Decision time

Securing a contract with a new client in the defence sector was the deciding factor in West Midlands-based subcontractor Cube Precision Engineering investing £200,000 in a brand new machine tool.
 
The machine – a Correa FP40/30 vertical machining centre will be used extensively in the manufacture of 35 vehicle sets at a rate of approximately two per week. The contract – worth in excess of £300,000 – will keep the company busy up until September 2011 with every chance of the contract being extended beyond this point.

“Our involvement with this customer actually began further down the supply chain,” revealed Cube's managing director, Neil Clifton. “Originally we were working for a client that supplied directly into the end customer, but after successful completing a number of prototype components, we were selected to supply direct.”

Mr Clifton believes that Cube Precision Engineering found its way to the top of the shortlist through the company's experience in handling contracts of this nature and its sheer high precision, high complexity machining capacity. The customer also needed full traceability on components and assemblies – something that is second nature to Cube via its AS9100 accredited quality management system.

According to Mr Clifton, the machine tool purchase had been on the cards for some time but the new contract cemented the decision to buy. “In terms of work envelope, the Correa FP40/30 is capable of machining work 3m by 2.5m across a wide range of materials which suits this project,” he affirmed. “It will complement the Correa FP40 that we already have and is ideally suited to the work we do in the aerospace and automotive industries. We're having to turn work away at the moment and the new machine will give us much greater capacity.”

Like many UK manufacturing businesses, Cube is currently enjoying a period of prosperity and growth. The company has employed three new members of staff – taking the total to 40 – on the back of the new machine purchase and is looking to strengthen its quality control department in the near future.

Cube Precision Engineering
www.cubeprecision.com