Moving the TD Tom Davies factory back to the UK just over a year ago was a long-term goal for company founder, Tom Davies. It was not an easy process, but he says the last 12 months have been remarkably bump-free.
The move made perfect sense on several levels – greater control over production, capacity for expansion and being able to lay claim to a ‘made in England’ product. Greater interaction with optician customers may not have been a primary reason for a move, but the number of opticians around the world who requested tours of the new factory got the company’s marketing team thinking.
‘A day with Tom’ is the result and is very much as it sounds. TD Tom Davies customers can see the company’s production facilities, spend time working with Davies to sketch and design frames and then attend workshops on best practise and learning the minutiae of the brand’s systems. Fun is also on the agenda, with compulsory Sega Rally arcade competitions and post-event drinks on the factory’s rooftop oasis.
The day begins with a welcome from Davies on a mezzanine that overlooks machinery on the production line. The days have structure, but Davies admits that he will often amend the content of his own presentations based on what he is currently working on. He also admits the production tour elements can sometimes overrun because he enjoys talking about pieces of bespoke machinery or little workarounds that have been developed in house.
At present, only acetate production is carried out in the Brentford factory – for bespoke and made-to-order frames. A plating facility will be added soon and buffalo horn production will also make the move from the company’s factory in China.
The 25 or so visitors begin by looking at the acetate stock and the treatments applied before production. Davies explains to the group that the much of the company’s acetate comes from Japan and in particular, from cellulose producer Daicel.
Davies homes in on content that will help the opticians explain the value of high end products. At points, it is remarkable just how candid he is about the processes used, especially given how guarded some manufacturers are about their production. He explains that it is the content of the raw materials used to make the acetate, along with how well the acetate sheets and plates are cared for, that dictate the quality of final product.
For the raw materials, it is the percentage of wood pulp used in the acetate mixture that creates quality acetate. He explains that 80% wood pulp is the limit for acetate that has the feeling of quality and strength, which is exactly what Daicel uses for its own production. Too much wood pulp and the frames become brittle and hard. Not enough pulp and frame loses its feeling of quality.
Once an acetate colour has been selected by the patient, the plates are then placed in an oven in what Davies describes as ‘owning the shrinkage’. Moisture causes acetate to expand and contract, and different types of acetate (wet block, dry block and extrusion) do so at different rates, so a regulated heating process provides a good base for the rest of the production process.
Taking heat
Any part of production that heats the frame will have a detrimental impact on the internal fibres of the acetate, so Davies has worked long and hard to find methods that use a limited amount of heat that can still perform traditional eyewear manufacturing steps. Nose bridge bumps on the fronts of frames are added using soundwave blasting instead of being heated and stuck on to the block with acetone, a substance that Davies was keen to limit workers’ exposure to. Adding nose pad projections uses similar ingenuity, with high speed vibration on the surface of the acetate releasing just acetone from within the acetate to add the small blocks for the nose pads.
The company’s Brentford factory is currently set up for made-to-order acetate frames but metal plating will be added soon
While much of the machinery in the factory is traditional eyewear manufacturing equipment, many of the machines, such as the CNC machine, have been reprofiled to suit the needs of the business – such as throughput and complex production. Inventive use of pieces of heated magnesium are used to hold the frame securely for hinge piece insertion. The magnesium envelopes the corner of the frame to create a jig that holds the frame in position while the hinge is inserted. This can be achieved by other methods, but Davies says this particular way removes the need for any pre-drilling of the frame and the need for bonding agents, which can give a less than perfect finish.
Tricks of the trade do not apply to polishing. Well, they do, but not in this company’s factory. Hand polishing is a task that requires experience and patience, says Davies. The process closes pores on the surface of the acetate and, if polished for long enough, creates high quality, long-lasting finish. The polishing process can be sped up, but when done so, frames can begin to display white residue on the surface. Polishing agents can also be used to create a high gloss finish, but this is a tactic used on the ‘cheap and nasty’ segment of the eyewear market, says Davies.
Better by design
After lunch, the group sits down with Davies to discuss materials and design. Davies shows the group two new acetate projects (which Optician is not allowed to talk about yet) before moving on to two large horns, examples of raw materials in the company’s buffalo horn collections.
Buffalo horn frames command a significant price premium over others within the TD Tom Davies collection, but Davies urges the group to dispense with discretion. He explains that while horn is a fantastic material for luxury eyewear, it is not for every patient. The material takes a lot of looking after and a careless patient would most likely ruin the frames in a short space of time – which reflects badly on both the practice and the brand.
There is a great sense of theatre as Davies opens up a large sketchbook for the next section of the talk. A live camera feed to a large flat screen TV shows how Davies sketches the right-hand side of a frame, working in his trademark style from the brow line outwards. Davies interacts with the group about what the final design will look like before the frame is translated into a CAD file. The frame is then put into production, with the finished product sent through production during the afternoon while visitors are in workshops.
Custom acetate sheets
Later in the afternoon, visitors split into three groups and cycle between three different themed workshops: social media; sales and dispensing and finally, a session dedicated to the in-house customisation platform, Supertool.
Each workshop is designed to help the opticians get the most from their TD Tom Davies investment. The sales and dispensing workshop runs through some of the typical practice scenarios where patients may not recognise the style and optical performance benefits of a tailor-made frame and how to deal with patients who only know what they do not want in a frame. The company’s internal software, Supertool, has extensive capabilities and many of practitioners do not utilise its functionality in its entirety. Constant development also means that some practitioners are not aware of new features, such as the ability to add nose pads to acetate frames. A guide on TD Tom Davies social media collateral is also covered during the workshop.
Davies believes much of being an optician is effective communication and people skills. The factory tour and
workshops are designed to bolster a practitioner’s storytelling skills and with the information passed on by Davies during the course of the day, any communications skillset will be bolstered.