Although being a fully functioning production control system, its software is not promoted as a 'finished' product - flexibility is the criterium and it continues to develop and improve.
'A really positive experience,' is how Stone Technology, the company behind the RedAnt production control system, describes its first-time participation in a MACH show. Backed by a group of SMEs who wanted software that relied on straightforward terms rather than computer jargon, Stone Technology's innovative software is written in Microsoft programming language and uses an industry standard SQL server database. This approach, according to Stone Technology's Mark Coleman, 'Makes hardware and software system upgrades bullet-proof.' Dunstable, UK-based sub-contractor Hone-All Precision is one of the SMEs involved in the development of RedAnt and, as a committed user of the system, Hone-All's Andrea Rodney has no doubts about its relevance to the smaller business.

'The 30 or so serious enquiries at MACH 2006 were, for the most part, made by people who had read about the system and wanted to see how it performed.

We took one definite order on the stand and expect to convert many of the other enquiries into firm orders.' The most interesting aspect of RedAnt is that, despite being a fully functioning production control system, it is not being promoted as a finished product.

Said Rodney: 'Flexibility is the overriding criteria.

Our individual businesses continue to develop and improve, and we believe the same should be true of RedAnt.

As a need arises we will respond with system changes, and the good news is that any improvement requested by an existing customer will be provided free-of-charge on the condition that it is then released to all existing users.'