34 July 2024 Production Engineering Solutions pesmedia.com SUBCONTRACTING LASER PROFILING Laser, Oxy-fuel, Plasma, UltraSharp and Waterjet Cutting Technology Machine sales, service, support and consumables Call us on: +44 (0)1706 757 670 www.kerfdevelopments.com | Email: [email protected] Kerf Developments Ltd, Unit 1a Eagle Technology Park, Queensway, Rochdale, OL11 1TQ For solid, reliable down to earth advice, contact Kerf today. Kerf half page ad 04.24.indd 1 23/04/2024 17:59 With business booming at Wetherby-based fabrication specialist Kellys Welding, the company wanted to replace its pre-owned CO2 laser cutter with a new fibre laser. With a shortlist of ‘wants’ that included quality, speed, energy efficiency and a competitive price, Kellys Welding spent nearly 12 months assessing the UK market. The company discovered that only an Accurl fibre laser cutter from Axe & Status could meet its requirements and provide the impetus for further growth. Such has been the impact of the Accurl Masterline 3105 that the monthly savings on electricity consumption alone pay for the finance on the machine. According to Kellys Welding, “it’s like having a laser cutter for free”. Kellys Welding is a family-run business launched by owner Joe Kelly in 2017. In just seven years the company has grown from a one-man start-up to a 10-employee enterprise that is on track for a turnover of £1.3 million in 2024. The reasons behind this impressive growth are many, but ironically the company gained its first real break during the pandemic. Although welding jobs came to a halt, the company was also selling raw material online, an activity that boomed. “After the pandemic we had enough money to buy our first laser cutter, a pre-owned CO2 model,” says Mr Kelly. “It was perfect at the time, but we soon ran out of capacity due to our growing workload and the machine’s lack of speed. It also consumed a lot of electricity, so we started thinking about a replacement.” By then, the company had built up a robust customer base; sufficient to afford a brand-new laser cutter. Around the same time, the company relocated to the unit next door, which at double the footprint would provide the perfect home for its new laser cutter. The question now, was which one to buy? “We looked at lots of machines over a 12-month period,” Mr Kelly states. “At first, we only considered brands that were familiar to us, but soon realised they were way out of our price range. We started looking at other brands, including from Asia, but they were poor. We even went to see one in action. Although it was cheap and did the job, it seemed unsafe. It had a CE mark, but I think it only stood for Chinese Export.” He continues: “Then we came across the Accurl Masterline and knew it was the one for us. It had all the right parts. A lot of machines from Asia come with parts we’ve never heard of. The Accurl is different with its Precitec cutting head, for example. The machine also carries an official CE mark and features integrated Class IV safety systems. Axe & Status did some test cuts for us and we were very happy to proceed.” Formidably faster Kellys Welding estimates that the Accurl Masterline 3015 6kW fibre laser cutter from Axe & Status is about eight times faster than the company’s previous CO2 laser cutter. Moreover, it offers far more economic running costs. “The Accurl Masterline uses around five times less electricity than our CO2 machine, which equates to a saving of around Accurl fibre laser proves to be a hero at Kellys Welding When Kellys Welding was looking to replace its ageing and costly to run CO2 flatbed laser cutter it found that the Accurl Masterline 3105 supplied by Axe & Status was the ideal machine it was looking for. Since its acquisition the company’s subcontracting business has gone from strength to strength. PES hears more. The new Accurl Masterline 3015 fibre laser on the shopfloor at Wetherbybased Kellys Welding Joe Kelly at the control of the Accurl Masterline 3015 fibre laser cutter
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