case study
How Charles Walters & ISTEC Developed a Spreader Range For All Seasons
When the team at Charles Walters approached ISTEC following the success of our partnership with Cresco, we worked with the team to develop a specialist product that could replicate the success of a multipurpose spreader range.
task
A sister company of UK brand Cresco, Charles Walters is the USA brand behind the market’s leading spreaders that can be used in summer and winter. Charles Walters supplies all kinds of equipment, including professional fertilizer spreaders, salt spreaders, handheld spreaders, and seeders, and has built a reputation for being a reliable, trusted brand.
After a successful partnership with Cresco on the design of their spreader range, the Charles Walters team got in touch with the team at ISTEC to bring the multi-season spreader to the USA market. This meant making some adjustments to the design and adapting the branding for a North American customers.
The ISTEC team were happy to take up the challenge!
A Spreader Ranger For All Seasons Suitable for North America
With our work at Cresco (read our case study here) our product design team were already familiar with the ins and outs of the spreader market.
A diverse market, the spreading industry’s customer base is made up of individual garden and lawn hobbyists, professional gardeners, farmers, greenskeepers, and landscapers. In addition, spreaders are vital in spreading ice melt or salt to ensure premises are safe for pedestrians.
Due to the different properties and viscosities of the materials, distributors had to purchase two spreader SKU’s: one for fertilizer and another for salt during winter. The question posed to ISTEC was, “Can we create one spreader which can do both? Spread fertilizer and salt effectively.”
The solution created for both Charles Walters and Cresco has resulted in the only spreader in the world that provides professional spreading services for both Winter salt spreading and Spring fertilizer spreading. The innovation has cut out the need for duplicate SKU’s saving valuable space and cost for distributors and improving the environmental impact of spreaders.
Milestones
HIGHLIGHTS
The ISTEC team knew that the challenge of the spreader would be in its design. Having a spreader with a dual purpose meant careful design of the spreading mechanism and the dispersion device. In our design we had to consider multiple factors, including the operating temperature (for multiple seasons) the variation in thickness and density of the materials, the height and angle of the hopper, the speed of the user and the natural movement and speed of a machine in motion.
As the spreader is mobile and designed to be operated by a single person manually, the spreader design also had to be comfortable, easy to use, and lightweight with sturdy wheels that kept movement and position stable during use.
The ISTEC team got to work, closely collaborating with the Cresco experts to understand their extensive requirements and then mapping different designs. We created multiple designs on paper and held in-depth workshops and discussions with various stakeholders, including the entire Cesco team and some of their select customers. Eventually, we chose a design that the team agreed on, and we were able to pass to the next stage: making a functional prototype.
However, to create a prototype, it was critical to source raw materials for the spreader range and find reliable suppliers who could proceed with manufacturing it with us. The search was on but with a few specific caveats.
Firstly, the team at Cresco were passionate about delivering a quality spreader that would be durable and long-lasting. This meant that they were reluctant to sacrifice quality for low costs and looked to source stronger materials with greater longevity to withstand the corrosive effects of fertiliser and salt.
That’s not to say cost wasn’t a priority, however! The Cresco team knew that to compete with other spreaders available on the market, it wasn’t only necessary to have a high-quality product but also to offer their customers low prices. That meant that foreign suppliers were out, as their import and shipping fees were pushing up the final product cost.
After an extensive research stage, the ISTEC team presented our findings: suppliers that fit the bill on quality and price and had passed our extensive vetting process to ensure they could be depended upon when we went to production. After receiving our first shipment of raw materials, ISTEC started the manufacturing stage.
In this stage, the ISTEC team were looking for a seamless manufacturing process that could then be scaled to meet demand. Based on the designs we created in phase one, we started to assemble the prototype, ready for final sign off.
In the ISTEC product labs, this meant a careful analysis of the manufacturing and assembly processes, aiming to create a working prototype and a workflow that could be replicated and scaled. We supported Cresco in the design and development of their manufacturing machinery, too, helping them create a mould that could be used to shape the tray of the spreader and working closely with them to create the intricate small parts that the spreading mechanism relies on.
After the prototype was delivered, it needed a few tweaks to get right. But that was no trouble for the ISTEC team, who went back to the drawing board, ready to present solutions to the Cresco management team.
The Success of the Charles Walters Spreader
The Charles Walters Equipment spreader range was a success, and CW is fast becoming North America’s go-to supplier for dual-season spreaders. Based on the US design, Charles Walters is now able to offer premium quality products to their customers at a great price point, using local materials and a reliable, consistent logistics chain.
To learn more about Charles Walters and their products, click here. To work with ISTEC on the development of your own product, contact us here.
Milestones
OTHER PROJECTS
ISTEC partnered with Cresco to develop a dual-purpose spreader for both salt and fertilizer. Through expert design, quality material sourcing, and efficient manufacturing, ISTEC helped create Cresco’s best-selling, innovative spreader, showcasing successful collaboration and market impact.
Kollectaball and ISTEC created a revolutionary ball-collecting device, making it easy and safe to collect balls across multiple sports. This partnership resulted in affordable, globally accessible products.