IES, a global provider of equipment-moving services, logistics and project management in high technology industries, has announced an increase in turnover of almost a third since the start of the pandemic, with 22% in the past year. In 2021/22, the company’s annual results reveal that IES recruited new engineers and commercial specialists, who now account for 15% of the total workforce. The company is currently building its team to take account of recent business wins from existing and new customers.

One apprentice, Harri Green, was a finalist in the ‘Outstanding Apprentice of the Year Awards’ in the engineering and manufacturing category of a major regional award scheme. He was the only student in his college’s history who achieved a perfect score across all of his subjects. The company also celebrated its 30th year of operations. Founded in 1991, it now operates from a 30,000 sq ft facility in Bristol.
For further information www.ies.co.uk

In a new survey conducted by auction specialist BPI Auctions, only one in eight (12%) of those questioned said they were aware of the super deduction tax break. The support runs until 31 March 2023 and enables companies to claim a 130% capital allowance on qualifying plant and machinery investments, along with a 50% first-year allowance for qualifying special rate assets. The super deduction also allows businesses to cut their taxes by up to 25p for every £1 they invest.

David Boulton, managing director at BPI Auctions, says: “The super deduction tax break is a significant support to businesses across the manufacturing and engineering sectors, especially those that have been affected most in the past two years. If you’re looking to take advantage of the relief to upgrade your plant and equipment, disposing of used or old items through online auctions is an efficient and easy way to raise funds quickly.”
For further information www.bpiauctions.com

Having used Studer grinding machines for its high-precision grinding tasks for many years, machine tool manufacturer Mazak recently installed a Studer S41 CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine at the company’s Worcester-based European manufacturing plant.

On the rare occasion that the need for a machine tool cannot by satisfied from Mazak’s product portfolio, the required production aid is submitted to a rigorous selection procedure. When comparing the offerings from five leading grinding machine manufacturers, this list included: high-precision dimensional and surface finish capabilities, efficiency, flexibility, and thread-grinding abilities.

Having carefully evaluated each machine, it was found that only the Studer S41 CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine met, and in some cases exceeded, Mazak’s list of operational criteria. Furthermore, the levels of support previously provided by Studer and the company’s UK agent, Micronz, aided Mazak’s purchasing decision.

“Our new Studer S41 will be used for the highly precise external grinding of various components, including parts that have single figure micron dimensional tolerances, such as our spindles,” explains Michal Saletra, new investment lead for the UK at Mazak. “In addition, many of our components have demanding geometric and surface finish specifications, including parameters such as roundness and roughness. As all of these attributes require grinding to an extremely high degree of accuracy, we have been very impressed with the highly-precise results, and the speed and ease of operation of our new S41 machine.”

He adds: “Another major reason for the Studer S41’s purchase was its ability to very accurately and efficiently grind external threads. Previously we were using a subcontractor for much of this work.”
For further information www.micronz.co.uk