Case Studies
24. November 2023

Driving efficient workflows with Bott Ltd workstations

After working with David Appleby Engineering for over 20 years on projects such as Generation Bentley, Generation AMR and Invictus Games Racing, we continue our promise of delivering excellence through high-quality, professional workplace storage systems while championing UK manufacturing. We recently visited the new David Appleby Engineering site in Wellington, Somerset, to see how our kit was being used in this impressive supercar garage.

David Appleby has over 30 years of experience and is a longstanding bott customer. Throughout his career, he has accumulated an extensive network of associates, maintaining an admirable reputation in the motorsports industry.

His son, James Appleby who showed an interest in motorsports from an early age, is now the Director of David Appleby Engineering. James achieved huge success in motorsport competitions for years, including the Aston Martin Challenge, British GT Championship and European GT4.

Passion for performance

James explained how bott has been a part of his life since he was young. Our workspace planning and consultation service, high performance products, and built to last approach means that we remain the project partner of choice for David Appleby Engineering. 

He spoke with us about his early memories of bott, reminiscing about attending our ‘seconds’ sales with his dad when he was young. The popular sales were a chance for people to buy our ex-exhibition kit and returns at a discounted price.

“We love the quality and built in the UK brand”

We would pre prepare ‘DA’ stickers and dad would tell me to go and put them on anything that had drawers. It was useful because I was so small, I could get under the shutter doors before anyone else and have first pick.

He explained that they used to have mismatching kit in various sizes, colours and ranges that had come from these sales, making the current cohesive, cubio workshop finished in all-over anthracite grey even better. “Having everything in our corporate colours is brilliant!”

Since relocating to Somerset, David Appleby Engineering has expanded their broad range of both road, race and rally programmes for a large number of clients. They are now world-renowned for their Aston Martin road and race car services and upgrades.

 The team at DAE worked for over 12 months to transform their building space into a premium workshop fully equipped with bott cubio kit. The new space is a 10,000 sq. ft. open workshop area with 4x2 post ramps and 4 race bays. bott cubio equipment lines the walls and sides of the vast space, ensuring the main part of the workshop is fully equipped with tool storage and workplace solutions that maximise available space and promote LEAN working.

Additional to the main workshop area there is sub-assembly, machine and fabrication shop, transmission shop, stores, customer waiting room, boardroom, engineer’s office, 3x further offices, and catering facilities.

World renowned engineers

Our modular workshop storage equipment has been used to configure individual work areas, enabling each engineering technician to have their tools organised and stored by preference. The ergonomic workstations consist of large storage cupboards, wall-mounted cupboards, heavy duty cabinets and made-to-measure mobile cabinets. Also integrated into the workplace system is a computer, vice unit and bott bins.

“Knowing where things are means efficiency is always at its highest”

The versatile mobile cabinet is James’ favourite piece of bott kit. The flexible storage solution allows the team to easily take it to events, fully equipped with their specific tools and equipment to perform track side maintenance. It’s also perfect for wheeling across the large workshop, saving time and increasing workplace efficiency for James and the team.

“I believe that a clean, tidy, well-organised workshop is a good workshop.”

The large kitted cupboards and drawer units are racked out with organisers for orderly small parts storage. It’s important that all parts are stored in groups to guarantee engineers know which car they came from, so that the right parts go back on the right car. Seven large heavy-duty cubio cupboards run across a side of the workshop for storing bulkier items together.

When a car comes in for servicing or general work, we need to remove a lot of parts. The cupboards mean we can get the parts away from the car, off the ground and stored safely.

Workplace ergonomics

With cleanliness, order and organisation having been instilled in James from a young age, the bott workplace system is a perfect means of ensuring that these key aspects are maintained. We hope to continue our relationship with the prestigious David Appleby Engineering far into the future.

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