Four years ago, Donkey Long Tong’s three founders, Marcel, Simoné, and Nic, couldn’t have imagined operating a fire tool manufacturing business from a 3 000m2 factory and employing 28 people.

Such is the popularity of the fire tools that they manufacture and sell that the founders have had to make strategic decisions regarding their manufacturing processes to keep up with domestic and international demand and plan for future growth.

Luke Dyson, Donkey Long Tong’s Head of Engineering and a mechanical engineer by trade, says: “I’m here to maximise production and increase workflows wherever possible and set up and custom-build any machinery we might need to streamline production.”

Four years ago, Donkey Long Tong’s three founders, Marcel, Simoné, and Nic, couldn’t have imagined operating a fire tool manufacturing business from a 3 000m2 factory and employing 28 people

“The idea behind bringing some of the manufacturing processes in-house was not just about bringing down manufacturing costs, but also that it would give us a lot more control over our production goals. It’s nice to have the ability to back ourselves to guarantee the product and guarantee the quality of our fire tools.”

“Another goal of ours is to build our stock levels and pre-empt demand. We have only had the JFY TPE8 050 bending brake for about four months, and we are still aligning our production schedules as we get used to the processes.”

The JFY TPE8 press brake is an all-electric machine designed for efficient bending of small parts, featuring a direct-drive servo motor that enhances processing efficiency by over 1.5 times compared to traditional hydraulic models. It has a 500 ton bending force and a bending length of 1 500mm.

It offers adjustable bending speeds for precision and energy savings of more than 70%, contributing to environmental protection. Its compact design allows for flexible installation and cost-effective maintenance.

Supplied by Puma Machine Tools, Donkey Long Tong recently purchased a JFY TPE8 050 press brake. It’s an all-electric machine designed for efficient bending of small parts, featuring a direct-drive servo motor that enhances processing efficiency by over 1.5 times compared to traditional hydraulic models. It has a 500 ton bending force and a bending length of 1 500mm

The ‘tong gobbler’ is a polishing wheel, and it gives Donkey Long Tong a certain surface finish that they are after when pre-cleaning their tong blanks. Luke Dyson, Donkey Long Tong’s Head of Engineering and a mechanical engineer by trade, designed and built the machine along with one of Donkey Long Tong’s cofounder’s, Marcel

“I use Fusion 360 for my CAD work, not just for new product design and design improvements, but also specifically to build some of our machinery to improve our processes. For example, we needed a drill press that could drill three little holes instead of a single drill press drilling out the holes individually to speed up the production of our fire tool handles, so I designed a CNC drill press that would be able to do this for us really accurately, and then built that from scratch. It’s about chasing really tight tolerances across all of our fire tools,” continued Dyson.

“Another project that I have worked on since I joined the business was to redesign the moulds that press the heads for the tong heads. Essentially, this made the compression when pressing the tong heads significantly smoother and cleaner, resulting in a better finish for the tong heads. Before we decided on the final mould design that would be machined and hardened, I experimented with various designs using our Prusa i3 MK3 3D printer. I’m also currently designing a new press for us and will also build that for us.”

Donkey Long Tong make use of Fusion 360 for CAD work, not just for new product design and design improvements, but also specifically to build some of their own machinery to improve their in-house processes

Donkey Long Tong’s Head of Engineering, Luke Dyson, designed and built a drill press that could drill three little holes instead of a single drill press drilling out holes individually to speed up the production of their fire tool handles

“What I can’t manufacture and build in-house, I will source from suppliers like SPP Profiling. They still manufacture all of our tong blanks for us, and we still have a very good relationship with SPP. Another supplier that we work closely with is Gullwing Engineering – they’ve been with us since day one. Puma Machine Tools is the supplier of the JFY press brake.”

“We have also decided to simplify our tong pre-cleaning phase of production, and Luke and Marcel were instrumental in designing and building our ‘tong gobbler’ machine,” explains Nic Eve, one of Donkey Long Tong’s co-founders.

“The tong gobbler is our name for a polishing wheel, and it gives us a certain surface finish that we are after. We can just change up the abrasive material as needed to achieve different finishes. Our philosophy has always been to create the perfect product and then create the tools to create that perfect product. If you’ve got a need, rather create a tool that hyperfocuses on that need.”

Donkey Long Tong have purchased two CNC routers to aid their woodwork department – one is for rapid prototyping and the other for full-scale production

Donkey Long Tong have purchased two CNC routers to aid their woodwork department – one is for rapid prototyping and the other for full-scale production

“We were finding that in their organic shape, once cut and bent up and delivered that the tongs were harder to clean before assembly, so we decided to have the tong blanks delivered flat – an added reason for using the press brake, as we would then be able to bend the tong blanks ourselves. The blanks also travelled better flat and made storage for us better, too,” continued Eve.

Additional CNC machinery and in-house processes
“Apart from the JFY press brake, we have purchased two CNC routers to aid our woodwork department – one is for rapid prototyping and the other for full-scale production.”

“We need to look at machinery and processes that allow us to fast-track prototyping of new products, but not just new products – tooling too. We have such unique problems to solve here that a lot of the time, we just have to figure it out, and it comes down to a mentality of having a can-do attitude. Sometimes it helps not being classically trained in a certain discipline, as that allows you to think outside of the box. We also have to be mindful of not focusing entirely on being a manufacturing business.”

The leather cutting and sewing department has seen the addition of a multifunctional hot stamping machine for providing finishes to their leather products

Donkey Long Tong use a Prusa i3 MK3 3D printer for prototyping

“Having said that though, with the new factory and all the space that we have at our disposal, each section of manufacturing now has its own dedicated space – so you’ve got the woodworking department, a full assembly line as well as the CNC bending department and the leather cutting and sewing department – where we have added a multifunctional hot stamping machine for providing finishes to the leather as well as a skiving machine.”

“Now that we have these machines, we can start improving on the processes of our current production models.”

“We have the philosophy that we are all sitting around a fire, and where collaboration makes sense, then we will embrace that. It’s important for us to stimulate the South African economy and create a South African story and make that go global – we have the capacity, the potential, and the skills to do this. To give you an idea, we are now able to manufacture between 300 and 400 tongs a day.”

Donkey Long Tong used their Prusa i3 MK3 3D printer to prototype moulds when they redesigned the moulds that press the heads for their tong heads

Donkey Long Tong are now able to manufacture between 300 and 400 tongs a day

“With our new showroom here at the factory, we wanted to keep it authentic to the brand, so we’ve set up a little camping scene – we’ll even have meetings in our camping chairs sometimes – and we are going to have a little coffee shop and also have a museum area.”

Donkey Long Tong has now introduced laser engraving with their ComMarker fiber laser engraver and customers can order their tongs with personalised engravings. The engravings are etched in and not just done at a surface level, ensuring that they’ll last as long as your tongs and other Donkey Long Tong fire tools do.

“We are very excited about the future. We have some cool products that are at their final stages of prototyping now before we begin full production with them. We like to blend a bit of old school with new school here,” explains Marcel Hattingh, another of Donkey Long Tong’s co-founders.

Donkey Long Tong’s range of fire tools include a handmade genuine leather bag, a Donkey Long Tong 80cm, a Donkey Tong 69cm, a Donkey Blower and a Donkey Paddle

Fire tool combos include the Donkey Long Tong Jack Sack – a leather bag designed to store all of your Donkey fire tools in style

“People like to say that things aren’t made like they used to be, but that’s just not true. It’s the way that you make it – your genuine desire for quality. Are you interested in what you are doing – do you really care? Are you just pushing out numbers, or are you making a product that you love? Two things we are never going to budge on with our tongs are our quality and our length. By using state-of-the-art machinery and processes, and where there are easier alternatives to manufacturing what we manufacture, we want to take responsibility for what we do. You can’t do any of this in isolation, though, and you need great partners and you need passion,” concluded Hattingh.

Donkey Long Tong has now introduced laser engraving with their ComMarker fiber laser engraver and customers can order their tongs with personalised engravings

Donkey Long Tong’s fire tools are now available not just in South Africa, but in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

For further details, contact Donkey Long Tong on TEL: +27 (0)72 492 0929 or visit https://donkeylongtong.co.za