One of Kent’s fastest growing precision engineering specialists has completed a £1.5m investment drive with the installation of a new EHRT FlexPunch machine. Employing over 100 people at its factory in Hythe, HV Wooding has taken delivery of the new technology, which comes equipped with three CNC controlled axes that virtually guarantee perfect accuracy on production parts destined for the electrical switchgear, data centre, electric vehicle and energy markets.

The latest cell represents a £400,000 spend and offers an immediate 40% increase in punching capacity, which will enable greater flexibility and faster lead times. It follows a concerted investment programme that has seen the acquisition of a high-speed Bruderer BSTA 25H press, Bystronic Xpert 80 press brake and a Trumpf TruLaser 3030 laser cutter which can produce thin gauge laminations and busbars for use in electric cars, lorries, buses and commercial vehicles.

Matt Lacey, sales and marketing manager at HV Wooding, says: “Since the pandemic has eased and we’ve got back to a more normal trading environment, we’ve seen monthly sales increases of 15-25%. This is being driven by our ability to take on complex projects from prototyping through to volume production, embracing multiple manufacturing methods such as wire erosion, laser cutting, presswork and tooling, assembly, and electroplating.”

He adds: “These capabilities make us a very attractive proposition for companies involved in developing new components for electrification and we wanted to cement this position with the £1.5m investment in four different but complementary technologies. Our quality team has been really pleased with the parts produced on the new FlexPunch and we’re looking forward to taking on more projects that utilise its accuracy, repeatable quality and speed.”

For further information
www.hvwooding.co.uk