Queen’s Award for Innovation Win for Pryor
Pryor wins coveted Queen’s Award for Innovation recognising ground-breaking VIN laser marking system.
Pryor is delighted to win this award for Innovation, which recognises the success of a robotic laser Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) marking system installed on Jaguar Land Rover production lines in 2014, which is now being adopted by automotive manufacturers across the globe.
Founded in 1849 by apprentice Edward Pryor, the company’s reputation is built on delivering cutting-edge solutions to the world’s best-known manufacturing brands.
Pryor combined several innovative elements to complete the system and make its installation a world first; incorporating high-powered lasers, cutting-edge machine vision with Optical Character Verification (OCV), fully automated robotics and integrated video streams in the marking process data log.
Pryor’s system delivered an unprecedented range of benefits to the manufacturer, including reduced vehicle scrappage at export.The laser marking system enables the manufacturer to mark the VIN in three locations on the vehicle, which puts the finished vehicle in a lower insurance group, in much less time than the traditional method can engrave the VIN in one location. The massively improved the cycle time and enhanced VIN marking process has greatly improved the customers' manufacturing efficiency.
For Pryor, this project was the next step in a continuous evolution of product marking technologies stretching back to the middle of the 19th Century. “High speed, high power laser marking is a uniquely effective solution for demanding applications in fast moving production environments,” says David Ray, Technical Director at Pryor.
The laser VIN project has been a catalyst for growth, so significant has been its success, with Pryor achieving its highest ever turnover in 170 years of trading, in 2019. This growth is enabling Pryor to invest in people, with a growing R&D department and team of apprentices spearheading investment to keep Pryor at the forefront of manufacturing innovation.
Read the full story of how Pryor designed and manufactured a completely new method to engrave VIN on chassis, engines and gearboxes here
