£700,000 investment marks anniversary

A Warwickshire precision manufacturing specialist is celebrating 40 years in business by completing a £700,000 investment drive.

Technoset, which employs 25 people at its facility in Rugby, has installed four new lathes and a laser-scanning device to support the machining and measurement of complex components for customers involved in the aerospace (civil and defence), medical and fibre-optics markets.
Supported by the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), the company has also successfully worked towards and secured AS9100 Rev D, a quality accreditation that is fast becoming a prerequisite for winning and maintaining high-profile contracts in the aerospace sector. The award will ensure it can deliver more than £1.4m of orders to produce engine, actuation, interior lighting and landing-gear parts.
Kevan Kane, managing director of Technoset, explains: “Critical to our future growth was securing the AS9100 Rev D quality award, which is a very demanding and stringent process. As an SME, this process can be a very time-consuming exercise, so we turned to the MGP, which provided us with a continuous improvement plan and then part-funded a specialist consultant to work with us on refining our operations and developing new strategies.
“The support was invaluable and ensured senior managers could focus on what we do best; producing complex components for our global customer base,” he continues. “MGP is an easy-to-access resource that I would recommend to other SME manufacturers.”
Michelle Connor, manufacturing growth manager at MGP, adds her support: “This is a great example of how targeted business support can help a manufacturer unlock new opportunities and safeguard contracts.”
For further information www.manufacturingrowthprogramme.co.uk

Software aids expansion

Having recently relocated, King’s Lynn-based Tefloturn Limited has been able to take on more staff and, as a result, more work.

The company is also looking to increase its capacity by adding a 32 mm capacity sliding-head lathe to its portfolio. These investments are being made on the back of existing PSL Datatrack production control software. “The software runs our business, has enabled us to cut down long hours of administration and given us a reliable platform for growth,” says managing director Mick Finney.
For further information www.psldatatrack.com

Machining research

Composite drilling and robotic machining were some of the research topics presented by staff from the University of Sheffield’s AMRC at a recent conference on advanced high-performance cutting.

The event was held in Budapest, Hungary, and organised by the CIRP, an international organisation for academic and industrial manufacturing research. Some 150 papers were presented by scientists, researchers and industrial partners from across the globe. The papers will be featured in the journal Procedia CIRP, which will be published online later in 2018.
For further information www.amrc.co.uk

Engine assembly plant planned

Cox Powertrain has signed a lease to take over a 28,000 sq ft production facility near Shoreham (Brighton City) Airport.

The building, currently undergoing renovation, will be the assembly plant for the company’s CXO300 diesel engine, which goes into production in the second quarter of 2019. Cox Powertrain currently employs 70 staff and plans to grow its workforce to meet demand for its new diesel outboard engine, aiming to recruit an additional 78 staff before 2020. Work has started to fit out the new premises and Cox Powertrain expects the facility to be operational later this year.
For further information www.coxmarine.com

Collaboration leads to investment

The Welsh Automotive Forum (WAF), which was founded in 2001 to develop a common approach in achieving sustainable continuous improvement for the automotive industry in Wales, recently hosted an annual Autolink conference.

This event proved to be the catalyst for a successful collaboration between the Welsh Government, WAF, automotive manufacturer Caerbont Automotive Instruments and TLM Laser. In turn, this collaboration led to a series of laser-marking trials and the subsequent purchase by Caerbont of a Foba M2000-B laser marking system from TLM Laser.
For further information www.tlm-laser.com