Sunday 7 September 08 - 23:35
 

Cutting & Profiling

  • £0.7M Laser Investment Passes the Test with First High Volume Order

    01 Dec 2003

    Following the relocation to more efficient and larger new premises in September, JLF Engineering, the Croydon based precision sheet metal firm, installed two new Bystronic Byspeed lasers in an investment totalling £0.7m. As soon as the 4kW lasers were commissioned, they were put to the test with an order for 3k shelves and brackets that was completed on time, within one week. 

  • New Company Builds on Strong Foundations

    01 Dec 2003

    From the 1st January 2004 Micrometric Techniques will trade simply as Micrometric Limited following the retirement of Dr Maurice Gates MBE. 

  • Leading Laser Cutting Supplier Adds Capacity

    01 Dec 2003

    Located in Sheffield, Mayflower Technology is one of the leading UK contract laser cutting companies. The company has recently taken delivery of a new 3000 x 1500 laser bed system, able to process 25 mm thick carbon steel and 20mm thick stainless steel. 

  • Design for Manufacture Service is Willing to Experiment With Materials

    01 Dec 2003

    John Dent Engineering, Middlesex, has a flexible and responsive attitude to customer requests for its laser cutting expertise and experience. As well as the usual metals, the company is willing to experiment with new materials. It has successfully profiled MDF, wood and acrylic for unusual applications including: lighting; architectural fittings; TV/theatre/film set designs; vending machines; and designer furniture and prestigious gift boxes. 

Industry News

  • Sector Specific Green Advice Brings SMEs Business Benefits

    01 Dec 2003

    As research shows that many SMEs have a low awareness of environmental legislation, the latest in a series of industry specific guidelines for SMEs was launched last month at the TEAM event on the NetRegs website, www.netregs. gov. uk. 

  • Energy Efficieny Loans Add to Bottom Line

    01 Dec 2003

    Engineering companies in the UK could add an average of £18,000 a year to their bottom line by switching to energy efficient equipment according to Action Energy, the government funded energy efficiency programme run by the Carbon Trust. This figure is based on the average of estimated savings experienced by companies which have already received an Action Energy Loan. 

  • Low Take Up of High Performance Work Hinders Productivity

    01 Dec 2003

    UK manufacturing firms must seize the opportunity to promote widespread adoption of High Performance Working (HPW) if they are to maximise their productivity performance. This is a key conclusion of a study published last month by the EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, and people management experts, the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD). 

  • UK Machine Companies Find Success in Bangkok

    01 Dec 2003

    The Engineering Industries Association, with sponsorship from UK Trade & Investment, led a contingent of 20 UK manufacturing exhibitors to the Metalex exhibition in Bangkok in November. All the UK exhibitors received many enquiries and most said they would be returning to the exhibition in 2004. 

  • Collaborative Suppliers Share Mutual Benefits

    01 Dec 2003

    Supply chain distance and complexity is increasing as low value added operations are moved around the world. 

  • MAS Delivers £28m Reward Since Launch

    01 Dec 2003

    Figures released last month show that the Government's Manufacturing Advisory Service has delivered a total added value of £28 million to UK firms since its launch in April 2002. 

  • Weak Supply Chains Could Cause Chaos

    01 Dec 2003

    Business leaders are urged to heed the findings of a new report published by Cranfield School of Management. Experts warn that supply chains, the means by which companies receive components or goods and deliver products and services, are at greater risk to massive disruption than ever before. 

  • UK Firms Left Behind in Investment in Automation

    01 Dec 2003

    The British Automation and Robot Association (BARA) based at the University of Warwick is greatly concerned with United Nations figures just published that show in 2002, robot investment in the UK plummeted by 61%. Across the world as a whole robot orders in first half of 2003 were up by 26%. 

Surface Engineering

  • EDEN Promises Strict, Clean High Standards

    01 Dec 2003

    Poeton Industries Limited, a world leader in surface coating technology, has won a substantial order from its Gloucestershire neighbour Spirax Sarco thanks to a recent £90,000 investment in EDEN (Electro Dialysis for Electroless Nickel) - a special environmental dialysis system designed to reduce waste from the coating process. 

  • Room Temp Blacking is Subcontractors' Solution

    01 Dec 2003

    A new order for 4k/day chemically blacked blades for an OEM of electrical garden appliances has just been won by one of Blackfast's customers. As 70% of Blackfast's customers are metal working subcontractors, the room temperature blacking solution, which colours and protects iron and steel without altering the component's dimension, has become recognised as a safe and cost effective process that adds value to precision components, at minimal cost to the subcontractor. 

  • New Shot Peening Facility Processes Medical Items

    01 Dec 2003

    In response to increasing market demand, specialist surface treatment subcontractor Impact Finishers has recently opened a new, purpose-built shot peening facility in Slough, specifically to process medical components and products. A number of medical companies are already using the new facility. 

Tooling & Machinery Services

  • Christmas is Cancelled as £0.5m Investment Pays Off

    01 Dec 2003

    Pontypridd-based precision toolmaker, FSG, is reaping the benefit of its strategy of investing in training and technology. Full order books into 2004 mean that the firm is recruiting new technical staff and has even cancelled its Christmas shut-down. The company's expertise is in the automotive markets, metal and plastic packaging, hot forging and press tools. 

  • Latest Upgrades Improve Resolution in New Year

    01 Dec 2003

    In the New Year, LPS Engineering, Dartford, Kent, will be one of the first companies to operate the recently launched upgrades 'ToolMaker'V11, and 'DepoCam' V6 from NC Graphics. The toolmaker's integrated 3D CADCAM/high speed machining facility will be quick to take advantage of Toolmaker's improved functionality, and ease of use. 

  • Customers Recognise Financial Strength as a Key Supplier Attribute

    01 Dec 2003

    "The true cost is not always in the first quotation of a job!" stated Phil Mould, ARRK's sales director, at a recent Tooling teach in. "Customers need low costs but this does not always equate to the lowest price and more and more customers are recognising financial strength, real value, continued support and commitment as being critical features", he said. The company has facilities all around the world and is looking to make its Teesside facility play an even bigger part within the ARRK Group The ARRK Corporation is the largest model maker and prototype manufacturer in the world and has found that customers are now becoming more discerning when selecting their choice of supplier. A business's capabilities, capacity, competitive values and financial status are now being assessed and recognised as key indicators for developing a resilient supply chain. 

Turning & Milling

  • Precise Machining Needs Improved Inspection

    01 Dec 2003

    Birmingham based Rowan Precision, is passionate about precision. Over seven years ago, after the company saw the potential of the enormous advances made in high speed one-hit machining typified by the Swiss type sliding headstock machines, it replaced a shop full of Swiss cam machines, and embarked on a program of updating to the Tornos Deco machine range. These investments have in turn required improved inspection facilities. 

  • Competitive Quotes Win Business from College

    01 Dec 2003

    Educational establishments and research facilities are a significant source of subcontract machining work, particularly as many are winding down their internal facilities, but budgets are always tight and quotes have to be realistic. Imperial College in London, for example, recently put out the machining of components for a centrifugal compressor to the company offering the most competitive quote, which was Holifields in Abingdon. 

  • Firm Specialises in Highly Complex Turned Parts

    01 Dec 2003

    Automatic Precision Turning Leicester Ltd (APT Leicester) specialises in the highly complex, medium to low volume precision components with strong customer co-operation to maximise value for money components. 

  • WM Manufacturers Give Added Bite to Dentistry

    01 Dec 2003

    Two West Midlands manufacturers are getting their teeth into an exciting new project that is promising to revolutionize the art of dentistry for years to come. Redditch's Machined Components Systems plc and Birmingham-based Everest Engineering have joined forces with Peter Winter-Moore, a local practitioner and owner of Springfield Dental Care, to develop a new dental post, which makes fixing crowns and gaps quicker and more effective. 

  • New Bed Mill Provides Back Up For US Contract

    01 Dec 2003

    Hampshire's Gravatom Engineering Systems Ltd has extended its machining capabilities with a new five-axis Anayak bed mill as part of a multi-milion pound contract with Varian Medical Systems Inc, a manufacturer of integrated cancer therapy systems, based in San Francisco. 

  • Top Supplier of the Year Wins Two Years in a Row

    01 Dec 2003

    The Alfa Laval 'Supplier of the Year' award has been won, again, for the second consecutive year, by LMS Precision Engineering of Droitwich, Worcestershire. The biopharm manufacturer based in Eastbourne, introduced its vendor rating system to meet stringent requirements for the supply of components for its range of maximum hygiene integrity products. 

Stevens Rowsell is a specialist precision sheet metal engineering company in East Sussex