P is for professional, P is for partnerships

It's always encouraging to see companies starting from humble beginnings and then flourishing into successful businesses. Sheet and plate processing specialist, the P.P. Group of Companies, began life in 1976 in the basement of a disused cotton mill. Today it stands proud as a successful group of businesses, employing around 80 people with a turnover exceeding £13 million. Dave Tudor takes a closer look at one of the group's constituent companies, Salford-based P.P. Plasma.

In the overall scheme of things and through turnover alone, AS9100 Rev C/ISO9001 approved P.P. Plasma is the largest company in the group. Next on the agenda is registration to ISO14001 (environmental) and ISO18001 (health and safety) with follow-up audits due in September. Along with its sister companies P.P. Profiles, P.P. ProTube and P.P. Processing, the group is set to hit nearly £16 million in turnover this year with P.P. Plasma accounting for around £9.5 million of this total.

Unlike P.P. Profiles (featured in the July 2012 issue of Solutions) which focuses entirely on the processing of carbon steel, P.P. Plasma's scope of supply is more far reaching and encompasses stainless steels, nickel-based alloys, bronze, brass, duplexes, aluminium high alloy austenitic steels and copper. It employs around 28 members of staff and officially began trading as a group member in its own right in 1992.

Success doesn't happen by accident however and it's no coincidence that the most successful companies reinvest significantly to ensure they stay ahead of the competition. The P.P. Group is no exception with over £3 million invested in new technology and machines in the last three years. The group's horizontal integration philosophy means it can offer its customers a complete metal processing service from the procurement of material through to profiling segments and processing intricate components. Significantly, no single customer takes more than 5% of the overall business.

Although the back office systems in place are complex and extensive, the P.P. Plasma philosophy in terms of job processing is ‘KISS' (Keep it Simple Stupid!), focusing on the core elements of: customer enquiries; sales; CAD (including the development of 3D models); production; logistics; and despatch.

Collaboratively independent

Peter McCabe is managing director of P.P. Plasma, and as he explains, the P.P. Group of Companies has the best of both worlds – the corporate strength of a manufacturing group with each constituent part having its own distinct areas of expertise. “We are a collaborative group of companies but it's important we retain our individual identities and respective skillsets,” he emphasises. “Although we have a centralised finance and administration operation – Henshaw Business Services based in Leeds – each group company operates as an individual profit centre and each with its own customers and strategies. P.P. Plasma for example may want exhibit at a particular trade show that may not be of interest to the other members of the group. The way we're set up means we have that autonomy.”
P.P. Plasma positions itself as the Advanced Profiling Centre within the group and offers four main cutting technologies: laser, plasma, waterjet and bevel waterjet. A range of material processing ancillary services are also offered incorporating plate rolling, section bending, press braking and edge prepping.

Not easily fazed

Currently, around 70% of P.P. Plasma's work is laser cutting via its two 6kW Bystronic Bystar machines making up a self-contained manufacturing cell. With a choice of cutting gases (liquid nitrogen or argon) and the ability to work to accuracies of ±0.1mm, P.P. Plasma's machines have bed lengths of 6.5m and 4m and can accommodate material up to 6.5m x 2.5m x 25mm. As well as providing cutting capacity, the laser cells are also used for a number of other activities such as the etching of bending lines for subsequent processing and part numbers.

“We always strive to provide as much added value as possible for our customers,” Mr McCabe reveals, “and that means doing as much in house as we possibly can. If for example the customer has a drilling operation to carry out on a particular part upstream from us, we'll offer to mark out the holes. The same applies for elements such as folding operations where we'll mark out the position of the bending lines. In many ways, we act as consultants – our objective is to manufacture as productively and as cost-effectively as possible and we advise our customer on that basis. There's also not much that fazes us,” he adds. “We have a tenacious yet methodical approach to business and thrive on challenging or demanding work that other companies may avoid – however complex.” Come on in, the water's fine

The decision to add waterjet profiling to the service portfolio seven years ago manifested itself with the purchase of a bevel waterjet machine from Water Jet Sweden. Capable of handling material 4m x 3m x 150mm, a significant additional feature of this machine is its dual heads and the capability to cut angles up to 45º. This facilitates intricate bevelling operations and the processing of single and double preps to profiled components in the same process resulting in significant productivity gains.

The purchase of the waterjet machine formed part of a wider strategy instigated by Mr McCabe to diversify the range of materials processed. “Traditionally, P.P. Plasma's roots lie with the processing of stainless steel but in recent years we've expanded this significantly to include duplex, aluminium and, most recently, yellow metals – bronze, brass and copper,” he affirms. “Globally, in some of the markets we operate in such as oil and gas, I've seen a definite decline in the use of 316 stainless steel and an increase in the use of duplexes and lean duplexes. Whilst this hasn't really affected the UK yet, a number of key projects overseas are moving towards these types of materials. We've diversified in anticipation of this shift and also to broaden our portfolio.” Because of their reflective properties, yellow metals are ideally suited for waterjet profiling. The bevel waterjet machine can handle C101, C103 and C106 copper grades up to 150mm thick; CZ112 and CZ108 brass up to 150mm thick; and PB102 bronze up to 76mm thick, not to mention the stainless and aluminium sections of the portfolio. The tolerance on all profiles is ±0.3mm from the top face.

The case for CAD

At P.P. Plasma, everything is geared around operational efficiency and driving material costs down so it can pass these savings onto the customer. This is achieved not only through using productive machines and processes but also through using its Sigmanest CAD nesting software effectively to ensure that material is used in the most efficient way possible through minimising waste.

“On some jobs, the savings can be significant,” Mr McCabe adds. “I can remember quoting on one recent job where we were up against a number of competitors where our material requirement was 3.5 tonnes less than anyone else. It's far too easy just to hit the auto nest button on the software, but that's simply not the way we work. Our CAD nesting programmes are developed with one objective in mind – to use the least amount of material possible and we apply this ethic to all customers large or small.”

The emphasis Mr McCabe places on efficient CAD nesting processes becomes even more apparent when you consider that P.P. Plasma has four CAD engineers serving three cutting machines. “Many companies would consider that overkill,” he advises, “but in my book it's a sound investment because it ensures our machines are operating optimally at all times. Ultimately it means we can operate very competitively in the marketplace. It's not all about simply buying more machines – it's about getting the most out of what you've got.”

Sigmanest, through its Sheet Library function also keeps pretty tight tabs on material utilisation. “In terms of accurately keeping tabs of what material I have on stock and managing material remnants, Sigmanest is the best product currently available in my opinion,” Mr McCabe explains.

Passion for automation

Process automation from a system standpoint is a particular passion of Mr McCabe's and by his own admission he spends a significant amount of time developing this side of the business to squeeze out every last drop of efficiency. With this in mind, a separate, independent company has been set-up called Steel Software Solutions. Its aim – to develop a bespoke ERP software system designed from the ground up for sheet and metal profiling companies.

The system, called Profile Logic, is already being used extensively by P.P. Plasma. Although it links seamlessly with Sigmanest nesting software, that's only part of the story. As a fully functional ERP system it handles quotations, CRM, stock control and supply chain management. As development progresses it'll interact with other web-based services and provide information live in real-time

“The software is being improved continuously via a dedicated team of developers and, as it's designed purely for profiling companies, we may market it as a standalone product in the future,” Mr McCabe divulges. “The rationale behind this is to give senior management total control over sales and production processes. Profile Logic provides the advanced management tools expected of an industry leading ERP system whilst maintaining a simple interface to allow ease of use. It has and always will be an integral aspect of our success.”

Move on up

P.P. Plasma is a forward thinking company that in reality has outgrown its current premises. Mindful of this fact, plans are afoot to build a new two storey factory on a nearby site that is some five times bigger than its present home. “The new site is absolutely essential for our continued growth plans,” Mr McCabe concludes. “We'll have dedicated laser, waterjet and plasma cells and the total £5 million investment will also involve the purchase of two new laser machines. In fact we'll be visiting the EuroBlech show at the end of October to evaluate the available technology.” The move is planned for December 2013.

P.P. Plasma
www.ppplasmaltd.co.uk Bevel Waterjet
www.bevelwaterjet.com