Flexible manufacturing for premium smart water control systems

Balancing innovation with long product lifecycles

Unlike many consumer products, water control systems often remain installed in homes for decades. Customers expect manufacturers to continue supplying replacement units, spare parts, and support long after a product's original launch. Some product families remained active for more than 20 years, requiring ongoing production support while new generations of products were introduced.

Managing a highly diverse product portfolio

The company’s portfolio included approximately 100 active product variants across multiple product platforms. From legacy systems to the latest smart controllers and digital shower technologies, each product family required different manufacturing, testing, and supply chain requirements.

Delivering premium quality at scale

Products designed for the premium residential market are expected to perform flawlessly. Advanced systems continuously monitor and regulate water temperature, ensuring a consistent shower experience regardless of fluctuations in water supply conditions. Maintaining this level of performance required rigorous production and testing processes.

Testing products in real-world conditions

Unlike conventional electronic products, every unit required both electrical verification and live water testing before shipment. This added complexity to manufacturing operations and created additional challenges around tester reliability, maintenance, and long-term process stability.

To support both legacy and next-generation products, a flexible manufacturing model was established covering electronics production, plastic component manufacturing, assembly, testing, and final packaging.

Production capabilities were organised around the customer’s core product platforms, allowing efficient management of approximately 100 active product variants while maintaining production stability and quality.

A significant focus was placed on functional testing. Automated test systems were continuously improved over the years to increase reliability, optimise cycle times, and maintain performance as products and test equipment evolved. Specialised testing processes were developed to verify both electronic functionality and water management performance under real operating conditions.

The manufacturing model also incorporated extensive in-house capabilities, including PCBA production, injection moulding, assembly, testing, and packaging. This provided greater control over quality, lead times, and supply chain responsiveness throughout the product lifecycle.

✔️ Long-term manufacturing support

The manufacturing partnership has successfully supported the customer’s product portfolio since 2005, enabling continued production of both established and newly introduced product families.

✔️ Scalable production for a diverse portfolio

Today, approximately 6,000 to 7,000 finished units are produced each month across a portfolio of around 100 active product variants.

✔️ Reliable global supply

On average, two 40-foot containers of finished products are shipped every month, ensuring dependable supply for the customer’s distribution operations.

✔️ Sustained support for long-life products

The ability to maintain production, testing, and supply chain continuity for products with exceptionally long lifecycles allows the customer to continue supporting existing installations while expanding its product offering.

✔️ Consistent premium quality

Comprehensive testing processes, including live water performance verification, help ensure that every product meets the high standards expected within the premium residential market.

✔️ A foundation for continued growth

By combining scalable manufacturing, robust testing capabilities, and long-term product support, the customer is well positioned to continue expanding its portfolio of premium smart water control solutions while maintaining the quality and reliability for which it is known.