Vollmer grows UK team

Vollmer, the cutting tool and saw blade sharpening specialist, has expanded its UK team to enhance both the service and sales operations of the business.

The manufacturer of precision grinding and erosion machine tools has employed Shaun Hill as its latest addition to the service department, while longstanding service engineer Kieran Rosling has moved into the technical sales department. As a youthful engineer, Hill has hit the ground running with Vollmer technology and is already proving a welcome addition to the team.
For further information www.vollmer-group.com

Bandsaws prove to be a Mega success

Sheffield-based Special Quality Alloys is a specialist in forged products, bar and machined components made from nickel-based alloys, duplex, super duplex, stainless steels and carbon and alloy grades principally for the oil and gas, power generation, aerospace and general engineering industries around the world. The company holds approvals that include IS0 9001 and ISO 14001, as well as numerous end-user accreditations.

Part of the Special Steel Group, Special Quality Alloys was requested to produce a total of 35,000 bars that needed cutting to size from billets, forming part of a single individual project. The company had previously purchased a number of sawing machines from Prosaw, but this special rapid-sawing application was so intensive that three new saws were required in order to meet demand.
Firstly, Prosaw supplied a Mega BS330HAS heavy-duty automatic bandsaw, which has been fully employed cutting the billets seven days a week since installation. This machine has been followed by two further bandsaws from Prosaw, a Mega H-460A heavy-duty, automatic twin-column bandsaw and a second Mega 330HAS. All three saws are said to make fast work of cutting the high Rockwell hardness nickel steel billets.
Dean Matthews, operations director at Special Quality Alloys expressed his satisfaction with the service given to this project by Prosaw, as well as the performance of the bandsaws, stating: “These saws have proved themselves to be very reliable and capable in efficiently and accurately handling a very challenging material. Reliability reduces the frequency of any servicing that might be required, which in turn reduces both downtime and costs.” Editor’s note: MTI is printing this story to replace the Prosaw press release that appeared in the 20 November issue in error, which was a historical article not reflecting the current extensive in-house sawing capabilities of Special Quality Alloys.
For further information www.prosaw.co.uk

AMRC names latest tier 1 member

An additional company has been appointed as a tier 1 partner by the AMRC in Rotherham. The new member is Geo Kingsbury, whose managing director Richard Kingsbury now sits on the research centre’s board of directors. As a precursor to the appointment, Geo Kingsbury has donated an £800,000 Multigrind CB purchased from one of its German principals, Haas Schleifmaschinen, for which it acts as sole sales and service agent in the UK and Ireland.

The machine will extend the AMRC’s grinding capabilities, as it offers the flexibility of cylindrical, gear and thread grinding on a single platform.
For further information www.geokingsbury.com

MoD contract success at Newburgh

Following recent investment in its Rotherham facility, Newburgh Precision has won its first contract direct with the MoD. The company’s commitment and determination to grow in the defence sector is highlighted by the recent installation of a new £500,000 Kafo KMC-4140 double-column gantry machining centre, which was purchased to meet the demand of a defence contract awarded in the first quarter of 2017.

In other news from Newburgh, David Greenan, who has been managing director for the past five years takes up the position of vice chairman, taking over chairman Vince Middleton’s duties while he focuses on other projects. Danny Gibbons, operations director, has after 15 years with the business taken up the role of managing director. Newburgh Precision is currently recruiting a number of CNC horizontal borer/milling machinists and a CNC vertical borer vacancy to help meet growth in the defence and aerospace sectors.
For further information www.np-ltd.co.uk

AP&T success

AP&T, which is headquartered in Ulricehamn, Sweden, has received another award for its proprietary production solution for the forming of high-strength aluminium.

The 2017 Quality Innovation Award was conferred by SIQ, the Swedish Institute for Quality. The committee of judges shared the following justification for its decision: “The new technology enables radical reduction of the material’s thickness and weight, which leads to lower fuel consumption and less environmental impact – at the same time increasing crashworthiness.”
For further information www.aptgroup.com