UK NEWS

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

Another member for MiM

Pressmark Pressings has joined the manufacturing and engineering membership group, Made in the Midlands (MIM).

The company, which provides high-volume components for automotive manufacturers, is looking to boost sales and share best practice by working closer with the collective group of 400+ firms, which includes the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, ZF, GKN, Dennis Eagle, Moog Aircraft Group and the Liberty Group.
The decision to take membership is part of an ambitious growth strategy that will see the businesses work towards £10m of annual sales, a 33% increase since the current management team completed
an MBI just over 12 months ago.
“Like many other fellow members, we have joined Made in the Midlands to win new business, collaborate, raise our profile and source Midlands-based suppliers,” explains John Nollett, chief executive of Pressmark Pressings. “We join an industry network of ‘movers and makers’ which is proactively bringing together the region’s engineering talent to challenge the status quo that UK manufacturing is on the retreat. It is quite the opposite, with the last 12 months seeing a further resurgence in domestic output and increasing interest in our ability to design, add value and innovate.
“The Midlands is the heartbeat of UK industry and we should do everything we can to attract trade and investment to the area, as we look to provide sustainable growth and new jobs,” he adds.
On its current site in Atherstone, the firm has 26 large bed presses, ranging from 150 to 1200 tonnes, allowing for the manufacture of different size products in both standard metals and exotic alloys.
For further information www.pressmark.co.uk