From an emergency call to a managed service

Shawpak called us on a day their main server was down. We had two engineers on site within the hour and the business trading within two, before any agreement was signed. Twelve months later, we run the platform they work on.

Shawpak · Medical device packaging machinery · August 2025 to present

Shawpak designs and manufactures packaging machinery for the medical device industry. Founded in 2014, the company builds small footprint thermoformers, linear thermoformers and pouch machines for cleanroom environments, and supports customers through service teams in Europe and North America. It is an ISO 9001 certified business.

For a manufacturer of this kind, IT is not a back office concern. Design data, production scheduling, machine build records and customer service all depend on it. When the systems stop, the shop floor and the service desk stop with them.

August 2025: the first call

Shawpak had spoken to us a short time earlier, after a recommendation from a contact in IT, but nothing was formally in place. There was no support agreement, no service level and no obligation on either side.

Then their main server went down, and they needed engineers on site that day. We are close enough to attend, so we did.

• Within the hour. Two of our engineers were on site and diagnosis was under way.
• Within two hours. Limited services were running again, enough for Shawpak to answer emails and keep trading.
• Same day. Fault confirmed. Replacement parts sourced and purchased by us, at our own cost.
• Next day. Parts delivered and engineers back on site.
• Within 24 hours. Systems fully restored.

We did not issue a quotation before attending, and we did not wait for a purchase order before buying the parts. The business needed to be trading, so we got it trading, then dealt with the paperwork afterwards.

Alton Valley then sourced and purchased replacement parts at their own cost, had them delivered the next day, and returned on site to fully restore our systems. All within 24 hours, and all before we'd even signed an agreement with them.

Oliver Izzard, Engineering Director, Shawpak

September 2025: a new server platform

With the business trading again, we looked at what it was running on. Much of the operation rested on ageing hardware with single points of failure, so we designed and delivered a replacement platform: new rack mounted HPE servers with enterprise solid state storage, a current release of Microsoft Windows Server with user licensing, 10 gigabit server networking, and a Riello uninterruptible power supply to hold the platform up through power interruptions.

Hardware was delivered in September 2025, and the servers installed and configured.

October 2025: a network built for resilience

Next came the network. Shawpak now run a resilient Fortinet firewall pair with unified threat protection licensing, Fortinet managed switching including power over Ethernet for site devices, Fortinet wireless access points covering the offices and production areas, 10 gigabit uplinks into the server platform, and fully re-patched structured cabling. That work completed in October 2025.

The result is a network that fails over instead of falling over, and one we can see into remotely. That alone cuts the time to diagnose most faults.

March 2026: onto the new platform

Data migration onto the new platform completed in March 2026, followed by five days of hypercare. Any post-migration issue was caught while our engineers were still engaged, rather than raised later as a fresh support ticket.

A move to new premises

Shawpak then moved premises, and we handled the IT side end to end: survey and design of the new network, cabling and patching, switching and wireless installation, and the relocation and recommissioning of the servers. Staff arrived at the new building to working systems, with no unplanned downtime.

August 2026: a managed service

In August 2026, Shawpak and Alton Valley commenced a twelve month managed IT support agreement. What began as an emergency call from a business with no contract in place is now a formal managed service, covering day to day support, monitoring and maintenance of the platform we built.

Twelve months on, Shawpak have:

• Downtime measured in hours. Limited services restored inside two hours, full restoration inside 24.
• A server platform built without single points of failure.
• A resilient, monitored network across the offices and production areas.
• A premises move completed without unplanned downtime.
• One accountable supplier, close enough to attend site, with a formal managed service in place.

As a company, Alton Valley are proactive, genuinely friendly, and act first, worrying about cost second. It's been a fantastic partnership, and we're confident it will only continue to grow.

Oliver Izzard, Engineering Director, Shawpak