the support of an excellent design house, Tiga Creative Marketing."

Glenda Roberts, Global Projects and Marketing Director

2022-08-19　 New Legislation ‘The Right to Repair’ in 2022

The environmental ‘Right to Repair’ legislation has put the consumer back in charge of their electrical goods and helps to address the ‘throwaway tech culture’ head-on which TR Fastenings supports. After years of campaigning this EU legislation will drive change in assembly methods with a major shift in how electronics and domestic appliances will be manufactured and serviced. It is already playing a key role in helping to extend product life, cut carbon emissions, and reduce landfill. Where there are more mechanical assembly methods employed there could even be a boost to create more jobs within the industry sector.

Benefit to consumers
Currently if an electrical product or domestic appliance develops a fault, having the ability to source spare parts and fix it yourself, or use an independent repairs service provider, has always made perfect sense. However, this has not really been possible for a long time. Today if you attempt to repair electronic goods or appliances it negates the warranty, so manufacturers have always sought to discourage it. The expected redesign of appliances will reduce products being welded for example which currently makes them inaccessible and therefore less likely to be repaired. As a major supplier to the Health and Home market TR is actively supporting new designs and the re-introduction of fasteners so that they can be accessible for disassembly and repair.

Benefits of repair over new
Repairing a broken component part instead, particularly where the rest of the appliance works fine, saves the end user money in the first instance. Therefore, the need to replace a machine is much less likely, and it extends the life of the repaired product which in turn cuts down carbon emissions. It also helps the environment at both ends of the supply chain, even potentially creating jobs in the independent repair sector.

"This is a very positive development that has been years in the making. While this is primarily about giving control to the consumer there is also a very strong environmental case here as well. It will mean that fewer companies will weld products for example and instead introduce fasteners back into their designs that can be undone/unscrewed providing extra accessibility for repairing items rather than having to always replace the entire unit. The environmental benefits are considerable, and this change will have wide reaching and a long-lasting impact on the manufacturing sector." - Sven Brehler, Director of Engineering

Loss to the economy
This started to change in July 2021, when new laws came into force requiring manufacturers to make spare parts much more available to consumers. It was particularly important in the electronics market, where global brands had increasingly prevented user access. However, this was against a backdrop of growing concerns about electrical recycling and wastage. It is estimated that 1.5m tonnes of electrical and electronic items get thrown away each year in the UK, at a cost of £370m per year,* which is an incredible figure in light of the sustainability net zero challenges.

For domestic appliances the change in legislation was long overdue and it will almost instantly start impacting the reusability of products and extending the lifespan of many domestic products, keeping items from landfill while reinvigorating the repairs sector. As we move further into what is widely anticipated to be an inflationary year this will help consumers extend product life and save money.

Impact on TR Fastenings
For TR Fastenings and its customers, the new legislation overhaul was a very welcome change, feeding directly into its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and drive to increase environmental responsibility wherever possible. TR is active across a number of different sectors including, Health and Home (H&H) and Energy, Technology & Infrastructure (E,T & I), all of which will be impacted by the changes. It recently announced a new significant investment in its TR VIC spa site in central Italy which serves some 24 countries around the world in the Health and Home and Light & Heavy vehicle sectors.

Karol Gregorczyk, Global Account Director for the Health and Home sector said: “The new rules will significantly impact manufacturers. TR’s customers collectively produce some 8-10 million washing machines and dryers every year, and they make spare parts available not only for washing machines and washer-dryers but also for dishwashers, refrigerators, and TV’s for the first time. This move will open up new opportunities and the reduction in welding can actually prove cheaper for manufacturers while moving away from the creation of non-repairable white goods. TR is very willing to support companies and assist in redesign. TR VIC has a Technical and Design Centre within their manufacturing facility in Fossato di Vico, close to Fabriano which is near to many of the home appliance OEM’s and their subcontractors.”

*Source: https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/problems-with-e-waste/

Inside the plastic tub is a stainless steel tub (the one you see when you open the washing machine). During production, the plastic tub is fully open to assembly and then ultrasonically welded (or glued). It cannot then be disassembled for maintenance. The new legislation now requires the welding or gluing to be replaced with easier access to the tub and screws are the answer. With approx. 20 screws, the tub can be securely fixed and easily opened and closed for maintenance.

Before the R2R legislation, many doors were glued or welded to fix the glass between the inner and outer part of the door. As the new legislation allows disassembly, customers can now easily access the screws.

2022-08-19　 TR shines a spotlight on its new interactive 3D animations

TR Fastenings Ltd (TR), part of the Trifast plc group, has launched new interactive 3D animations which help to make its products and installation methods easier to understand for buyers and design engineers, as well as being a beneficial training and educational tool. These real-time technical animations expertly demonstrate products, processes and concepts, which can often be complex and hard to visualise.

An immersive world
3D is all around us; it’s in apps, movies and video games and as TR recognises that design concepts are changing, so must their visual portfolio.

There is growing worldwide demand for more interactive content, specifically within the fasteners industry which TR is fully embracing and taking advantage of with its animation know-how. It’s fast evolving especially with Virtual (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) starting to disrupt industrial design and engineering. With the advent of emerging technologies, manufacturing has become more complex, so the integration of VR and AR is enabling manufacturers to simplify these processes.

Accurate visualisation
Produced by TR’s in-house visualisation team 3D models have been created following collaboration with their technical and design Teams.

The key requirement of the animations is to enable the user to accurately visualise products in different settings and formats. Time was spent refining the user interface, to produce models of TR’s own brand products such as the Self Clinch Fasteners.

3D product visualiser
Ever wondered what a Self Clinch Fastener looks like cut in half, or visualised the appearance of when it is fully assembled? TR believes this assists companies at the design stage and could be invaluable. A range of options enables the user to interact with the products in a variety of ways such as assemblies, cutaways, magnification, material types and installation. It’s clever and clear.

There are currently around 50 products with the 3D product visualiser available on the TR website. The plan is for these to be an integral part of TR’s ongoing content strategy as the industry forges ahead with offering visualisation technology to meet design engineering demands.

 
Installation animations
TR is able to show an entire installation process, end to end. What can often be difficult to explain is now much clearer and easier to understand using visual representation of the part in situ. TR’s installation animations are an ingenious way to demonstrate a virtual assembly and sub assembly in a simple way.

Glenda Roberts, Global Projects and Marketing Director said: “We are delighted with our new series of 3D product visualisers and animations which are available for all of our customers. This represents a real step change in how designers and engineers can work with us. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology has advanced significantly in recent years, but our industry has not fully captured that potential. We will continue to develop our offering to ensure we bring innovative concepts to life.”

In May 2022, TR launched its new website www.trfastenings.com, which consolidated its previous investor site and corporate site into one digital front door for the group. It now includes a host of new features and enriched content, including a personalised user area, which helps to create a new experience for TR’s customers and partners. In particular the electric vehicle charging units and set top box animations are leading edge.

To view individual product installation animations, visit TR’s product page here and click on the product video icon or visit our YouTube channel.