UK NEWS

Polishing machine manufacturer wins awards

Coalville-based polishing machine manufacturer Zeeko is one of only five companies this year to win two King’s Awards for Enterprise, one for international trade and the other for innovation.

Zeeko develops and produces seven-axis CNC optics polishing machines for complex, ultra-high-precision freeform applications. The 2024 award for international trade is a result of a sharp upturn in these activities, plus additional sales in the past three years of both new machine platforms and tools for mainstream industrial use.

Exports account for about 98% of production. Order intake is currently between £10m and £12m per year, compared with well below £2m during the pandemic. The King’s Award for Enterprise in the category of international trade was based on this performance.

The 2024 award for innovation stems from the chance discovery of a new process that was easy to overlook, but which turned out to be extremely effective for the polishing and finishing of metal, ceramic and carbide items such as turbine blades, orthopaedic implants, precision moulds and ball valve components. Called Shape Adaptive Grinding (SAG), the technique utilises a low-cost, robotic machining platform together with associated tools and software. It is also deployable on any CNC machine, such as a milling centre or multi-tasking lathe. Housed in a separate factory in Coalville, Zeeko Industrial is a new division that builds and markets these robotic polishing cells worldwide.

Richard Freeman, MD of Zeeko, says: “We are delighted to receive two King’s Awards this year. Our highly skilled and innovative team deserves this recognition. A high-technology manufacturing business rarely leads its competition by more than 18 months, so we are continually researching and innovating, both to grow and to protect our lead.”
More information www.zeeko.co.uk

Coatings firm achieves 25% turnover increase

Burscough-based IRS Surfacing Technologies has achieved 25% year-on-year growth in turnover from 2021 to 2023. Despite a challenging period for the manufacturing sector, current projections for 2024 are estimated to outstrip those of 2023 for IRS.

For the six months leading up to the end of November 2023, the specialist coatings business accelerated growth by achieving a 44% increase in turnover compared with the same period last year. This lays the foundations for a strong financial future, forecast at £1.4m for 2024.

Specialising in ceramic, stainless steel, thermal and bronze coatings, as well as overlay technology, the family-run business reports that demand for its services continued to grow during the pandemic. The business was able to make a £30,000 investment in improving its welfare facilities for staff, as well as installing a new office in February 2022 to bolster its customer-facing relations and attract more business. 

Since 2021, IRS has increased its monthly revenue through organic growth and is currently on-boarding an average of four new customers a month. The coatings company also recently launched a new website, which forms part of a wider marketing plan to expand its regional platform to a larger customer base.

IRS was founded in 1989 by John Berry, the late father of the current owner, Rob Berry, who says: “At IRS, we pride ourselves on quality, and I truly believe that’s why the business continues to do so well. It’s not just quality in our products, but in everything from our staff to service, through to after service. As a business owner, seeing an uptick in financial performance is always good news, and it’s a trajectory we want to retain.”

More information www.irsltd.co.uk

Simsol joins Xcelerator

A UK specialist in digital twin technology, Simsol, has joined Siemens Xcelerator – an open digital business platform designed to speed up the digital transformation of industry in the UK and overseas. Simsol provides digital twin solutions based on Siemens Plant Simulation and Process Simulate software to simulate factory automation, enabling the integration of robotics, control, motion and safety for automated and human operators to drive productive, safe and efficient operations. Manufacturers will now be able to access Simsol services from the global Siemens Xcelerator marketplace.

More information www.xcelerator.siemens.com

Open Mind expands service team

Open Mind Technologies UK has employed three new applications engineers – Gareth Clarke, Matthew Brill and Victor Fapohunda – and restructured its application engineering team to bolster the company’s pre-and post-sales departments. Managing director Adrian Smith says: “We’ve divided our applications team into pre-sales and post-sales engineers, giving our engineers greater autonomy with customers, and allowing dedicated experts to maximise their skill set to the advantage of the end user. This will deliver an even better customer experience, making our team more dynamic and responsive than ever before.”More information www.openmind-tech.com

New tooling partnership in Scotland

Aberdeen-based Waverley Cutting Tools, a provider of high-quality cutting tools and solutions, has entered a strategic partnership with Tooling Intelligence that will see the latter become Waverley’s preferred inventory management supplier across Scotland. Roger Kelman, director at Waverley Cutting Tools, says: “Tooling Intelligence is a truly independent solution that allows us to utilise the SupplyPro inventory management solution to its full potential. This enhances our offering and demonstrates our commitment and support to customers who will benefit considerably from integrating SupplyPro.”

More information www.toolingintelligence.co.uk