GAMES Workshop, the biggest and most successful manufacturer of tabletop fantasy and futuristic battle games in the world, recently chose Pershore-based Counting Tech-nology Systems to design and produce a machine to count and pack the small plastic bases that hold the individual game pieces.

More than 25 million bases made up of eight major base types are manufactured each year. Games Workshop's previous manufacturing and packaging process associated with base components was labour-intensive, with multiple base 'picks' required to complete a boxed product.

Having developed a more cost-efficient manufacturing system, Games Workshop needed a new counting and bagging system which counted and packed the correct number of base components into bags in the correct quantities for different games.

By then packing one bag of bases instead of multiple loose bases, Games Workshop significantly reduced its picking and packing time associated with its boxed products.

CTS developed a system which automatically feeds products, with no operator input, from mobile floor level storage bins and systematically counts the different sizes of base components into pre-programmed quantities into a FFS machine for automatic bagging.

Additionally, CTS designed and built the system incorporating vacuum transfer conveyors to take product from the storage bins to feed a twin- bowl feed counting machine which dispenses the counted product into a form-fill and seal machine.

From agreed design concepts, CTS built and delivered the machine within three months. The company also provided Games Workshop with the relevant training and support for immediate use.

Neil Coombe, production continuous improvement manager for Games Workshop, said: "We chose CTS because not only were they very competitive on price, but we believed they would offer us more of a dedicated relationship. They made us feel valued and they are committed to their customers. If we ever have a problem someone from CTS is always on hand to help either over the phone or on-site."