This substantial new £13 million investment included the construction of the new site, 22 combi forklifts and 16 trucks with £5 million of the overall total being spent on new Ficep steel processing machinery.
From the very start AJN was looking to source all the machines from a single supplier to ensure continuity of support. It was only after in-depth research by AJN and numerous trips around world to access different machine manufacturers and visiting many sites that the decision was made to go with Ficep.
The long established Kentford site has a daily turnover is around 350 tons of steel and the new Henstridge facility is growing rapidly month by month with the goal to achieve 500 tons per day within five years by increasing shift patterns from one to three to fully exploit the potential of the Ficep steel processing machinery.
From the first order placed, the Ficep machines were delivered, installed and commissioned on time and were operational within three months. The eight new machines in operation at AJN include an Endeavour, a multi- spindle drilling line, the Gemini, a gantry drilling, milling and thermal cutting system for plates, several Katana high-speed bandsaws, the Rapid high speed drilling line for angles and flats, a shot blasting machine. A second Endeavour machine was purchased for the Kentford facility.
A detailed time study analysis determined that a 48 minute job on the old machinery now takes under five minutes on the Endeavour and is four times faster when drilling only. Productivity has been further enhanced by the Gemini which is a versatile machining centre for the processing of plate products. The Rapid now allows AJN to drill and cut angles which is a new service it can offer customers.
The Henstridge site now covers the whole of Southern England and customers are already benefiting from AJN’s increased productivity and lower production costs. Courtney Bell, finance director at AJN commented: “When we decided to expand the into a new site we were looking for the very best equipment available. Ficep offered us the best solutions after a considerable review of existing and new suppliers.
"The Endeavour proved to be an ideal solution for drilling and sawing an in addition, the Rapid 25 we purchased allowed us to secure a large amount of new business. In buying several machines from Ficep, including the Gemini, Katana saws and one of the UK’s largest roller conveyor shotblasters, the capacity and performance in the new facility has exceeded all expectations. Ficep has lived up to all our requirements in terms of delivery, commissioning, machine capability and customer support,” he concludes.
Ficep www.ficep.co.uk
AJN Steelstock www.ajnsteelstock.co.uk
