Airbus is a leader in designing, manufacturing and delivering aerospace products, services and solutions to customers worldwide. It is at the forefront of the international aerospace industry. With over 125,000 employees, it is the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe, and is rivalled only by Boeing in the global commercial airliner market.

Airbus has a relentless focus on aeroplane safety. Its reputation and the reputations of its airline customers depend upon its planes operating safely day in, day out.

Against this backdrop, Airbus faced a potential issue. Within the wings of its aeroplanes, there are large bundles of wires that are held together with cable ties. During service operations, it is often necessary to replace a wire that is at risk of wear. The wing is opened, the cable ties are cut, the wire is replaced, and new cable ties are fitted. All quite straightforward, you would think.

However, Airbus identified a risk, when doing this, of small pieces of plastic from the cable ties falling into the wings after being cut. This could lead to wear and the potential for safety to be compromised.

Collecting up every last piece of stray plastic from the wing was an inadequate solution. Airbus sought to address the root cause, turning to one of its primary tool suppliers, Carl Kammerling International, for a more effective remedy.

CK International approached Maun Industries to develop a bespoke hand tool that would eliminate the risk of harmful plastic debris entering the wing. CKI had worked with us before and so was aware of our high quality standards and expertise in creating custom tool solutions. We have nearly 80 years’ tool-making experience, and our home in Sutton in Ashfield is one of the rare places where you can find specialist hand tool-making, using traditional machinery alongside the latest cutting-edge technology.

The result? Long-lasting quality fused with pinpoint accuracy.

After the initial information-gathering meeting, our experienced Production Manager and his team reviewed the client’s specific needs and began to develop initial ideas.

The team were able to develop an inventive plier, complete with a secure catch box on its head, which allows it to cut the end of the cable ties with precision, while crucially containing all the detached pieces.

Throughout the project, the team worked its way through several versions and intensive testing of the cutter, including trialling prototypes on cable ties that had actually been exposed for long periods to the elements at altitudes of over 10,000m.

This essential test demonstrated that an early design of the new specialist cutting pliers, which had worked on new cable ties, didn’t work on the used ones. There was only a fifty percent success rate at eliminating or catching plastic debris. This demonstrates how thorough testing needs to be and how innovative the accompanying problem-solving capability must be too.

From there, the team carefully developed a bespoke range of prototypes that were presented to the client, taking in feedback along the way. Airbus was then presented with three options from which to pick the final design. This iterative process of modification, refinement, testing and review is key to developing an exceptional final product.

And it wouldn’t have been possible without Maun’s production team of experts. They design, develop and present a client with intelligent options, before taking on feedback and refining the proposed tool. This process involves comprehensive testing and the willingness to explore different iterations of tool until a final product emerges that fully meets customer requirements.

Whatever the project, whatever the industry, our process remains largely the same, which is why the result remains the same – the perfect, newly created custom tool that meets your needs.

Maun doesn’t just make tools – we develop solutions to the problems your organisation faces. We love solving problems, but success is only possible when we work closely with the client.

From the very start of a project, we dig deep into what our client really needs, and sometimes this changes as we make our way along the development journey together.

From the outset, we take the lead, presenting the client with options and often working back and forth with a range of prototypes until they are happy with the final product.

Ultimately, a good customer experience comes down to two things: a high-quality final result and getting there through a personal, collaborative approach.

We love working with people from all industries, sectors and walks of life and have done for many years. In fact, some of our best innovations and learnings have bloomed from customer enquiries for our custom tool solutions.

If you have a problem that you’re not able to solve with an off-the-shelf tool, we’d love to work with you to create a new, bespoke tool or solution to your problem.

Maun Industries was founded by the Rippon family on 1st January 1944. We were named after the nearby River Maun and, led by skilled engineers, we set about developing and manufacturing our own range of innovative hand tools from day one.

For six decades, Maun operated from Moor Lane, Mansfield, and in 2004, the business relocated to new, purpose-built premises in nearby Sutton in Ashfield. The Rippon policy was to manufacture all tools in-house and sell worldwide, a philosophy that we’re proud to continue to this day.

Maun's quality management system is certified to ISO 9001 and has been for thirty years, and our pliers conform to BS 3087-7:1996, ISO 5747:1995 standards – that we were instrumental in defining.

Maun Industries was owned by its founding family for 64 years. However, time catches up with us all, and the Rippons sold the company in 2008. The following year, Blastparts, a supplier of spare parts and services to the shotblasting industry, became an operating division.

At the end of 2019, ownership of the business changed again, with our current Managing Director Tim Scholes taking the helm. Building on the traditions of the past, Tim is investing to ensure the firm's sustained growth and long-term prosperity.

Neil is one of our talented engineers here at Maun, on hand to guide customers through the tool development process. Drawing on his expertise gained through more than forty years of crafting quality tools, Neil uses both traditional and modern machinery and methods.

Neil has been through the process of hand tool development many times and is an expert in developing bespoke tools to solve customer problems.