Wielding the baton for turned part production

Ed Hill talks to Phil Smith from turned part specialists Wealdpark about the importance of investing in new technology and being the new president of the British Turned Parts Manufacturing Association.

Things have come a long way for St Helens-based Wealdpark since it was set up in 1965. The company, which specialises in turned parts, started business with a plant list consisting of second hand mechanical automatic (cam auto) lathes producing components for the automotive industry.

Now the shopfloor is made up of some of the very latest CNC sliding head and fixed head lathe technology available to manufacturers, along with two vertical machining centres.

Director Phil Smith explains: “We bought our first CNC machine in 2001 and now all our machines are CNC controlled. Since we have installed this high-tech equipment we have progressed to supply into a very broad range of industries.”

Just some of the parts Wealdpark supplies include aerospace and automotive components, electrical connectors, fasteners, fuse equipment as well as oil and gas parts.

“It tends to be higher spec, smaller batch work in more difficult materials these days,” Mr Smith continues. “The sort of components that we make require the machinist to closely monitor their production because they are very tight tolerance parts made from expensive and tough materials that need careful management.”

New machinery

The company recently installed a new Star SR38 Type B sliding head lathe that replaced an older SV32. Wealdpark has a long history with Star which has also supplied the other eleven sliding head CNC machines in its workshop.

“Our first CNC machine was a Star lathe. They have never given us any problems so that is why we have continued with them. The SV32 was very capable but the new platen style SR38 is a quicker machine that retains a lot of the features of the SV32 but with more flexibility.

The new Star SR38 Type B sliding head lathe at Wealdpark

“We can balance turn and easily put on angled drills or milling cutters because it has a B-axis which the SV32 didn’t have. It’s also a slightly bigger capacity machine. We also have two SR20 RIV machines that have been very impressive so when Star introduced the SR38 with virtually the same features, we knew it would be a good purchase.

“We also have four Miyano fixed head lathes along with two Hurco machining centres and a Hurco lathe,” he continues. “The fixed head machines do the same sort of work as the sliding head lathes but just on bigger workpieces. We have the bonus that all our fixed head lathes are able to do bar work or billet work with the use of chucks, so although the maximum we can turn in bar is 64mm diameter we can also process much larger billets (up to around 150mm) so we are a lot less restricted in that regard.”

Like many engineering firms finding skills is a long-term difficulty for Wealdpark, which currently employs 24 people. Both Mr Smith’s son and nephew are currently apprentices at the company.

“We do need to be on top of the skills issue and keep people coming through the training. The staff that we have at the moment are some of the best in the business who have adapted well to producing the advanced sort of components that we now tackle.”

One philosophy that helps the company retain its staff is giving them a sense of control and ownership over their projects and machines.

“We have invested a lot of money in this machinery so you don’t want someone hitting it with a hammer when something goes wrong,” Mr Smith affirms. “We like to think the staff look after the machines as if they were their own.

“We’ve also vastly improved the conditions within the factory – all our machines have mist extraction attached so the workshop is a clean area. There’s no oil strewn across the floor and our noise levels are greatly reduced, which means staff don’t have to wear ear defenders. This creates a much better working environment – vitally important when it comes to attracting new customers.”

New role

Mr Smith became president of the BTMA (British Turned Parts Manufacturing Association) in November. Wealdpark first joined the trade body around ten years ago and since then Mr Smith has been an enthusiastic member.

“The association’s main focus is promoting British manufacturing,” he emphasises. “We want to make it the best that it can be; as a group we attend exhibitions to try and promote our industry in the best way that we can.

“It’s also important for our members to feel part of a club. When new members join it can be a bit intimidating entering a room full of other engineers, but as they get to know everyone, they soon realise that we all have similar challenges. And if there is a particular problem there is always another member who has encountered it before who is happy to share their thoughts.

“We also help in other ways, for example, when REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) compliance was being introduced, the BTMA arranged a seminar with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to come and talk to our members about it. A lot of subcontracting engineers felt they were being swamped by the legislation but in conjunction with the HSE we were able to come up with a solution that all our members now use.

“Dealing with all the regulations and form filling is more difficult for SME’s so it was really beneficial that the BTMA could help our members to come up with a solution. It is in instances like that when the association really shows its value.”

Aside from subcontracting engineering businesses, the BTMA’s members also include machine tool manufacturers, metrology companies, material suppliers and cutting tool suppliers.

Best of British

As president, Mr Smith believes its members represent some of the best in UK industry. “The BTMA stands for quality British manufacturing; many of us have been around for a long time and we are very good at what we do. All our members are high quality companies with very capable plant and equipment, so there’s no reason why they can’t be the best in the world.”

But he also believes that UK manufacturing needs more practical support from Government, particularly with the uncertainty since the Brexit vote: “Government needs to find other ways of supporting manufacturing aside from just talking about it; perhaps giving concessions on the cost of power consumption.”

Despite this, Mr Smith is still optimistic about the future of UK engineering – as are his fellow members of the BTMA, many with similar histories to Wealdpark.

“A lot of BTMA companies like ours are family businesses now run by the second generation so we all share a lot of common experiences. We understand you have to invest in the latest equipment because that is the only way you can compete on a global stage.

“Reputation is still probably the most important thing,” he concludes. “We have a large customer base that we have retained for many years but it is getting harder to predict how the market will perform over longer periods. We just don’t get the extended visibility anymore, however, we still have work coming in from the UK and from Europe, so all you can do is go with the demand.

“Fortunately, there is always going to be a requirement for the sorts of parts that we produce. After the 2008 crash a few companies in our sector did go to the wall, but the ones that were left were the fittest to survive. I believe that companies that continue to invest will still be the ones around in the future.”

Wealdpark www.wealdpark.co.uk

Star Micronics GB www.stargb.com

 

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