PP Profiles (West Yorkshire) Ltd has bought a plasma and flame cutting machine from Kerf Developments that measures 39 m in length.
To get a scale of the workload at the Batley-based heavy engineering business, it is processing an average of 400 to 500 tonnes of steel every month, and almost 40% of this material is run through the new Kerf RUR4500. It is this reliance on the Kerf plasma and flame cutting machine that justified its acquisition. The level of investment at PP Profiles (West Yorkshire) Ltd now stands at more than £2m in the past two years.
The reason behind the investment in the colossal Kerf RUR4500 was due to two older 12 x 2.5 m flame cutting machines – and a 6 m plasma machine – proving unreliable, creating an inefficient workflow.
Commercial director Daniel Morley says: “We specified the Kerf RUR4500 with a single high definition 400 A plasma cutting head on a 12 x 4 m bed and a two-machine 24 x 4 m bed that consists of both a six-head and a four-head flame cutting gantry – all in a single 39 x 4 m cell. This allows us to load much larger jobs and has opened us up to new markets, as parts over 12 m long are not uncommon.”
The arrival of the Kerf RUR4500 machine made the previous two flame and one plasma machine surplus to requirements, reducing the required floor area and improving efficiency and workflow.
“Now, we have four people running the three machines within the Kerf RUR4500 cell,” says Morley. “This workflow configuration has reduced our processing times by at least 50%.”
For further information www.kerfdevelopments.com
