OEM & ODM Aluminium Manufacturing — Unionalum

Two starting points

Which one describes you right now?

Most projects begin in one of these two ways. If you are somewhere in between, that is normal — tell us what you have and we will tell you which route fits.

Route 1

OEM — you own the design

You arrive with a drawing pack, a sample, a specification and a quality standard. Our job is to manufacture it exactly to that specification, consistently, at a price that leaves your margin intact.

Production to your drawing, tolerances and QC criteria
Die and tooling built for your section, held for your repeat orders
First-article approval before volume begins
Your part numbers, your labelling, your packing specification
Repeat-order consistency — same route, same standard

Route 2

ODM — we develop it with you

You arrive with a market requirement, a positioning and a price point. We work out the structure, the materials, the finishes and the manufacturing route, then build and validate a sample.

Product structure and section design
Material and process selection against cost and service life
Cost engineering during design, not after the tooling is cut
Prototype sample you can test with your own customer
Range planning — one profile platform, several sellable models

The process

Six stages, six deliverables.

Nothing moves to the next stage until you have seen and approved the output of the current one. That single rule prevents most of what goes wrong in offshore manufacturing.

01

Brief & feasibility

Send a drawing, a sample, a specification or just a description of what you want to sell and at what price. We assess whether it is buildable at that price point, propose the manufacturing route and raise the questions that actually move cost — wall thickness, spans, finish, packing.

Deliverable: feasibility note + proposed manufacturing route

02

Design & engineering

Product structure, aluminium section design, material choice, connection details, tooling concept and finish options — engineered together so that a decision in one area does not quietly break another.

Deliverable: structure drawings, section design, material and finish options

03

Prototype & validation

A physical sample of the real product, so you can test appearance, function, fixings and installation with your own team or your customer before tooling and volume are committed.

Deliverable: prototype sample + validation notes

04

Tooling, sampling & approval

Dies and fixtures are made, first-article inspection is run, and colour and finish are approved against a physical standard or an agreed reference rather than a screen image.

Deliverable: first-article approval record + colour and finish standard

05

Production & quality control

Batch production with inspection at the stages that decide the outcome — incoming material, machining, surface finish, assembly — and records you can hand to your own customer or your certification body.

Deliverable: process records + inspection results

06

Assembly, packing & export

Knock-down design where it saves freight, set packing, container loading against a planned sequence, and the export document set coordinated with your forwarder.

Deliverable: packing list, loading photographs, export documents

Manufacture my own design

If it is made of aluminium and it goes outdoors, we can probably build it.

We are not limited to the product platforms on this site. Most of our manufacturing is someone else's design, built under their part numbers.

Profiles

Custom aluminium sections with dedicated dies, developed around your product's structure and load path.

Machined parts

CNC machined, cut and drilled components to the tolerance your assembly actually needs.

Welded structures

Welded frames and structural assemblies, finished and inspected as a single unit.

Complete products

Finished items assembled, tested, packed and labelled under your brand, ready for your channel.

What to send us

To quote properly, we need one of these.

Any one of the four is enough to start. The more you send, the more precise the first reply — but a concept is a perfectly good beginning.

1
A drawing pack 2D drawings or 3D models with material, finish and tolerance requirements. Fastest route to a firm quotation.
2
A physical sample Send one unit and we will reverse-engineer the structure sheet, then quote to reproduce it.
3
A specification Sizes, spans, finish, loading requirements, destination market and any standard that applies.
4
A concept and a price point What the product must do, who it is sold to and what it must sell for. We design backwards from that.

Aluminium pergola manufactured to a customer design

Your brand, your design, your information

We work as an unseen manufacturing partner for brands that sell under their own name. Your product designs, artwork, customer list and commercial terms stay confidential, and we are happy to sign an NDA before you send drawings.

Private-label and white-label production is normal work for us — including your packaging, your manuals, your labelling and your bar codes. We do not sell your design to your competitors, and we do not offer your exclusive product to other buyers in your market.

Straight answers about what we cannot do

We are a manufacturer and product-development partner, not a one-stop shop for everything. If your product needs a process we do not control and cannot qualify, we will say so at the feasibility stage — including when it means recommending a different partner.

We will also tell you when your target price is not achievable with the specification you have described, and what would have to change. That conversation is cheaper at stage 01 than at stage 05.

Common questions

The questions buyers care about most.

What is the minimum order quantity?

It depends on the route rather than on a fixed number. Standard platforms have a practical minimum set by tooling and batch size. For a fully custom product, the minimum is driven by the die and the first production run. Tell us your target volume and we will tell you honestly whether it is workable and what it would have to be.

How do you handle tooling and die costs?

Tooling for your section is developed for your product, and the cost is quoted separately and transparently at the design stage. Where a project continues, tooling can typically be amortised into the unit price — we will state which arrangement applies before you commit.

Can I get a sample before placing a production order?

Yes — that is stage 03, and it is the point of the process. You approve a physical sample before tooling and volume move ahead. Sample cost and lead time are quoted up front.

Can you supply under my own brand and packaging?

Yes. Private-label and white-label production is routine: your brand, your packaging artwork, your manuals, your labelling and bar codes. Your designs and commercial information stay confidential.

Do you handle shipping and export documents?

We handle packing design, container loading and the export document set, and coordinate with your forwarder or your nominated agent. You receive a packing list and loading photographs before the vessel sails.

Which certifications can you provide?

Certification is a per-factory, per-process fact rather than a group claim. Where your market or customer requires it, we identify the correct factory, provide the current certificate set for your product and process, and can arrange third-party inspection such as SGS, BV or TÜV. If your tender needs a named certificate, raise it at feasibility so we confirm availability before you quote.

How long does development take?

Timing depends on the product, whether a new die is required and whether you are sending a drawing or a concept. We give you a stage-by-stage schedule with the feasibility reply, so you can see where the time goes rather than waiting on a single number.

Send us the drawing, the sample, or the idea.

You will get a feasibility view, a proposed route and the questions that affect cost — normally within one working day.

Start a product project Email our export team

Your product, our factory, one accountable partner