Turned parts contract machining specialist Precision Products has weathered the recent turbulent times remarkably well and is more competitive than ever.
Established 48 years ago, and based in Rustington, West Sussex, the company had to downgrade its turnover target in April 2020 at the start of the last financial year due to a collapse in aerospace contracts, which normally accounted for 10% of turnover. This loss was largely offset by winning Covid-related medical contracts for the production of components for ventilators, hospital beds and testing kits. Some new medical work is ongoing, such as the manufacture of parts for micropumps used in disinfectant spraying equipment.
Consequently the firm met its planned turnover for the period to April 2021 and is ahead of target or the year to April 2022. Profitability has increased following a detailed analysis of cost structure and working practices by managing director Sally Thorley, enabling the company to quote more competitive prices. Around-the-clock running five days a week has continued and there have been few staff changes, except for a couple of retirements and the appointment of two additional personnel.
One is finance manager Charlotte Turner and the other is Sales and Estimating Engineer Sean Keet, who has a wealth of experience in a similar role. They bring the total number of staff to 32. Following on from all personnel having been trained to Level 2 in NVQ Business Improvement Techniques, four managers are currently undergoing training with the Institute of Leadership & Management, two at level 5 and the others at level 3.
Extra business received from UK sources that have helped the company to achieve a positive result during such a difficult period includes machining families of stainless steel spindles, studs and end caps to tight tolerances for top-end mountain bike pedals manufactured by Pembree in Heathfield, East Sussex.
Together with other new UK contracts, some gained as a result of Precision Products taking a stand at the Southern Manufacturing 2020 show at the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre, the subcontractor's tally of active customers is 136. The company also exhibited at the recent 2022 show.
Helping to boost turnover further has been an increase in direct exports. It now accounts for 12% of turnover, due in part to a major new contract for the supply of brass air caps to the Chinese factory of a multinational air humidifier manufacturer. Other overseas markets that are regular recipients of the subcontractor's components are Hungary, Mexico and the USA.
Mrs Thorley commented, "Brexit has had very little impact on our business practices, except for a few delays in some tooling deliveries. On the contrary, it has helped UK manufacturing by making domestic OEMs less likely to source components from abroad.
"We are already seeing the beneficial effect, with an increase in orders from companies that traditionally use continental European subcontractors.
"Moreover the problems that Asian suppliers are currently experiencing due to the pandemic are also resulting in more work for UK subcontractors, including us."
First Citizen sliding-head lathe with LFV
Things have not been standing still on the shop floor either. The subcontractor's first Citizen Cincom slider with LFV (low frequency vibration) software for automatically chipbreaking difficult materials arrived in early 2020. The 20 mm bar capacity L20-VIIILFV with B- and Y-axes, which can be operated with or without a guide bush, allows technically challenging components to be produced more efficiently from normally long-chipping plastics and stainless steels.
Mrs Thorley advised that customers are increasingly asking for components produced from both materials, with plastics being used more and more for medical work, while stainless steel accounts for as much as 40% of throughput.
Citizen trained five of Precision Products' operators in the use of LFV and feedback from the shop floor on the software's effectiveness has been positive. It is proving particularly useful in view of the current trend towards industry increasingly asking for miniature parts machined from these and other problematic materials to tolerances measured in microns.
This was the first sliding-head lathe in Rustington to be fitted with a Wogaard Oil Saver system for recycling the neat oil used, although four of the Miyanos on-site are already equipped with a similar Coolant Saver unit. The maintenance-free device sits at the bottom of the swarf bin, continuously sucking up cutting fluid that has been transported there on the swarf and automatically returning it to the machine's coolant tank for reuse. It not only saves oil or coolant but also reduces subsequent energy expenditure required for spinning the swarf prior to recycling it.
Again with the environment in mind, the subcontractor's MecWash aqueous cleaning machine has been replaced by a more efficient, environmentally friendly Duo 400 model that combines flood and spray washing, followed by heated spray rinsing and hot air drying. The rinse stage can be used to apply a corrosion inhibitor to ferrous components. The machine incorporates the Aqua-Save system for treating and recycling up to 90 percent of the waste water, minimising expensive off-site treatment and disposal.
Other energy-intensive areas addressed by Precision Products include the replacement of an old air compressor with a new model that consumes considerably less power, resulting in a saving in carbon dioxide emissions of more than 12 tonnes; and replacement of the tungsten and fluorescent lighting throughout the factory with LEDs, saving the release of a further 4.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
In conclusion
On a final note, Mrs Thorley said that Precision Products is proud to have been able to keep going virtually unaffected during the difficult trading conditions created by the pandemic. She added that the company manufactures high quality CNC turned parts backed by CBS EN ISO 9001:2015 approval and AS 9100 Rev D accreditation in the case of aerospace components.
Shortly before the end of last year, the subcontractor had its former approval recertified. The company that carried out the online reassessment is on record as saying that it was one of the best audits it has ever completed and that Precision Products was the only company it dealt with during the pandemic that achieved or exceeded all of its key performance indicators.
Photo: Sean Keet, newly appointed Sales and Estimating Engineer at Precision Products, with Sally Thorley, Managing Director.