Machine Building Drafting Firm in the Netherlands

Scaling up in machine building without recruitment

Capacity is the reason behind almost every enquiry. There is a peak in orders, a customer wants a variant of an existing machine, or a drafter drops out when the schedule was already tight. We have a large, variable team, so the number of drafters scales with each project according to what the work requires. The team is already in place, so for us scaling up means scheduling, not recruiting. When things are urgent, we add people straight away, even halfway through an ongoing project. Everyone involved has more than ten years of CAD experience, so an onboarding period of weeks is out of the question.

What does take time is getting to grips with your standard, which is why we are sharp on that at the start. The core of our team has roughly twenty-five years of combined experience, and Sam, our team leader, divides the work so that a larger team does not lead to a messier set. If someone on our side drops out due to illness or holiday, we replace them. You pay no ongoing payroll costs and generally notice nothing of such a change, because we work in the same environment and to the same agreements.

Scaling down is just as easy. When the peak subsides, the work stops and nothing keeps running, because we do not work with a prepaid hours card or a monthly hours subscription. For a machine builder whose work comes in waves, that is often exactly the reason to outsource this part. If you tell us about a peak early, we take it into account in our staffing and someone is ready to go on day one.

A machine building drafting firm compared with a freelancer or an in-house drafter

The choice is rarely about price alone. A freelance drafter is one person with one diary. If they drop out, the work stops, and in a peak they cannot suddenly double their output. We deploy a team that can grow with the work and in which someone else takes over as soon as necessary. On the other hand, a freelancer sometimes knows a specific machine in more depth, and we readily acknowledge that. A permanent in-house drafter is a different trade-off.

Recruitment takes months, followed by an onboarding period before someone is fully productive. After that, payroll costs keep running, even in months when the order book is thin. For work with the same volume year after year, an in-house drafter actually makes sense, and we will say so when that is the honest conclusion. Our advantage lies in the fluctuating part. Pure working hours are the only thing we bill, so a five-minute coffee break comes straight off. There is no minimum purchase and no subscription.

What is more, the intellectual property of everything we draw stays with you, so no dependency is built into the files. A third difference lies in quality control. In a one-person business, nobody else checks the work. With us, every package goes through at least three review layers before it goes back, which in repetitive machine building work makes the difference between a small correction and a series of amended sheets. Otherwise an error in a part that recurs in eight variants means eight rounds of rework instead of one. At volume, that simple calculation is often the deciding factor.

Working with our drafting firm in the Netherlands

You have one fixed point of contact with us. Barry, our project manager, picks up a new enquiry and remains the face of the collaboration, and Sam, the team leader, takes over the technical side as soon as it comes to the content. He has more than fifteen years of architecture behind him, seven years of work in Iran and his own design practice in the Netherlands, and he still works as an engineer. That means a project lead is not passing their question to a rotating helpdesk. We agree the meeting rhythm per project. For work that has to move fast we are in touch every two days, and on calmer projects weekly. Day-to-day contact runs by email, phone and meetings, and files go back and forth by email. We use software that you can log in to and follow the project on larger projects such as greenhouse construction.

For standalone AutoCAD drafting we simply deliver by email, because an extra environment adds nothing there. We visit you or welcome you here, although we carry out the work itself remotely. We make the most important agreement at the start, namely who on your side will answer content questions. Without that person, a project does not stall on technical issues but on waiting. We deliver in stages and gather feedback after each block, so a mistaken assumption comes to light early rather than at the last drawing. If such a block shows that a symbol or title block needs to change, we immediately apply that to the rest of the series.

Your fixed points of contact

Project manager Barry leads the first conversation, team leader Sam keeps a firm grip on the technical side

You never have to explain the situation all over again. Getting acquainted takes a short fifteen-minute call.

Get acquainted Send your documents

Getting started with machine building drafting

Once we have enough information, we can begin. Specifically, we ask for four things. First, the existing material: models, drawings, bills of materials and any supplier documentation. Second, the CAD standard, preferably with a sample sheet from a previous project, because in practice that says more than a manual. Third, the required output in format and version, plus whether there are parties in the supply chain who need an older format.

Fourth, the deadline and the preferred delivery order. We respond to a new enquiry within 1 to 2 working days. This is followed by a conversation in which we go through the project and define the scope.

That is why we deliberately focus on this in the first conversation. If part of the material is still missing, we start with the part that is complete rather than waiting for everything. That way there is already something tangible to show for your enquiry after the first week.

Frequently asked questions about a machine building drafting firm in the Netherlands