Seco Solva: end-to-end manufacturing improvement
Discover Seco Solva, an end-to-end manufacturing approach connecting engineering expertise, technology and partners to improve manufacturing performance.Seco Solva is an end-to-end manufacturing approach connecting engineering expertise, technology and partners to improve manufacturing performance.
Efficiency, engineered at every step.
Manufacturing performance rarely depends on one decision, one machine or one tool. The biggest opportunities often sit in the connections between design, programming, tooling, production, verification and the way the whole process is managed.
Seco Solva goes beyond the tool, bringing together engineering expertise, technology and manufacturing partnerships across the complete manufacturing value chain.
By taking an end-to-end manufacturing approach, Solva helps manufacturers find and implement improvements that can reduce cost-per-part, improve cycle time, release capacity and create a stronger, more efficient manufacturing process.
Customer outcomes delivered through Seco Solva*
50% lower cost-per-part
75–100% increase in production capacity
47% reduction in cycle time
$6M avoided capital investment
*Based on customer projects where Seco Solva combined engineering expertise, process redesign, validation and implementation support.
Talk to a Solva expert
What Seco Solva does
Solva is an end to end solution from Seco to manufacturing performance improvement. Instead of optimizing one tool, operation or supplier recommendation in isolation, Solva looks across the connected manufacturing system to find where the biggest gains can be achieved.
The opportunity may appear as a tooling issue, a long cycle time or a capacity constraint. In practice, the real causes often sit between functions, where component design, fixture strategy, CNC programming, tooling, internal flows, machining methods and verification connect. Improving one of these areas in isolation can help, but it can also leave larger opportunities untouched.
Solva brings the relevant expertise together around the customer’s manufacturing challenge. Depending on what is needed, that can include Seco engineers, Innovation Hub specialists, other Sandvik businesses and external manufacturing partners coordinated through one engagement model.
Not every Solva project needs every capability. The right combination is built around the customer’s objectives and the areas where change can create the greatest impact.
Solva turns improvement opportunities into validated manufacturing changes.
Manufacturing results that matter
Every project starts from a different baseline, so there is no universal percentage improvement that applies to every manufacturer. What the existing Solva work demonstrates is that significant results can be achieved when engineering decisions are considered together rather than one at a time.
50% lower cost-per-part
A medical manufacturer in China needed to increase output and reduce manufacturing cost without adding new machine capacity.
Seco combined CAM work, Innovation Hub expertise, prove-out and process optimisation.
Result: cycle time fell from 42 minutes to 28 minutes, a 33% efficiency improvement, while cost-per-part was reduced by 50%.
75–100% capacity increase
A leading US orthopaedic manufacturer needed additional production capacity but faced constraints around machine investment and floor space.
Seco co-developed the solution with the customer’s manufacturing engineering team, combining CAM programming, tooling and fixture design.
Result: a 75–100% capacity increase, no additional headcount and $6 million in avoided machining capital expenditure.
47% cycle-time saving
For a UK supplier of vehicle and aircraft components, Seco studied existing manufacturing processes and developed and validated an improved machining method within the Innovation Hub.
Result: one titanium structural component achieved a 47% cycle-time saving and a 39% reduction in tooling spend. A separate aluminium structural component delivered more than 6,000 production hours saved alongside improved quality.
One manufacturing system. Six connected stages.
Solva looks across six connected areas of the metal manufacturing value chain. Each stage can influence what happens before and after it, which means a decision made early in the process can affect cycle time, quality, energy use, tool consumption and cost-per-part further downstream.
The purpose is not to optimise six separate boxes. It is to understand how the stages interact and identify the combination of improvements that will deliver the strongest overall manufacturing result.
1. Component design
Design intent, material use, tolerances and fixture strategy can shape manufacturability long before production starts.
2. Production & operation engineering
CNC programming, machining strategy, simulation and process engineering influence cycle time, tool life, stability and machine utilisation.
3. Shop floor solutions & logistics
Tool availability, inventory, reconditioning, purchasing and data management all affect production continuity and operating cost.
4. Component shaping
The most effective route may combine different machining technologies, tooling strategies and specialist capabilities to achieve the required component outcome.
5. Verification
Measurement, tolerance analysis and process validation provide the feedback needed to maintain quality and improve manufacturing performance.
6. Cleaning
Cleaning, handling and final preparation protect the quality created throughout the process and complete the manufacturing journey.
Why Seco Solva
Solva combines Seco’s metal-cutting heritage with a broader network of engineering competence. It connects the capabilities required to move from analysis to implementation:
- Seco engineering expertise
- Innovation Hub capabilities and physical workshops
- Manufacturing specialists
- Sandvik expertise
- Strategic manufacturing partners
Customers gain access to the expertise required for their specific challenge through one coordinated model. Seco manages the connections between the capabilities needed to develop, validate and implement the proposed Method of Manufacture.
Global capability in numbers
30+ Engineers
25+ Partners
3 Continents
2 Physical workshops (Innovation Hub)
Why improve the whole process?
Manufacturing teams are usually very good at improving individual operations. The harder challenge is finding the opportunities that sit between departments, technologies and stages of production.
A faster CNC program may improve one operation, but the full benefit can be lost if fixture design creates unnecessary setups. Better tooling can reduce machining time, but poor tool inventory management can still interrupt production. An efficient machining process can create quality problems if verification is considered too late.
Solva is built around these connections.
The objective is not simply to make each stage individually better. It is to understand how changes in one part of manufacturing influence the rest of the process, then develop a coordinated solution around the outcomes that matter most to the customer. It’s about bringing an holistic approach rather than isolated minor improvements.
That can mean improving cycle time, lowering cost-per-part, creating additional production capacity, reducing resource consumption or solving a manufacturing challenge that cannot be addressed by one technology alone.
Better manufacturing performance is also more sustainable
Many sustainability gains are achieved through better manufacturing decisions: less material waste, lower energy consumption, fewer operations, higher equipment utilization and reduced resource use. By improving the full manufacturing process, Solva helps manufacturers improve both operational and sustainability performance.
Start with the outcome you want to achieve
Whether your priority is greater capacity, lower cost-per-part, improved productivity, increased profitability or better sustainability performance, let’s identify where the biggest improvement opportunities exist in your manufacturing system. Start with the manufacturing challenge
Talk to a Solva expert
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