Large, complex oil industry components such as down-hole collars, stabilisers and drilling tools already feature among the typical parts machined by the Soraluce. Most are manufactured from tough specification materials such as Inconel and Duplex, and some have tolerances as tight as ± 0.008 mm.

“Not only will the machine reduce the bottleneck, improving our throughput and lead times, but it will also help attract new business,” says Elliot Benton.

This is just as well because the first job that MNB Precision is putting on the Hartford VMC is brand new Inconel job from a US customer.

“It’s only 12-off but these are complex parts and each piece comprises around 45 hours’ machining time. The customer says that if we get these correct and deliver on-time we have a chance of landing a bigger contract with scheduled annual volumes,” says Mr Benton.

“There is no doubt that the price of non-conformance to any customer is high. For this reason we take great care to ensure we provide a first class service. We see ongoing investment as a must in the quest for competitive advantage and keeping pace with customer needs.”

Established in 1980, during the past five years MNB Precision has placed special emphasis on the oil and gas sector, which now represents around 90 per cent of business for the 60-employee company.

Few can doubt the ISO 9001-accredited company’s commitment to its future. In the past two years alone it has invested around £1 million in new machine tools. It has also just employed a new executive sales director to help nurture additional business and top the record-breaking £6 million turnover that the company achieved in 2007.

www.mnbprecision.com