BG Engineering plans for future with XYZ

Investing in the future of its business in terms of skills and capacity, BG Engineering is actively recruiting apprentices and has just invested £75,000 with XYZ Machine Tools to create a machining cell that will help apprentices to hone their skills.

The cell comprises an XYZ SMX 5000 bed mill and an XYZ SLX 355 ProTurn lathe. Both are controlled by XYZ’s ProtoTrak control system, which offers simple-to-program capability that makes apprentice training and the machining of one-off and small batch parts straightforward.
“The XYZ machines are unlike anything else we have on the shop floor,” says Chris Brown, director of Cooper Brown Enterprises, which bought a strategic stake in BG Engineering last year. “They provide the perfect introduction to CNC machining and, our apprentices are making full use of the ProtoTrak control’s features, such as TRAKing, as well as learning manual machining skills. The apprentices can gain experience of the ‘feel’ you only get by winding handles to produce parts – thanks to the XYZ machine’s ability to operate
in full CNC or manual mode.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Name change

Turnkey production solutions provider Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools Ltd, which until recently was best known as Geo Kingsbury, will with immediate effect trade under the name Kingsbury.

The company is sole agent in the UK and Ireland, and more recently in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, for a range of German machining centre and lathe builders, as well as a French additive manufacturing machine producer. Managing director Richard Kingsbury says: “We wanted uniformity in the way we are perceived by industry throughout the country’s into which we sell.”
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

Manufacturing hotspots

The Advanced Engineering show, which takes place at the NEC at the end of this month, has published its league table of top 20 high-value manufacturing hotspots in the UK.

The table places Sheffield at the top of the pile, narrowly beating last year’s winner – Bristol – by just two points. The highest new entry this year is Cambridge, which comes in at number 4. Other new entrants are Northampton, Poole, Telford, Swindon, Banbury and Chesterfield. The biggest improvers in the table since last year are Milton Keynes, which moves from 10th to 3rd, and Nottingham, which moves from 8th to 5th.
For further information www.advancedengineeringuk.com

Poly-Shape to sell majority stake

AddUp, a specialist in the manufacture of 3D metal printing machines and systems, a joint-venture between Fives Group and Michelin, has announced a project to acquire a majority stake in the French company Poly-Shape.

Created in 2007 by Stéphane Abed, Poly-Shape offers design services and the production of parts via the 3D metal printing process. The company has managed to develop an expertise recognised throughout Europe in fields such as tooling, aerospace, medical and energy, and more specifically the motorsport sector, working notably with a large number of Formula One teams.
For further information www.addupsolutions.com

Ground-breaking ceremony for new building

Pressen HAAS GmbH and PTF Maschinenhandelsgesellschaft mbH have constructed a new modern office and warehouse centre in Straßberg/Winterlingen. The recent growth of the two companies, which specialise in used machines for metal forming and sheet metal working, should continue and is supported by the new 2,500 sq m facility.

“In addition to trade in second-hand machines, it is above all the services that make the difference,” says Mario Kosjerina, one of three managing directors. “A large number of our customers are not satisfied with the mere delivery of machines. Modifications, overhauls, commissioning and training for local staff are essential service components. We are well aware that in addition to investing in buildings, an expansion also involves more staffing requirements. Therefore, we are of course looking for service personnel at
our new location.”
Since 2006, when Kosjerina took over press specialist Werner Haas, a lot has happened in the industry. Thomas Geisel, managing director on the board since 2011, adds: “The internet has changed the trade significantly in recent years. Offers have become more transparent, making comparability much easier for the customer. In order to stand out from the competition, the services for selling a used machine are therefore becoming increasingly important.”
Holger Keinath, who is primarily responsible for the concerns of PTF, adds: “By expanding our business activities with the takeover of PTF in 2012, we have moved from pure trading in metal-forming presses to a partner in the metalworking industry. There is nothing that we cannot obtain if we do not have the right machine in stock.”
For the future, both companies plan to expand their activities and enter new markets, focusing on emerging regions such as Vietnam, North Africa and Mexico, although the EU and Asian markets continue to be important. The export share of the two companies is over 50%.
For further information
www.pressen-haas.de www.ptf-maschinen.de