Machinery investment helps Christchurch subcontractor capitalise on 20% sales boost

A Christchurch-based subcontract machinist has invested in the latest CNC technology to help it meet a 20% growth in orders.

Peter Day Precision Engineers, which is part of the Venture Precision Engineering Group (VPEG), has installed a Nakamura WY150 from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) into its 14,000ft² facility on Airfield Road.

The twin-spindle, twin turret configuration gives the company the ability to remove a lot of secondary operations making the overall ‘turning’ process quicker for customers.

“Our work is very much around manufacturing complex machined components that have to perform in demanding environments. Whether that is for aerospace, oil & gas or the medical sector,” explained Pete Makosa, general manager for Peter Day Precision & Hightown Engineering.

“Over the last 12 months we have seen a 20% increase in orders, which will see the wider VPEG group break through £10 million turnover this year. This, combined with a strong pipeline of future orders, means we need additional CNC turning capabilities so asked long-term supplier Engineering Technology Group to come up with a solution.”

He added: “We go back more than eight years and have always been impressed with ETG’s ability to understand our situation, what we want the machine to do and then deliver a range of different options.

“Our first Nakamura, a super NTJ, was installed in 2010 so we know how reliable they are and the fact they offer fast metal removal rates while still holding tight limits. The WY150 is a very impressive machine and has the added benefits of being twin spindle and twin turret – that was a very big plus for us.”

Peter Day, which supplies components for blue chip customers including Curtiss Wright, Planer, Armfield and Eaton, installed the new Nakamura in June and it is already having the desired impact of freeing up capacity and meeting increased volumes generated by the clutch of contract wins.

Technical experts from ETG took just five days to install and configure the WY150, with two staff now fully trained and getting the most out of the new technology.

Simon Higgs, regional sales manager at the Engineering Technology Group, commented: “The Nakamura WY150 is a fantastic machine for removing secondary ops that can really extend the manufacturing process. It also has excellent accuracy and this will be critical for Peter Day and the industries it supplies.”

He concluded: “We have seen major growth in the number of UK manufacturers tapping into the Japanese machine builder’s technology over the last six to nine months.”

Peter Day www.peterday.co.uk

Engineering Technology Group www.engtechgroup.com