1976 : Richard Beaupre, veteran of the United States, deeply attached to the values of his country and the pleasures of designing unique souvenirs, decides to launch ChemArt.
The initial process of a water based photo-resistant process applied to jewelry findings quickly expands to include industrial needs as well as a range of decorative ornaments and souvenirs.
It quite naturally follows that two divisions are created at ChemArt :
ChemTech dedicated to industrial components.
Beacon Design dedicated to delivering products, all made in the USA, along with exceptional customer service.
Beacon design takes great care to listen to its clients’ needs and expectations to create a variety of unique products such as ornaments, bookmarks, keepsakes, lapel pins, wall art, jewelry findings etc.…
Their customers can be Mom&Pop shops as well as government agencies.
A key step in the production of Beacon Design creations is the cutting process. In order to cut the materials most efficiently, it is essential to optimize the nesting of the different elements upstream
We had the pleasure of interviewing Carlos Ferreira, a graphic designer who works at Beacon Design, to understand why he had chosen Nest&Cut, a web-based nesting application (part of Alma Group).
Claire Macabies (CM), Alma group : What do you like in your daily work at Beacon Design, in the production of your products?
Carlos Ferreira (CF): The creative process is what I enjoy most about my work. Over decades, Beacon Design has worked with non-profits, the military, historical societies, colleges, universities and religious organizations.
CM: What are the main difficulties you encounter in your production? What impact do theses difficulties have on your business?
CF: One of the main difficulties we encounter is the rising cost of material, so reducing waste is paramount!
CM: Which nesting program did you use before Nest&Cut?
CF: Before Nest&Cut, we nested our paths manually, therefore wasting a lot of time and money.
CM: How did you discover Nest&Cut?
CF: I discovered Nest&Cut while doing online research. I started with Powernest (DLL library) first before being directed to Nest&Cut, more appropriate for my needs.
CM: What brought you to purchase Nest&Cut?
CF: Purchasing Nest&Cut seemed like a no-brainer!
CM: What do you think about the subscription?
CF: I like the subscription process, very easy and flexible.
CM: Which machines are you using for cutting?
CF: The majority of our cutting is through photo-etching but also laser stamping or manual cutting.
CM: How is Nest&Cut integrated in your IT system?
CF: Currently, we simply export the results from Nest&Cut and use that as a template for our process.
CM: How many nestings do you usually run each month?
CF: On average we do 300 nestings a month.
CM: What do you think about Nest&Cut app?
CF: Nest&Cut is very fast, intuitive and easy to use.
CM: Which functionalities do you love and which one is missing?
CF: I love the ability to export the DXF files. I would like in the future for the path in the DXF file to be color-coded.
CM: What improvements has Nest&Cut brought you?
CF: The use of Nest&Cut has made us faster and more efficient and has helped us reduce waste. On average we have seen a 2.5 % increase in yield.
CM: Did or will the purchase of Nest&Cut lead to some changes in your organization?
CF: Nest&Cut integrates with our process very easily and we haven’t had to make any major changes to implement its use.
CM: If you are not the only user, how did your team felt about changing for Nest&Cut?
CF: Everyone in the graphic team loves Nest&Cut!
CM: Do you have any feedback regarding Nest&Cut customer support?
CF: Nest&Cut has provided the best customer support that I have ever received from any tech company!
CM: Would you recommend Nest&Cut?
CF: I would absolutely recommend this product to anyone.
CM: To conclude, how would you describe Nest&Cut in one sentence?
CF: Nest&Cut is any easy, intuitive nesting program that provides an efficient nesting of paths and immediately brought value to our company.