Manchester-based Fractory — a ‘cloud’ manufacturing platform established only six months ago by its Estonian owners — recently won the award for ‘Best Use of Tech’ at the British Chamber of Commerce Awards, where 77
finalists competed for nine prizes.

Fractory (www.fractory.com) has digitised the manufacturing of sheet metal parts by offering the service on-line.

Customers can upload their CAD files, including 3-D models, straight to the platform for instant pricing. Fractory’s

CEO, Martin Vares, said: “Everything you see on the platform has been developed in-house. We would have been happy to use pre-existing working models, but there were none — the technology was developed as an answer to the market’s needs.”

The platform caters to the needs of two segments — customers and manufacturers. Engineers can now compare different designs and their costs without purchasing extra software, as using the platform is free.

If the price is suitable, they can confirm it for production; Fractory will delegate the work to its manufacturing partners, taking full responsibility for each step, from quoting to delivery.

Being able to use 3-D models for quotes provides an extra incentive, as making manufacturing drawings usually accounts for about 20% of an engineer’s time.

Mr Vares added: “The journey from a small Estonian market to a significant one like the UK has been challenging but very quick at the same time.

"Engineers have actually been waiting for this opportunity, while everything around us has moved on-line. Winning this award is a testament to that.”