UK NEWS

Axiom strengthens

Axiom Product Development, the Chichester-based machining and tooling business, has further strengthened and diversified the skills of its management team with the appointment of Alayna Legg as head of finance and Simon Serpenskas as design engineer.

The pair join Axiom at an exciting time following the recent acquisition of the assets and trade of FRH Technical Machining in May 2018 and a subsequent period of investment in people, skills and experience to broaden the company’s capabilities.
For further information www.axiompd.co.uk

Welcome evening for Matsuura apprentices

Matsuura Machinery Ltd recently held a welcome evening for the four successful candidates who comprise the company’s next intake of technical apprentices.

Their families were also welcomed along to find out more about the company and the staff who will guide their sons through their time at Matsuura. Long-serving members of staff from each department spent time with the young recruits and their families, providing them with a good understanding of the company, its products and customers.
Roger Howkins, UK managing director, says: “It was a pleasure to welcome these young engineers into our business and meet their families. They are the future of our company and vital to the wider economy and UK manufacturing community going forward. Each of our successful 2018 intake will receive a full technical apprenticeship and work in every department of our operation over their term, achieving the standard of excellence that customers demand from our highly valued engineering team.”
For further information www.matsuura.co.uk

Dugard introduces Hanwha ‘cobot’ range

The latest HCR range of Hanwha collaborative robots (‘cobots’) is now available from Dugard.

Hanwha HCR cobots prioritise safety while offering installation costs that are up to a third lower than regular industrial robots. Dugard will be showing off the range at the Robotics and Automation 2018 exhibition, which takes place at Arena MK in Milton Keynes on 10-11 October, as well as at the Dugard open house in Hove on 17-18 October.
Regarding safety, the user-friendly series of Hanwha cobots offers collision detection at 25-150 Nm. Moreover, each cobot is built with joint rotation limit, joint speed limit, TCP speed limit and a virtual safety fence. The range starts with a small, lightweight model and extends up to a heavy-duty cobot with a large working radius. Suitable for all kinds of loading, unloading, picking and packing operations, Hanwha HCR cobots provide positional accuracy of 0.01 mm.
For further information sales@dugard.com

Clamason targets new orders worth £6m

A Black Country manufacturer has signalled its intentions for future growth by placing a major order.

Clamason Industries, which produces precision metal components and assemblies, announced a £1m total project investment with Bruderer UK to secure its largest-ever press that will be used to target up to £6m of new orders.
The specialist supplier to the automotive, medical and building products sectors installed the 300 ton Zani Motion Master press in June and is hoping that the speed and additional bed size will unlock larger pressing and stamping opportunities. Investment in the press comes after a successful two-year period for the Kingswinford-based firm, with an MBO in 2016 proving the catalyst for 10% year-on-year growth, 20 new jobs and a predicted £30m turnover across its operations in the UK and Slovakia during 2018.
“We have worked with Bruderer UK for more than 20 years and have been extremely impressed with the quality of the machines it provides and the service/maintenance packages it delivers,” explains Ian Davies, sales director at Clamason Industries. “Zani presses are renowned for their durability and performance, and the 300 ton Motion Master press gives us the ability to achieve over 80 strokes per minute and take on much larger and complex components. We have also opted for the turnkey solution, which includes a state-of-the-art servo feeder and decoiling line.”
Bruderer UK MD Adrian Haller says: “We listened to the technical team at Clamason and, through our understanding of the business and its objectives, put together a turnkey package that not only met its requirements, but actually surpassed them.”
For further information www.bruderer.co.uk

More space for repairs and refurbishments

With the continuing expansion of business and increasing demand from customers for large repairs and major machine refurbishments, MPPS (Midland Power Press Services) has acquired additional manufacturing space just 100 m from its existing site.

The new manufacturing area at 34 High Street, Princess End, Tipton, has 350 sq m of working floor space plus extensive offices. This additional manufacturing area gives MPPS significantly more space for dis-assembly, examination, repair and rebuild of components and machine sub-assemblies.
This transfer of the fitting work to the new unit enables Unit 2, High Street, to become a dedicated machining facility with space available for additional machine tools.
“The continuing demand for machine repairs and major refurbishments has provided the confidence to invest in additional manufacturing space that will enable MPPS to continue providing a ‘best in class’ service to existing and new customers,” says managing director Bob Crow. “We are continually being asked to offer innovative solutions where customers wish to retain existing production equipment, and the additional manufacturing capacity will enable MPPS to respond rapidly to meet the needs of our customers.”
This is another step in the firm’s continuing expansion, building on its reputation for the installation, maintenance and repair of mechanical power presses and hydraulic presses.
In other news, the company has announced that it is now accredited to the Safe Contractor membership scheme. The external audit process and certification demonstrates that MPPS operates under recognised health and safety standards.
For further information www.mpps.co.uk