Batten & Allen has invested £500,000 in the latest Bruderer high speed press.
The Cirencester-based specialist in stamping, plating and assembly of high precision parts signed the deal for the new BSTA 280-88-B3 at MACH, just a few days after it made its debut at the show.
A major Mexican export order - to produce lead frames used in the development of AI chip sets - is destined to be the first high volume project run through the new machine when it is installed over the next three weeks.
This will utilise the press’ unrivalled ‘micron’ precision and accuracy, with up to 1500 strokes per minute delivering the high volumes required by its international client.
Equipped with the new BSV 170 servo feeder to support lights-out manufacturing, the BSTA 280-88 also features the new B3 control system, which offers an improved user-interface and market-leading technology.
“We’ve been working closely with the Bruderer technical team in Telford to prove out some of our tooling on the new machine and the results have been outstanding to date,” explained Shawn Batten, Chairman of Batten & Allen.
“This accelerated our decision to purchase the new machine, and MACH 2026 seemed the perfect opportunity to agree the deal and secure a rapid install, so that the technology is in place for the Mexico order and two further jobs for clients in Asia and North America.”
He continued: “Our components are used in some of the most advanced electronic applications, ranging from AI chips and data centres, to advanced automotive and aerospace uses. The BSTA 280-88 gives you everything you need to guarantee 100% repeatable quality at a speed that makes you competitive - it’s a very impressive machine and the B3 control has taken the user interface to the next level.
Batten & Allen now has Bruderer machines. Together, these produce millions of parts every day for customers in 20 different countries across five continents.
Adrian Haller, Managing Director of Bruderer UK, picked up the story: “This deal is a blueprint for UK manufacturing to follow and shows how investment in new technology - combined with innovation and technical excellence - can help a domestic company not only remain competitive but lead the way against international rivals.
“The full integration of press, feeder, and tooling within a single manufacturing control environment is a game-changer and will support Batten & Allen with existing work and going after new contracts in the data centre and Artificial Intelligence space.”
Photo (l-r): Adrian Haller (Bruderer UK), Rainer Hungerbühler (Bruderer), David Merchant and Shawn Batten (both Batten & Allen).