An online sheet metal and metal parts service where engineers upload a design and get an instant quote, with orders made by partner factories; it has a UK office in Manchester.
Fractory sells metal parts through a website. An engineer uploads a computer-aided design (CAD) file, gets a price within seconds, and once the quote is accepted Fractory sends the job to one of its manufacturing partners and handles delivery. It started with laser cutting and sheet metal and has moved towards more automation. The company says its platform is free for engineers to use, that it has produced over 400,000 parts, and that it works with more than 20 manufacturing partners and over 16,000 users. Those figures are from a dated interview, so they will have grown.
Fractory has its roots in Estonia and is led by chief executive Martin Vares. The company says its staff are engineers who saw the pain points of buying metal parts and built a service to fix them. In an interview, Andreas Velling said the aim is to let engineers focus on building products rather than "searching for suppliers and getting quotes from different sources". Mr Vares has described the technology as an answer to the market's needs and said the company wants a product that can be used everywhere around the world. Online profiles give the founding year as 2017.
In the UK, Fractory opened an office in Manchester, and a Wevolver company profile lists its headquarters as Manchester, United Kingdom. It joined the Made in the Midlands business network to meet UK engineers and suppliers, with the company noting that manufacturing runs on trust and that meeting people in person helps. It won the Best Use of Tech award at the British Chambers of Commerce Awards. Its partner factories are the places where the metal is actually cut, bent and finished, so the UK team is mainly about customers, sales and support.
The company profile gives a size of between 51 and 200 employees, but we found no detailed description of the team or culture. The kinds of work involved can be worked out from the model: software developers who build the instant quoting engine, mechanical engineers who help with complex or high-value orders, buyers and supplier managers who look after the partner factories, and customer support and sales staff. We have not been able to read a company page that sets out the values, so we do not describe them.
For a student, Fractory shows that manufacturing is not only about factories; it is also about software and service. If you enjoy engineering and also like websites or data, there are roles that sit between the two. The sectors it serves include prototyping and series production for engineering customers, and mechanical engineers are available to help customers with more demanding jobs. It is a good example of a business that makes it easier for small firms to buy parts without a large purchasing department.
Website: fractory.com
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