A complete service for customers, from Arterial
Arterial UK (Stand B14) says its primary goal is to offer its customers a complete service from initial contact to reliable delivery of the highest quality precision products.

Specialising in the automated production of precision machined components in all major industry sectors and with experience in a wide range of materials, Arterial has invested in a portfolio of equipment that can focus directly on the customer’s requirements, ensuring that the most economical manufacturing solution is achieved. This include five-axis machining centres and multi-axis CNC turning. The company also offers added value through stock management, assembly and all finishing operations such as heat treatment, plating and ultrasonic cleaning.

The company has grown rapidly since it was set up in 2003 in a small garage. It soon moved to a 1,100sq ft factory and, quickly outgrowing this, transferred to bigger premises in July 2004. Capacity was further enhanced by the acquisition of another engineering business in March 2005, increasing manufacturing space to 6,000sq ft. Then in July 2006 Arterial relocated to Sturminster Marshall in Dorset, further increasing manufacturing space to its present size of 10,000sq ft.

Arterial Director David Ross says, “The very best results are achieved when your needs are met in full; co-operative working ensures that we get the best from each other. This philosophy has enabled us to establish successful partnerships in many key industry sectors including aerospace, defence, medical, oil and gas, hydraulics and electronics.

Barker Collins - taking the load off blue chip customers
The past 12 months have seen the successful launch of a new contracts division at Barker Collins (Stand F13). Three major contracts, with a combined value of £1.5m a year have been won as blue chip clients have taken advantage of the opportunity to set up a contract cell within Barker Collins to alleviate in-house overload problems.

Clients can rest safe in the knowledge that new machine tools, duplicated capacity, scheduled machine maintenance, back up tooling and a flexible workforce insure against contract down time.

To support this new service and its existing operations Barker Collins has embarked on a major investment programme from late 2007 into early 2008. The range of new multi-axis machine capcity the company has installed includes a further Daewoo Doosan 5-axis CNC horizontal borer, a Giddings & Lewis 5-axis CNC horizontal borer, a further Kuraki 5-axis CNC horizontal borer, a Sacem 5-axis horizontal borer and a Hartford CNC machining centre. An additional investment in a tilting and rotating table enables allows 6-axis machining on the larger machines.

Furthermore, as the division is scheduled to increase its load by circa 60% during 2008 it will begin relocation into a 45000 sq. ft. factory this year and add two further brand new 5-axis CNC borers.

Benson has diamond turning capability
For 27 years Benson Engineering has meeting industry’s need for the most demanding turned parts in brass, aluminium, stainless steel, carbon steel, copper and plastics. The company, which is exhibiting on Stand K1, is based at a 6500 square foot factory in Killarney and has been using Tornos sliding machines since its inception.

It recently added four Tornos DECO 2000 20a machines to bring the number of CNC Machines to eight. As well as lathes, the company also uses six station rotary transfer machines for second operations such as milling, which cannot be completed during the turning cycle.

Additionally, and uniquely in Ireland, it has the capability for diamond turning using single crystal natural diamond tools, which can achieve surface finishes in the range 0.4-2.0 micro inches Ra.

A wholly Irish-owned Company established in 1980 by Tom and Betty Benson, all of its setters are time-served toolmakers. The company regularly gets involved at the product development stages with its customers’ project engineers and also during automation and cost reduction projects. The company exports to the UK, the USA, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland ,Sweden, Italy and theAsia-Pacific region.

Bonspiel's factory expansion
Subcon exhibitor Bonspiel Engineering Ltd (Stand C32) has just completed an extension adding 40% of factory floor space to it’s existing facility. Already the largest Star CNC user in the UK, Bonspiel intends to develop a new fixed head section in the facility along with increasing its number of 32mm Star machines. The last two years have seen rapid expansion, with over £1million invested in new plant and machinery.

Bonspiel’s managing director Steve Bruce says, “We have added both Automotive and Medical customers to our existing base of mainly Oil and Aerospace customers. Our common goals of continuous improvement, training, innovation and investment in the very best technology will enable us to face future demands with confidence.

“We supply parts from prototype through to volume production and offer Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) at the development stage to try to take out cost and improve ease of manufacture without compromising the functionality.”

“Attending Subcon will enable us to meet new potential customers in the marketplace. As well as extending our production facility floorspace by 40% we also intend to expand the range we offer by purchasing our first ever fixed head machine in May 2008 and will have capacity available to sell on it.”

He adds that as well as a warm welcome visitors to the stand (C32) will have the chance to win a battle of Scottish Malt Whisky in a business card draw.

Cope Technology asks: What about wireless?
Cope Technology also asks visitors, ‘Could your existing products benefit from wireless technology?’ It provides low-cost, custom solutions for M2M GSM technology and on stand A29 will show a typical GSM/GPRS interface board that lets you keep control of your machines from anywhere you have mobile phone or internet access.

Based in the West Midlands, Cope Technology has 8500sq ft of electronics assembly facilities that are 100% dedicated to contract manufacturing. With 25 years experience in the manufacture of simple and complex assemblies, the company says it provides the professional environment for outsourced electronic engineering. Specializing in the manufacture of products ranging from simple microcontroller boards to more complex control systems, it will support both irregular batch quantities or continuous production to Kanban call off.

Cope’s electronic manufacturing services include full parts procurement, fast PCB prototypes, surface mount and conventional assembly, programming and testing, cleaning and final boxing.

It offers a fast and creative pcb layout service, designed for manufacture and test, inclusive of EMC and LVD considerations. It is equally happy to talk about full turnkey embedded microcontroller design and can also provide test solutions, jigs and fixtures.

Featured supplier, Cosworth, takes off in sea and air
Cosworth has been awarded a major contract by Rolls-Royce to supply components for the Deltic engine used by the Royal Navy. The contract includes engineering services and manufacture of engine components at Cosworth’s world class facility in Northampton, UK. It has also just commissioned a new high speed piston manufacturing line targeted at the aerospace and niche engines markets – it is the largest investment of its kind for a high speed piston manufacturing line in the UK for at least two decades. In September 2007 the company received the prestigious AS9100 quality management accreditation and has already won a large contract with Lycoming to supply pistons for its general aviation engines.

The new piston line is capable of machining complex crown and skirt features on pistons ranging in diameter from 50mm to 180mm. The machining process is fully automated once blank pistons have been loaded, and the system is complemented by a laser etching station where a 2D data matrix is etched to provide full traceability for each piston. Quality is of paramount importance for Cosworth's customers; each piston goes through a thorough crack testing process immediately after machining. The whole system, supplied by Takisawa of Japan was installed and commissioned over a period of three months, and has undergone stringent trials to meet strict customer requirements.

Commenting on the Rolls Royce order Jog Lall, Sales & Marketing Director at Cosworth said, "When we first started the discussion with Rolls-Royce, it was made very clear they required a supplier with facilities to provide complete technical support from material science to engine component design and testing, and the capability to manufacture complex components in relatively small batch sizes. Cosworth demonstrated the ability to meet Rolls-Royce’s requirements.” 

Engineering work will commence immediately and the first set of components is planned for delivery in quarter three 2008. Tim Routsis, CEO of the Cosworth Group added “We are now in our third year of business diversification and, once again, have shown that Cosworth’s design, development, testing, manufacturing and support services are sought after in many adjacent market sectors. I’m pleased to say our aerospace and defence business unit has now secured its third major contract”.

Custom moulded products from Denroy Plastics
Featured supplier Denroy Plastics (stand F16), part of the Denroy Group, specialises in the design and manufacture of custom moulded products to a variety of industry sectors including civil and military aerospace, defence, automotive, medical and consumer products. , operates from two factories in Bangor. It operates from two factories in Bangor, County Down, that together cover an area of 7,500 square metres and house some of the most advanced design, tooling and manufacturing equipment available. The company also has sales offices in London, England and in Boston, USA.

Using the latest CAD/CAM technology, its technical team works closely with each customer from an early stage, where its expertise in moulding can be invaluable and can help to accelerate the product’s time to market.

Equipment assets as the modern manufacturing operation include 34 moulding machines ranging from 5 to 720 tonne capacity (including two shot moulding), as well as additional services include printing, painting, kitting and sub assemblies.

Denroy’s sharp focus on quality and customer service standards has enabled it to secure and retain significant business from major international corporations, as well as smaller technology led companies.

This is also indicated by the quality approvals that it has achieved, which include ISO 9001:2000, AS9100 from BSI and QMMY: E21290 for the manufacture of plastic components. Furthermore, the company holds accreditation from a number of international customers such as Airbus, BAE Systems, Bombardier, Thales, NACCO Materials Handling and Rockwell Collins.

Dynamic Manufacturing Solutions (DMS)
Dynamic Manufacturing Solutions Ltd (DMS), exhibiting on stand D24, offers a complete solution to manufacturing support requirements with a refreshing approach to procurement and supply chain management. Using industry best practice its procurement team is committed to helping organisations identify suppliers with the quality and reliability to deliver ongoing value and savings.

DMS says it can make a difference to both international organisations looking to augment current outsourcing practices and small businesses looking for savings. It has extensive experience of sourcing custom made components within a manufacturing environment and has an extensive subcontract database covering all manufacturing and assembly processes. Working together it can create a one stop shop; with one enquiry, one quotation, one invoice and one point of contact.

The last year has seen DMS expand its workforce after winning several good contracts. It has also expanded its database within the UK and is finding that a lot of UK-based manufacturing is now starting to challenge the Far East on cost. When this is taken together with the shipping distance and lead time, says the company, it makes sense to buy British if you can.

French company with polish, Guy Degrenne Industries
Guy Degrenne Industries (stand G3) is a French company specialising in complete sub-assemblies and deep drawing in stainless steel and aluminium. Their range of capabilities across many sectors of activity will be presented at Subcon. Examples of products created range from a stylish stainless steel YSL egg to components for the nuclear industry.

GUY DEGRENNE offers customers and partners a complete range of technical solutions for the design and production of complex sub-assemblies in stainless steel. The company ethos is one of cooperation with each client to formulate an understanding of the product required and to implement an individually tailored plan. This holistic approach has proven to reduce costs over the duration of the project.

Guy Degrenne offers the following technical capabilities: deep drawing, vacuum annealing, laser and TIG welding and assembly. It can also integrate its products with electronic and electrical components and offers gilding, silver-plating and various polished finished for decorative items.

In addition to table and kitchenware, the name GUY DEGRENNE is synonymous with manufacturing excellence in the automotive, household goods, medical, regulation of fluids and processes and agri-food industries. The company is ISO 9001 v :2000 accredited and a certified supplier to COGEMA (nuclear industry).

Developing business and saving the planet with IMSM
“The environment has no borders, so we all need to show that we are acting responsibly for the future of the planet,” says Michael Bright of international standards expert IMSM (Stand D22).

Effective environmental management is becoming ever more critical to business success. Taking environmental responsibilities seriously can contribute to a positive reputation, improved business efficiencies and better financial performance, especially through more effective use of materials and energy. It is apparent that the combination of business benefits coupled to ever-more stringent legislation, both at home and overseas, is driving subcontracting businesses to take their environmental responsibilities very seriously – and this is contributing to a more sustainable approach in the commercial world.

Michael Bright continued, “In the global economy, many manufacturers are sourcing products and parts from around the world, which is also their new marketplace. It is no longer possible to ignore the emerging economies of China and India, the impact of technologies that allow faster communication and world wide networks, or the increasing strength and demands of the customer, wherever they are located. With more than 10 years’ experience of helping businesses achieve ISO standards, we are finding, both at home and in export markets, that these standards provide an effective mechanism for developing business”.

“As supply chains become more complex and fragmented, businesses need to have a documented system of operating procedures, such as ISO9001 (Quality Management) and ISO14001 (Environmental Management). This tells customers that a business has documented what they do, follows that set of procedures, reviews them regularly, and can prove it by external auditing. It is one way to demonstrate efficiency, and build up trust with customers, wherever in the world they are.”

A well conceived, Environmental Management System (EMS) can provide an integrated approach to managing environmental performance and meet environmental regulations. ISO Certification recognises a commitment to environmental standards. Add to this the benefits of a host of energy and other incidental savings that come as a direct result of a sensible EMS, and ISO certification provides a very persuasive package.

“For large organisations it is, perhaps, easier to adopt environmental standards, like those set out in ISO 14001. However, most of the businesses we deal with need expertise which provides the benefits at an affordable price, with the minimum of disruption, and within an agreed time period” he continued. “We are seeing increasing pressure as national legislation is tightened. For example, minimum recycling targets for packaging waste are being raised, and the recovery target for packaging waste is also under review.”

It is just this combination of environmental expertise, ISO knowledge and both UK and overseas experience that can really deliver total environmental control and compliance for smaller companies. The introduction of a structured approach also contributes to a more efficient business, and IMSM clients have been able to meet stringent environmental standards, as well as improve their bottom line.

As a recent customer noted, “ISO 14001 brings us a distinct competitive advantage. We are a small business with a vision of continued and sustainable growth. We want to be viewed by our customers and our own suppliers as different, and as a company that can help deliver service excellence and deliver value.”

MFG.com
MFG.com, the global sourcing marketplace, (Stand K9) helped Harlow company Servocell solve a sourcing headache. Servocell uses piezo-based actuator technology to produce a range of innovative electromechanical locks and gas valves. Using MFG.com, it sourced two battery to PCB contact terminals from Hong-Kong based Oasis Manufacturing. The parts are simple progression stampings from phosphor-bronze strip.

According to Chrys Chrysostomou, Director of Engineering at Servocell, MFG.com has offered the engineers a huge productivity enhancement.

“We’ve certainly found it very helpful indeed. One of the biggest drains on an engineer’s time is trying to find suppliers for parts – and there is an awful lot of legwork involved when you are ‘manually’ sourcing components. It is great to have a service were we can post details and criteria online and vendors bid for the business. The process is now simpler and quicker as well as giving us access to a much larger array of suppliers.

“The presentation is great and the user reviews on there are invaluable. If I am sourcing a supplier myself, I am going to have nobody’s word except theirs that they are any good. It is great to have the ability to check and see who has done business with them before and what they say about them. And that was how we ultimately decided on Oasis Manufacturing for the parts we have just sourced,” says Chrys.

“If it hadn’t been for MFG.com, the only option that I could see us seriously exploring was making these things ourselves. We had started on the path of designing a press tool, but I think we would have ended up having everything etched. These little 0.2mm phosphor bronze parts would have cost a fortune. Oasis are able to ship us 200,000 of pieces for less than it would have cost to have a press tool made. I’m really very impressed with MFG.com and will certainly be using it again.”

MSP Ltd, precision parts for industry
Featured supplier MSP Ltd (stand B10) is a leading manufacturer of precision turned parts for industry. It supplies medium to high volume turned parts from 1to 94mm diameter in steel, brass, and aluminium for applications ranging from automotive and electrical through to gas and hydraulics. Experience and a highly skilled workforce allow MSP to develop new techniques and processes to meet the changing needs of its customers, and rapid JIT response is one of the customer driven demands MSP have embraced. Others include zero defects, advance quality planning and a policy of continued excellence. Parts are produced on 13 Wickman Multi spindle autos, 5 Sliding head, 3 Fixed head & 1 Twin Spindle Twin Turret CNC machines.

To remain a market leader in the production of precision turned Parts, MSP Limited is committed to investing in state-of-the-art CNC machines to satisfy the ever increasing requirements of its customers. It has have moved from traditional multi spindle production to CNC sliding head and fixed head machines that enable it to machine most materials, including 316 Stainless steel from 1mm to 94mm diameter and up to 1 metre in length. Typical batch quantities of 500 up to 100,000 a year.

By introducing the newest technology, it has become possible for MSP to meet the complex needs of its customers. The axis configuration and diameter range of MSP’s machines provides excellent flexibility and a capacity to manufacture complex components for every industrial sector.

New metal plating process for plastics from Saxonia
Saxonia Galvanik GmbH (Stand No: D11) of Halsbruecke, Germany will launch an innovative process for plating high temperature polymers with PPS coatings for electronics and antenna applications. The company offers a wide range of decorative and functional electroplated metal coatings on a wide range of plastics, including difficult materials such as mineral filled PA and ABS/PC. The service includes full and selective plating, including high volume applications, with coatings that include copper, nickel, satin and glossy chrome, 3Q7 (aluminium look), and tri-chrome.

Saxonia also offers selective plating of 2-component plastic parts with a special 2K-process, and will showcase components for internal and external automotive applications, telecommunications, electrical engineering, electronics and the and sanitary industry.

Somatech - complex multi-axis programming
Unlike many CAD-CAM vendors, Subcon exhibitor Somatech specialises purely in the programming of multi-axis, multi-spindle machine tools. Its vision is to provide the best possible products, service and support for Swiss (sliding head) lathes, 5-axis wire erosion machines, 5-axis simultaneous milling machines, main and sub-spindle lathe processing with C Y & B axis control, robotic functionality and part transfer.

Utilising the Esprit software from Dptechnology inc Somatech says it can deliver a perfect solution for planning and managing complex synchronized processes.

Somatech CncCam Ltd is part of the Solva Group, a Netherlands-based concern that is one of the largest CAD-CAM solution providers in Europe.

With over 25 years of manufacturing experience, Somatech offers a professional and competent consultancy. It works together with many machine tool vendors and manufacturers to provide turnkey solutions for Britain’s manufacturing community. It offers guaranteed individual solutions that improve the efficiency and organisation of manufacturing processes.

Each solution comes with professional training and installation, and Somatech’s networked helpdesk ensures that each customer is provided with a fast and workable solution.

Somatech is exhibiting on Stand E2.

VTL gets close to customers
Featured supplier VTL Group (stand D15) is a leading precision engineering and manufacturing company specialising in the design and manufacture of large volume high precision components and assemblies. The group supplies major OEMs and end users in the automotive, truck and industrial sectors, and employs 260 people in 5 manufacturing plants across Europe, Asia and North America. In 2008 it will open a further factory in India.

Group companies include:
• VTL Automotive, a leader in supplying vehicle manual transmission components, with factories in the UK and India
• TWL Engineering focused on rapid prototype development, low volumes, tooling solutions and CAD/CAM design. TWLE is active in the industrial and automotive markets.
• TWL Precision has factories in UK, USA and India, and is a high volume precision machining company aimed at automotive and industrial customers.

All of these hold the key automotive industry TS16949 certification as well as ISO14001 and OHSAS 18001.

In 2007 TWL Precision established a new purpose built manufacturing plant in Charleston, South Carolina, USA to allow it to produce components close to key automotive customers. By being located in Charleston, within the NAFTA zone, close to key end users in the automotive industry, it was able to ensures that it could react quickly to their needs. Another consideration was a strong local workforce. TWL Precision worked with Trident Technology College to develop training modules to enable it to select the best candidates.

The new Indian company, a joint venture with Uni-Deritend, India’s leading manufacturer of investment castings, will be up and running by September 2008 in a new purpose built factory in Dharwad. Uni-Vtl Precision Engineering Pvt Ltd aims to be a new force in the market, bringing together two established leaders in their field to offer total lifecycle precision engineered component solutions. Typical activities in the new factory will include forging, milling, turning, grinding and assembly of precision components such as transmission selector forks, synchroniser rings, and other precision turned and milled components.

Totalling 30,000 sq ft and employing 100 people, the new factory represents a US$5m investment, and will be equipped with the latest technology machine tools and test/ inspection equipment.

WHT - forgings and fully machined parts
WHT manufacture forgings and fully machined forged parts specializing in small to medium batches: from as little as 10 pieces up to 10000, and is therefore ideally suited to support low volume production and repair & maintenance programmes. With full CAD/CAM die-making, simulation package and CNC-equipped machine shop for fast response it can reverse-engineer legacy parts. WHT can forge in carbon steels, aluminium bronze and aluminium and has acquired particular expertise in forging high-performance alloys such as Monel, Alloy 625 and Hastelloy.

For Subcon WHT will be promoting its increased capacity in forging design resulting from the addition of another design seat on its Pro-Engineer CAD-CAM software license. This will improve the company’s ability to produce 3-D models at the enquiry stage and provide customers with a stronger visual concept of new product design. This also reduces lead-time when orders are placed since much of the engineering and approvals have already been agreed. WHT will also be showing on the stand examples of how computer simulation of the forging process predicts the likelihood of common production defects and allows its engineers to improve die design and shorten lead-times for new-product introduction.

WHT recently won a contract from Bel Valves of Newcastle on our ability to rapidly produce new dies and tools and forge safety critical parts to NORSOK standards thereby meeting a critical deadline in serving their customer.

WHT recently purchased its principal sub-contract machinist and moved it onto its site at Willenhall so that it can now offer a full in-house service for purchasers of fully machined forged parts as well as bar-turned parts for automotive and other industries.

In addition to having some unusual forging shapes and components in high performance alloy-steels for the petrochemical industry on the stand, WHT will also be featuring some of the ‘romantic’ applications where it have made replica parts for restoring Vintage Bentleys and Black Shadow Motorcycles.

Willenhall Tube investing in the latest tube technology
Having relocated into a new 12,000 sq m purpose designed factory last year, the directors of Willenhall Tube are now investing in the future with the acquisition of the very latest ‘state-of-the-art’ multistack CNC bending technology, robotic welding and high precision laser measuring equipment.

Representing more than £1/2 million of investment, a BLM E-Bend 52, new advanced end-forming machinery; robot welding and MT4 laser measuring equipment will enable WTF to provide a comprehensive range of highly efficient and cost effective operations ranging from simple tube forming to the most complex of designs.

With a view to establishing WTF as a major component supplier to a number of key industries, the company is hoping to capitalise on its manufacturing expertise, which spans more than 60 years, together with its industry reputation for quality, delivery and service.

Willenhall Tube & Forging Ltd is exhibiting on stand A11 at Subcon 2008. Its services include tube manipulation, presswork, welding, and assembly for markets that include automotive, gardening, medical, leisure and commercial seating.

Thu 27th March 2008