Precision powerhouse under the flightpath

The inside of the M25 is not well-known for its manufacturing activity but Wellington Engineering is making a virtue of its location. Situated beneath the Heathrow flightpath in Hayes, the company has made a name for itself in subcontract machining.

Set up by Chic Wellington in 1982, Wellington Engineering is currently led by Chic’s son, Daimon and specialises in CNC machining and the supply of components in piece part, kit and assembly form. The business now employs over 50 people and houses more than 30 machine tools supported by CAD/CAM, other cutting, cleaning, and inspection equipment, as well as fully automated stockholding facilities.

In recent years, Daimon Wellington’s aim has been to diversify the customer base away from an over reliance on the medical and oil and gas sector.

“When I first joined, the majority of my time was spent on expanding the sectors we operated in,” he begins. “We now have a customer list covering a wide range of industries – still including oil and gas and medical but also cryogenic, vacuum and clean energy. Our diversification has grown the business and improved the stability of our operations considerably.”

Quick beginnings

The relationship with Mazak has been central to Wellington’s growth. The company’s first Mazak was a Quick Turn Nexus 250-II MSY turning centre, purchased in 2010, an investment which enabled Wellington to add multi-tasking capability for the first time specifically for use in machining medical and vacuum components.

Mr Wellington continues: “The Quick Turn Nexus was a big investment at the time, but a major selling point for us was Mazak’s Mazatrol conversational programming as it is so simple to use. Also we were finding that many of the operator’s we were interviewing at the time were already Mazatrol trained.

“Once the Quick Turn Nexus was up and running we started to see things coming off complete which meant we could deliver quicker to our customers, invoice quicker and ultimately get paid quicker. It also opened up the prospect of running night shifts. This was a big turning point for us and we came to the conclusion that to remain competitive and make money, you’ve got to invest.”

He continues: “We were doing batches of smaller volumes, circa 30- to 50-off, and with these quantities set-up time is crucial. With the Nexus, we found a saving of 50% in set-up time using Mazatrol. These results alone were a good enough reason to continue investing.”

An extra eight

From 2008 to 2013 the company experienced a period of huge growth and increasingly factory space became an issue. “The old factory was bursting at the seams at 8,000ft² so we decided to expand and moved to our current 20,000ft² facility in Hayes during 2013,” Mr Wellington adds. “We have filled the space with eight additional new machines and the majority of these are Mazaks, including a Mazak gantry loader.

“When we made the decision to move premises I already had an Integrex in the back of my mind and the i-300S was one of the first machines in the new factory.”

The addition of the Integrex i-300S dramatically changed the way Wellington Engineering operated, allowing the company to make a step-up into multi-axis machining which helped expand the client base and improve overall efficiency on the shopfloor.

“These days it’s all about one-stop machining,” he declares. “When we doubled capacity our overheads increased significantly. To continue to attract new customers we had to be able to do things quicker and more efficiently, and we knew that investing in quality machines would help us achieve this objective.”

Since then the business has added an Integrex i-100 in 2015, which reinforced Wellington Engineering’s credentials as one of the leading precision machining specialists in Southern England.

“The i-100 is the smallest Integrex but has a 100mm bar feed capacity which enables us to attract larger bar feed work. I was pitching to a major manufacturer of vacuum equipment for a job that ideally suited the 100mm bar feeder and we were awarded this contract as we were able to run the component unmanned during the night and make significant cost savings for our customer.

“The i-100 is also equipped with a Rota Rack Parts ejector system for the larger components, allowing us to undertake work on a 24 hour shift pattern which ultimately reduces the cost per component. It was our automation offering which actually won the job.”

Mr Wellington adds: “Our two current Integrex machines are very versatile and attract a nice mix of business. The i-300 model is manufacturing larger diameter billet work, in the 12 to 16 inch diameter region, which is fairly rare in the South of England, whereas the i-100 can machine anything from two to four inch diameter using the bar feed or up to 10 inch diameter chucking. Both machines were major investments, but so far it has paid off.”

Completing the set

Currently, the company has eight Mazaks with another Integrex i-200 on order which will complete the i-series set. Mr Wellington believes there is a reassuring factor when customers visit the shopfloor and see the Mazak machines: “It’s certainly not the major factor when choosing a machine tool, but one thing I love about Mazaks are the look of the machines. Having a machine shop that looks professional, tidy and full of the latest machining technology makes a significant difference and the Mazak machines help to create that environment enabling us to attract the right customers.”

In the future, Mr Wellington is looking to improve the company’s ability to cut specific metals: “We have started thinking about adding more Mazak machines to replace others on the shopfloor as we’re cutting more high nickel alloys, such as titanium and Inconel which require better, newer and stronger machines. Ultimately we want the best available kit so that we can work with different metals and manufacture the highest quality components.”

In terms of new sectors, Mr Wellington is firmly focused on developing its aerospace offering: “We are on a roadmap for introducing the aerospace standard, AS 9100. This certification will be instrumental in opening up opportunities within the aerospace sector, as well as nuclear, space and defence. We’re also considering double shift patterns, more lights out machining and conveyor systems as I believe automation will play a major role in helping us achieve this certification,” he says.

“For the time being, we plan to keep the machine footprint the same size but enhance our multi-axis machining technology. We do have the potential to extend the facility for even larger work if the opportunity arises.

“Our philosophy is to invest,” he concludes. “We have not been disheartened by the downturn in oil and gas as we have a varied customer base which allows us to push forward. Positivity is at the heart of our business and we’re going to continue to invest and grow further into sectors that require our expertise and machining capability.”

Wellington Engineering www.welleng.co.uk

Mazak www.mazakeu.co.uk