How We Protect Your Drawings and Data

Sending a drawing to a factory on the other side of the world naturally raises a question of exposure. Our answer is straightforward: we protect your design and your business data by default. We do not publish customer products without permission, we do not reuse your drawings for other customers, and we keep commercial details out of the files we exchange.

What we do by default

• Your product stays private. We do not list customer-specific designs in our public catalogue or marketing without explicit permission, granted per product rather than implied.
• Drawings are not reused. A design we engineer for you is used for your order only, not shown to or built for other customers.
• Files are shared on a need-to-know basis. Production, quality and shipping see what they need; your full commercial picture does not travel through every desk.
• Photos follow a separate permission. Generic workshop photographs are different from product photographs — you can allow one and withhold the other.

How we exchange files safely

• PDF first. For early quoting we work from PDF drawings, photos with dimensions, and load, route and quantity notes. Native CAD is exchanged once the relationship and the specification are settled.
• No customer names on drawings unless labelling requires it.
• Commercial and technical files stay separate. Quantities and pricing do not need to sit inside the drawing file.
• Ask who has access. A drawing that passes through several subcontractors has several disclosure points; we keep that chain short.

Design choices that keep the product yours

This is the part most buyers skip. Some products are inherently harder to replicate than others:

• Interface fit. A cart built around your specific totes, machines or equipment is only useful to your operation.
• Brand-finish integration. Colour, logo plates and packaging that only make sense under your brand reduce the resale value of a copy.
• Assembly geometry. A design that only works with your workflow or your tugs is a weak product for anyone else.
• Continuous revision. Products that improve each season leave a copier permanently behind.

None of this replaces formal legal protection where that is warranted in your market, but it changes the economics of copying, which is usually what matters day to day.

What to confirm in writing before production

• Who owns the drawing and any revisions made during engineering
• Whether we may show the product in our own marketing or facility photographs
• Who owns tooling, jigs and fixtures, and what happens if production moves
• Whether subcontractors are permitted, and under what privacy terms
• How long any obligation to keep the project out of public view runs after the project ends

These points come up on almost every private label programme, and agreeing them early is far easier than raising them after the first shipment.

When we ask to publish your product

Factories want reference photographs; you may not want your product in anyone’s marketing. Both are reasonable. Handle it by deciding your position before the question arises:

• Permission is yours to give or withhold, and it should be given per product rather than implied
• Generic workshop photographs are different from product photographs — you can allow one and not the other
• State your position in the RFQ so there is no awkward request after shipment
• If you allow a case study, agree what detail is omitted: volumes, customer names and pricing should not appear

If you are concerned about misuse

Act on evidence rather than suspicion. Keep your records — the dated drawings, what was sent and to whom — then raise any issue directly and in writing with us before taking any public step. In practice, most apparent copying turns out to be either a similar product developed independently or a photograph used without thought, and both are usually resolved by a direct conversation. Where it is not, the paperwork you kept at the start is what determines your options.

Frequently asked questions

Will my design stay private?

Yes. By default we do not show customer products without permission and we do not reuse your drawings for other customers. If you want that stated in a written record for your own file, tell us during RFQ and we will confirm it.

Can we avoid sending a full drawing?

For a first quotation, photos with rough dimensions plus load, route and quantity are often enough. A dimensioned drawing is recommended before production so both sides have a written reference.

Can our product be shown on your website or in factory photos?

Not without permission. Tell us during RFQ if a programme is to be kept out of marketing material and case photographs, and we will honour it.

Is tooling automatically ours?

Not by default. If you are paying for tooling or it is specific to your product, state ownership in the RFQ and get it confirmed in writing.

Questions about how your design and data are handled? Ask through the contact page and we will explain our routine.

Related: what a fabricator trial package contains.