Supplying the spark

Like most new business ventures, it’s prudent to start things on a small scale so when John Hennings set up his business, Toolmaker Supplies Ltd. (TMS), in 2002 his EDM samples where literally everything he could cram into a briefcase.

Since then the Malvern, Worcestershire-based company has grown to become one of the biggest suppliers of EDM consumables in the UK and further afield.

Located within a stone’s throw of the spa town’s famous hills, TMS distributes everything needed to keep EDM machine’s running including: EDM wire spools; electrode drilling tubes; filters; workholding systems; wear parts such as pulleys, bearings and wire guides; nozzles; ceramic guides; drill chucks; seals; pumps; resins; cleaners and much more.

Mr Hennings started TMS after being made redundant from another EDM company. He says: “I was fortunate that I had some very loyal customers that I could approach who supported me early on and many of whom are still with us today.

“Initially I just wanted to supply spare parts as opposed to consumables but that soon led to customers asking if we could we provide more. We like to hold as large an amount of stock as we can. Our philosophy over the years has been that if one customer makes an enquiry for an item then, probably somebody else needs one too. Initially all our success was built on word of mouth, working closely with customers and our suppliers.”

TMS has worked hard to ensure that the products it sources are of a quality that the company is confident it can recommend.

Mr Hennings explains: “Once stock goes out the door, we don’t want to see it again. We have a very good range of suppliers; they may not necessarily be the cheapest but we work with manufacturers and suppliers with whom we have had a long relationship. When I set-up the business, I thoroughly researched and sourced companies worldwide to make sure they could give us the quality that I knew was needed.”

A growing market

Electrical discharge machining can be seen as a bit of a niche process within the world of engineering but Mr Hennings says interest in it is growing all the time. In fact, EDM can be used to make parts in virtually any sector of the engineering industry: aerospace; automotive; medical; oil and gas; mould tools and general engineering.

“It can be used in many different ways,” he says. “There are a lot of subcontractors using these machines, and because more people are involved in small batch production, they are becoming even more widespread. We find the number of new and pre-owned EDM machines being used in the precision engineering industry is growing all the time.”

Neil Melbourne, sales engineer at the company, adds: “Other processes have been developed like laser cutting, waterjet cutting, or high-speed milling that people say will mean the end of EDM but it always seems to diversify into other areas where there is a new useful application. For example, there are some drilling applications where EDM is really the only process that will complete the task effectively.”

TMS has supplied drilling tubes as long as 1.2m – an example of where the company’s relationship with its suppliers has in turn helped its customers: “In that case we contacted the manufacturer and asked if they could produce them that long and they did.” Mr Hennings states.

Knowledge transfer

TMS’s sales staff have many years of experience with EDM machines and the EDM process. In fact, most have operated, maintained and in some cases even rebuilt machines. This know-how is very useful for new customers who may not be that familiar the machines or the process.

“Particularly with the number of second-hand machines being purchased, we find when new customers call us they may not know what they actually need,” Mr Melbourne explains. “In these cases they tell us the problem with the machine and we can advise what parts they need. That’s where our knowledge and experience really come to the fore.”

Mr Hennings adds: “There are still times when all we get is a rough sketch of what they want, but we can normally help and we always try to be as accommodating as we can. That sort of service helps because we build up a strong relationship with our customers to the point where they don’t even ask for a price – they just send us a list of what they want and, in most cases, we can get it to them the next day.”

Performance upgrades

In the same way a new cutting tool on an old machining centre can improve performance, new consumables and other wear parts on EDM machines can make a big difference in their effectiveness.

“With some of the products we supply we are seeing significant increases in cutting speeds on relatively old machines,” Mr Hennings says. “I estimate that on a 20-year-old machine we can achieve the same cutting speeds as a brand-new model just by supplying new and better consumables and associated products.”

With the arrival of the Internet TMS now receives enquiries from around the world, but its main market is still the UK. Some stock is also sent to Europe, the US and Mexico.

Not surprisingly managing supply and demand for components can be the biggest challenge, especially when items are coming from around the world, and because TMS has to stock parts that are compatible with machines made by OEMs in Europe and the Far East.

“That is one of the reasons we keep as much stock as we can,” Mr Hennings affirms. “Our German suppliers are very efficient, but occasionally lead-times are stretched so we try to ensure we have enough kept by to help deal with that. We also try to have more than one supplier so we can always offer an alternative. However, if we don’t have a part, we like to be honest with our customers about when we can get it.”

So TMS has managed to build a strong range of customers to the point where it has needed to acquire more storage space to keep up with demand. Fortunately for Mr Hennings the industrial unit next door recently became available.

He concludes: “If we say something is in stock it is physically here with us and that’s one of the reasons we needed more space which we have doubled in the last six months. We also have ideas about expanding further because demand in the EDM sector is still very strong.

“Every time I order stock I seem to have to order more because demand is increasing. In fact, we have never had a year where we have not grown and not made a profit. Even in the first two years of trading we didn’t lose money we simply reinvested in stock.”

TMS https://tmsedm.co.uk