Hills & Coast Grant: Egritech

Grant Recipient Case Study – 2022 Funding Round

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Egritech Pty Ltd is a leading innovator, designer, and manufacturer based in Victor Harbor. With a strong foundation in major engineering projects, the company has proven expertise in the entire product lifecycle, from conceptualisation to design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing.

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Since its establishment in August 2019, Egritech has successfully designed, built and delivered hundreds of fire trailers (including more than 50 registered with SA CFS), dozens of custom chicken campers and, more recently, began making tiny homes, which can be built in as little as 8-10 weeks.

The need for a cutting-edge solution

To fabricate their products, Egritech has had to outsource the cutting of sheet metal to a third party. This took up considerable time and manpower, with two employees required to stack, transport, and unpack for cutting; then repack, transport back and unpack cut sheets again. In addition to this, a cost was incurred for the cutting service. These inefficiencies resulted in increased costs, reduced flexibility, and limited capacity to manufacture a wider range of products and services.

To meet their production ambitions, Egritech sought a solution to eliminate the time, expense, and limitations associated with outsourcing sheet metal cutting.

The purchase of an on-site guillotine would allow Egritech to not only save on travel, transport and cutting costs, but also gain back 6 hours a week of employee time that could be better used on-site in other parts of production.

In turn, this would provide the opportunity to consider greater diversification of products, increase capacity and turn-around, while also decreasing fuel usage.

How the grant funding was used

Funding from the Hills & Coast Business Grant was used to purchase and install a HG-2504C Compact Hydraulic Swing Beam Guillotine at Egritech’s facility, and train staff on its use. By acquiring this equipment, the company eliminated the need for outsourcing and streamlined their production process.

The funding investment directly addressed the operational challenges faced by Egritech, providing them with a valuable asset to enhance their manufacturing capabilities.

What has happened since receiving the grant

As a result of the funding, Egritech were able to buy a larger sheet metal guillotine than their budget initially allowed, some 12 months ahead of schedule.

Installation of the guillotine has yielded several positive outcomes for Egritech. Without the time constraints of moving product between different sites, they have been able to significantly increase productivity, take on more new work, and consider new product lines. The ability to make better use of their staff, and time, has seen production times decrease and orders increase, which has allowed them to double their workforce. Energy costs have reduced, while profit margins have risen.

By leveraging this opportunity, Egritech can continue to contribute to a broader range of industry sectors, export products nationally, and provide employment opportunities that create and retain wealth within the region, while positioning themselves for future growth and success.

Feedback on the Hills & Coast grant process

As a regular reader of the RDA Business Weekly newsletter, Tony had seen the grant announcement when it landed in his inbox. He felt it would be a great opportunity to expedite the purchase of a sheet metal guillotine for Egritech and submitted an application.

With former experience in the grant evaluation process, Tony had some great advice on where we could simplify the process further, which we will take on board for any future funding rounds.