Door firm invests in Salvagnini technology

Assa Abloy Security Doors, a UK division of Assa Abloy, a global specialist in door opening solutions, has invested in a number of new technologies at its Lisburn manufacturing plant in Northern Ireland. Two new Salvagnini systems – an L1X-30 fibre-laser system and a P4lean-3216 panel bender – are helping to enhance the site’s manufacturing capabilities by improving lead times, increasing productivity and reducing environmental impact.

The fibre-laser system – which was installed last month – combines high-speed sheet metal processing with precise cut quality, while the new panel bender will enable the company’s SMARTform technology to fold doors more accurately and quickly. In addition, MAC 2.0 software ensures folding results remain at a consistently high standard.
The panel bender will be able to process 90% of the total door range at Assa Abloy Security Doors.
Having been awarded the ISO 14001 accreditation for environmental management in 2017, the new investments further contribute to this objective. For instance, the consumption of electricity and oil is reduced when using the Salvagnini machines, resulting in lower running costs.
Neil Chambers, production manager at Assa Abloy Security Doors, says: “The new systems have allowed us to streamline production by improving areas of our manufacturing and removing some unwanted processes that were labour intensive and costly. This move reflects our commitment to improving operational efficiencies while investing in sustainable technology. In the near future, we believe these new technologies will positively impact on lead times, product design and overall product quality.”
For further information www.salvagninigroup.com

Amada award

Amada UK has been crowned ‘Large Employer of the Year 2017’ at the Worcestershire Apprenticeships Awards, where 300 people were in attendance. The award is seen as recognition for the company’s successful apprenticeship programme, which has been in place since 2006.

At present, Amada employs 17 apprentices, mostly in engineering, but also in accountancy and business administration schemes. The programme supports Amada UK’s mantra of “growing our own talent pool”, providing management candidates of the future with Amada ‘DNA’.
For further information www.amada.co.uk

Cold forming capabilities extended

Dawson Shanahan has further boosted its capabilities in cold forming by investing in a high-throughput Formax machine. The move takes the company’s investment in new machinery to £500,000 for the third year in a row.

Additional investments have been made in Dawson Shanahan’s turning, milling and grinding capabilities, as well as in metrology and cleaning systems. The Formax FX54M is a four-die, high-speed cold former that will extend the company’s capability in two ways: its increased size will allow Dawson Shanahan to make larger cold-formed parts; and its throughput of up to 190 pieces per minute will help raise overall production capacity.
For further information www.dawson-shanahan.co.uk

Aston Martin production returns to Newport Pagnell

Another landmark in Aston Martin’s ‘Second Century Plan’ was achieved last month with production officially returning to the company’s historic Newport Pagnell site. It marks a significant moment in which history has come full circle, with a special run of 25 DB4 GT Continuation cars being built at same site as the original DB4 GTs were made almost 60 years ago. Each car will take approximately 4500 man hours to build.

Since moving to its purpose-built headquarters and production facility at Gaydon in 2003, Aston Martin’s Newport Pagnell premises has been home to Aston Martin Works – heart of the marque’s heritage sales, service, spares and restoration operation. Production of the Mk1 Vanquish ceased in 2007, but since that time countless classic Aston Martins have been restored to their former glory by the Works team.
For further information www.astonmartinworks.com

ITC invests in latest grinding technology

Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) has invested well over £1m in the latest tool grinding equipment to extend its product ranges and enhance manufacturing capacity, productivity and quality standards. The investment includes two Rollomatic grinding centres, a centralised Vomat micro-filtration coolant system, a Haimer balancing machine and a wheel dressing machine from Action Super Abrasives (ASA).

The Rollomatic models include the new ShapeSmart NP5 blanking machine, ITC’s third Rollomatic cylindrical grinder. Suitable for preparing tool blanks, the NP5 has an integrated three-axis robot loader for the automated and lights-out blanking of rotary tool shanks from 0.025 to 25 mm. Alongside the ShapeSmart NP5 is the new Rollomatic GrindSmart Nano 6, the UK’s first Nano 6 installation. This six-axis grinding centre has been designed for producing micro-tools in the diameter range between 0.03 and 2.0 mm.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk