Malvern subcontractor Intime Engineering is rebuilding its business after a disastrous fire with a major programme of investment in advanced machining technology.
The business faced a significant setback in 2025 when a lithium-ion battery fire destroyed its facility and equipment in Ledbury. Despite the disruption, Managing Director Colin Selwyn remained committed to rebuilding the company and protecting its workforce.
“I remember saying to my wife on the second day after the fire that if we got the business going again, I would use a phoenix as our symbol. That’s why we now have the phoenix branding – rising from the ashes.”
Central to the rebuilding process has been Intime’s relationship with machine tool manufacturer Yamazaki Mazak, which goes back decades. “I started in inspection and one day we visited Mazak’s European Manufacturing Plant in Worcester. Around that time, the company started doing subcontract work for Mazak under the previous owners, Mike and Christine Davis. That’s how the relationship started and it’s continued ever since.”
Colin and his wife bought the company in 2010 and between then and the fire it grew from two units to four.
He said: “We’ve always bought Mazak machines, including older models, building up a fleet of their machines across our sites as we expanded.”
The company is now strong in the oil industry, manufactures components for X-ray equipment, the washing industry, and the brewing sector. It also has a growing business exporting to Germany.
After the fire, Colin had no hesitation in wanting to rebuild the business. “Many people in my position said they wouldn’t have restarted after something like that. But that was never an option for me.
Intime’s new facility in Malvern has 4,000 square feet of space with sixteen employees on site. In terms of machining capability, Colin didn’t just want to replicate his old machine footprint.
“We obviously needed like-for-like replacements for some machines, but I also saw an opportunity to modernise and improve. We couldn’t ignore the fact that machining technology has advanced at pace in recent years and we need to lead the field if we are to remain competitive.”
Alongside new models from Mazak’s QUICK TURN 250 series to replace lost machines, Intime has upgraded its turning capability with several new QUICK TURN 250 MY machines with a Y-axis, 1.5 metre barfeed capability on two of its machines, and a one metre bed on another.
However, Intime’s flagship investment is a new INTEGREX j-series multi-tasking machine.
“The INTEGREX will allow us to consolidate multiple different operations onto one machine which saves us a lot of space. It’s also effectively two machines in one, possibly more, due to its second spindle and milling spindle that gives us the capability for multi-face work.”