B&C Factory
All B&C Speakers products are built in Bagno a Ripoli (Florence), Italy. Several years ago, we began the process of consolidating our five, older factory buildings into one, large, modern location. The goal was to move all processes to the same building in the interest of reduced material handling, having a more contiguous production line, better supervision, and an improved working environment for our employees. We began occupying the new 8,800m² building (5,000m² of production and 3,800m² warehouse) in early 2009, and we have now moved almost all production activities to this building.
The new 8,800m² B&C Factory in Bagno a Ripoli (Florence), Italy
The new building is set into the hills of Tuscany. In addition to featuring the latest in construction methodology, it is glowing with natural light. The three joined buildings incorporate some creative, mechanised material handling strategies, and a state-of-the-art HVAC system, to control the production environment in all seasons.
The new automated woofer production line
In addition to consolidating the building, we have made a massive investment in automating our production lines. In addition to offering a significant increase in output, the new woofer line will allow us to build a much more consistent product....in less time. Set-up and change over can be done very quickly compared to our previous production set-up. We will also be totally updating the newest of our previous production to allow us to produce small batches of specialty products.
Woofer Cone Assemblies ready to be mounted in baskets
All woofer cones kits are assembled and treated right in our factory, with extreme attention to detail. Our many years of research into unique glues and production methods have allowed us to push the limits of woofer performance. Woofers are assembled, treated and tested right on the new production line.
Lead Wire attachment on the new woofer production line
Cone treatments - dispensed automatically, are distributed by hand on a spinning production line station. Rear treatments are applied in our cone preparation area.
Automated Klippel measurement stations create a safe working environment to test every woofer automatically, ensuring that rub and buzz, and frequency response are well within acceptable limits.
All finished woofer products are fed directly from the production line, and packaged according to customer requirements.
Warehouse storage...with a view of Tuscany. B&C builds most products to order. We don't stock large quantities of finished products. This ensures that we are open to incorporate quality improvement measures at any time.
All B&C high frequency drivers and diaphragms are still hand assembled. In addition to careful design, the production process requires very detailed measurement of materials, glues, and alignment in order to create ultra-high performance parts that are consistent. Each driver is carefully tested using Klippel to ensure strict control of rub and buzz, frequency response and distortion.
High Frequency driver voice coils are wound in-house, and carefully applied to Mylar, Titanium or Composite diaphragms.
Our specially formulated adhesives are applied by custom built robots that ensure accurate quantity and positioning. All adhesives are tested on a regular basis throughout the day.
High Frequency driver diaphragms ready for installation
High frequency driver motor assemblies are produced on the main driver production line, and then merged with diaphragm assemblies. Each unit is specifically tweaked during testing to maximize performance.
In addition to the new production facility, B&C maintained their 3,000m² head office building, which is located one hundred meters from the new factory. Most company management, sales, accounting, and research and development activities are performed in this building.
