Hervé Engineering: a long pedigree in precision

With a history reaching back a staggering 173 years, Southend-on-Sea precision manufacturer and BTMA member Hervé Engineering has surely got to be one of the oldest engineering companies in the UK, Dave Tudor writes.

Founded by Louis Hervé, the company started life in 1850 as a bathroom tap manufacturer. Since then, five generations of the Hervé family worked in the business up until 2016 when current owners Howard Warrington and Michael Lloyd took over the reins.

Today the ISO 9001 accredited firm employs 18 members of staff and offers extensive turning and thread rolling services as well as managing blanket and call off orders on behalf of its customers. Hervé’s focus is on volume CNC turned part manufacturing in batches from 200 to 100,000 in a wide range of materials from plastics to titanium.  

Any successful company needs to operate a continuous investment policy to keep abreast of the latest equipment and in Hervé’s case, not surprisingly, the lion’s share of capital spend, in terms of plant, has been on turning technology.

No fewer than nine fixed head machines (a variety of BNE, BNJ and BND models) from Miyano (Citizen) adorn the shopfloor, complemented by a pair of Citizen machines (LX20-X LFV and L12 VII LFV) and a trio from Star GB (2 x SR32 JII Type B and 1 x SR20-RIV Type A) providing impressive sliding head capacity.

For larger turning work, Hervé makes effective use of two Doosan (DN Solutions) TT Puma lathes and a Nakamura WT-250 multi-tasking machine purchased from Mills CNC and ETG respectively.

“Since we purchased the company in 2016, Howard and I have invested over £1.8m in new equipment,” comments commercial director Michael Lloyd. “As you can see, we’ve expanded our machining capacity significantly – but we’ve also invested in metrology equipment, an ultrasonic cleaning system and of course our valued members of staff.

“Our latest investments have seen the installation of two new machines: a Puma TT 2100SYYB and a Citizen L12 VII – little and large! These two machines give us additional capacity at both ends of our diameter range 1mm to 80mm.

“The installation of these machines comes at the end of what has been a period of rapid growth for the company with turnover up nearly threefold in four years. New machines are always a leap of faith to some extent – will we get the work for them and have we chosen the right models? We needn’t have worried: so far these two new machines literally haven’t stopped.”

And investment hasn’t been limited to new machines. The Inspection Department is now the proud owner of a new ViciVision M306 optical measuring device and a Mitutoyo programmable CMM – both purchased last year.

Every manufacturing company strives to offer products and services that differentiate it from the competition. In Hervé Engineering’s case, Michael Lloyd believes it’s all about always putting the customer first. 

“Coming from sales and marketing backgrounds, Howard and I are acutely aware of the need for outstanding customer service in today’s marketplace,” he affirms. “We try to differentiate ourselves by prompt turnaround of customer quotes and queries backed up by on-time delivery. We know our customers have made commitments based on our promised delivery dates and we strive to ensure these are achieved. The whole team is focused on the need to ship parts on time.

“We lead a team of highly skilled engineers, many of whom have been with the company more than 15 years. We are proud to be a trusted supplier to some of the most respected manufacturing organisations in the UK and around the world – and across a broad spectrum of market sectors.”

Hervé Engineering is a longstanding member of the British Turned Parts Manufacturers Association (BTMA). Mr Lloyd is proud to be a member and is keen to sing the association’s praises.  

“We have benefitted hugely from membership of the BTMA. It allows us to meet contemporaries from our industry and to hear from others, on a regular basis, about best practice in the industry as well as learning how other firms are dealing with the latest economic challenges,” he enthuses.

“Since Howard or I have been attending meetings, we have faced the on/off nature of Brexit with the implications this had for stockpiling (2019), the pandemic (2020), the war in Ukraine (2022) and the subsequent raw material price pressures followed by the previously unimaginable increase in electricity costs witnessed last autumn following our contract expiry. The ability to talk to others who are experiencing the same or similar issues is very welcome.”

Hervé Engineering
www.herve-engineering.com