Small or large batch: why Brochexpress accepts quantities that large manufacturers turn down
Large spindle and motor spindle manufacturers organise their production around large batches, with minimum order quantities that in practice exclude a large share of real industrial needs. Brochexpress built its manufacturing model around the opposite: small batches and single pieces, with no minimum quantity.
Two fundamentally different production models
TLDR: A manufacturer geared to large batches spreads its design, tooling and setup costs over several hundred or thousand identical units. That economic logic naturally leads it to refuse or discourage orders for a few pieces, for which those fixed costs would become disproportionate.
A spindle or motor spindle manufacturer geared to large batches builds its business model on spreading fixed costs — design, specific tooling, production setup — over a large number of identical units. That logic, perfectly rational for equipping automotive or electronics production lines requiring hundreds of identical components, becomes problematic for a company needing only one to twenty pieces a year: the fixed costs, spread over so few units, would make the unit price disproportionate, or the project is simply turned down for lack of commercial interest. It is this economic reality, more than any lack of technical competence, that explains why so many companies with modest needs struggle to find a suitable supplier.
A production model designed for small batches
TLDR: Brochexpress built its manufacturing organisation around small batches and single pieces from the outset, with a cost structure and a way of working suited to those volumes, rather than applying to such orders the constraints of a model designed for large batches.
Rather than applying the economics of large-batch production to orders of a few units, Brochexpress built its organisation around the opposite logic: a lean structure, a design office used to handling varied specifications from one project to the next, and systematic use of high-quality generic components (bearings, motors) rather than specific parts requiring expensive dedicated tooling. This approach absorbs the fixed design costs on a model suited to small volumes, without passing on to the customer costs calculated for large batches they are not ordering.
What this changes for you in practice
- No order turned down for lack of volume: a single piece is a project in its own right, not a commercial problem
- A unit price consistent with the volume actually ordered, without fixed costs calculated for large batches
- A design office used to varied specifications, rather than to repeating the same reference
- Production flexibility to absorb changes to your specification during the project
- Guaranteed reproducibility thanks to the technical file kept for every project, for any future order
When large-batch production remains the better option
It would be dishonest to claim that small-batch production is always the right answer. If your need is for several hundred identical units destined for a production line, a manufacturer geared to large batches will spread its fixed costs far more efficiently than we can at that volume, and will probably offer a more competitive unit price. Our positioning is complementary: we step in precisely where large-batch production finds no economic interest — a few units a year, a single piece, an occasional rather than continuous need for reproducibility.
Frequently asked questions
At what number of units does your manufacturing model become less competitive than a large-batch manufacturer?
It depends on each project, but beyond several dozen to several hundred identical units per order, a manufacturer geared to large batches generally becomes more competitive. Our added value lies below those volumes.
Can you support an increase in volume if my needs grow over time?
Yes, we can support a gradual change in your needs, while honestly pointing you towards a large-batch manufacturer if your future volumes justify it.
Is the unit price of a small-batch part fixed, or negotiable according to cumulative volumes?
The price depends on several factors, including the quantity ordered each time. Contact us with your precise requirement for a tailored estimate.
Why do large manufacturers explicitly refuse small orders rather than applying a higher price?
It varies from one manufacturer to another — some prefer to decline rather than tie up their design and production teams on a project with a low relative margin compared with their usual batches.
Can your organisation also handle a project requiring a hundred units if needed?
Contact us to discuss it — beyond a certain volume, we can point you towards the solution best suited to your need, including if that is not us.
Brochexpress, manufacturing designed for the volumes others turn down
Our design office and manufacturing workshop, based in Beaurepaire (France) and Lussery-Villars (Switzerland), handle your spindle and motor spindle manufacturing projects whatever the volume, from a single piece to a small batch.
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