Just wanted to say thank you for your help at very short notice last week which was greatly appreciated. The Lateral staff were excellent from the phone call to the job being completed.
Wayne Hall, Managing Director
Medical Services (North East) Limited
Lateral have converted a variety of new and used vehicles for wheelchair passenger access for Wheelchair Cars Ireland since we began working together in 2009. We have been delighted with the prompt and friendly service offered, and with the consistent high quality and finish of the low-floor conversions Lateral have completed in-house for us.
Donal Murtagh, Managing Director
Wheelchair Cars Ireland
Working to a very tight deadline, Lateral performed, delivering two high quality vehicles on-time and to our exact requirements.
Mike Morgan, Director
EMS Ambulance (Skipton)

ADVANCED DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

Lateral implement the most advanced design and manufacturing technologies in the industry

At the heart of Lateral is the latest in state of the art material forming machinery, which facilitates ultra high precision -fabrication at rapid production rates. Indeed, we are home to some of the most advanced manufacturing appliances to be found in any automotive production house in the U.K.

Put simply, the capability of our metal working plant equipment is such that our engineers have the freedom to design the most intricate and highly -detailed of parts, confident in the knowledge that our production facility can deliver with perfect dimensional accuracy.


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We complete, in-house, the processes of design, rapid-prototyping, and manufacture.

New products are engineered using latest generation 3-D 'solid modelling' Computer Aided Design (CAD) -software, which integrates the functions of mechanical CAD, part data management, and part validation, with the ability to communicate new designs to operators and clients in fully rendered 3-D.

Lateral's ability to translate metallic part designs into reality via Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) is unparalleled within our industry. Our 'File-to-Part' process is completed utilising our suite of Bysoft program packages which translate 3-D model files in to flat sheet 'developments'. The data is then in -turn used by the cutting and bending functions of the software to drive our formidable Byspeed 3015 lazer cutter and Beyeler Xpert press -brake machinery.

Metalwork assemblies are joined using our digitally controlled 'synergic pulse welding' equipment, operated by our team of highly-skilled technicians. Our equipment facilitates consistently excellent weld penetration and bead profile, with high work rate efficiency, yielding fabrications of optimum strength and finish.

Lateral's capacity to rapid-prototype for composite and polymer part applications is also second to none in our industry. We are home to one of the largest 5-axis CNC milling machines in the U.K. This device makes it possible for us to design, tool and produce new moulded parts within a 24-hour timeframe.

Our technologies enable us to offer products of continually flawless precision and quality, on-time to our customer's exacting requirements.



OUR QUALITY

Continuous product & service excellence. Our investment in manufacturing technology yields perfect part dimensional accuracy and unrivalled quality of product. Our investment in people yields quality in design, in on-time delivery, and in unparalleled customer support.

Passion for design and the application of modern technologies to achieve automotive manufacturer -levels of fit & finish, blended with an operational culture for strict adhering to production processes and continuous part inspection, results in the timely delivery of product and service excellence to our customers.

Quality is much more to Lateral than an ISO plaque on the wall: It is inherently part of everything we do, from the standard of manufacturing appliances we choose to facilitate build, to the training and ownership instilled in our staff to deliver first-class results in every activity of our business.

Comprehensive systems of internal audits and checks ensure that all Design, Technical, Production, Sales and Administrative activities are carried-out in compliance with approved company procedures. In Production, 'Work Instructions' and associated drawings are issued to each build stage, with constant monitoring and assessment of key performance indicators undertaken to ensure parts & assemblies are complete to Lateral standard.


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We welcome visits from third party inspectors for witness of final functional testing. The importance of product safety in vehicle applications is unquestionable and must be priority #1 for all manufacturers. Lateral's commitment to producing durable products which successfully pass all related testing procedures and approvals is unquestionable, our experience in completing them formidable.

Lateral's 'Quality Manual' is the company's comprehensive and all -encompassing management -aid, providing detailed information with regard to correct, approved procedures, relative to all of the eight major processes within the organisation, these defined as:

- Management System & Documentation
- Resource Management
- Customer Requirements and Satisfaction
- Design & Development
- Product Realisation
- General Process Control
- Measurement, Analysis & Improvement
- Corrective & Preventive Actions

'Process Owners' are responsible for ensuring implemented procedures within each business function are correctly adhered -to, thus individually contributing to the error-free and highly-efficient operation of the business, across all functions.

Our Quality Management System has been independently assessed and registered by the NQA; Lateral is accredited with BS EN ISO 9001:2008. We have Motability Accreditations across our ever-growing range of wheelchair accessible vehicles. Renault Accord Technique Approval was awarded to us for our unique Wedge access ramp. We also have Full European Certification of Type Approval for Citroen Dispatch, with further models soon to follow.