5750 Components, a specialist laser cutting division of engineering and fabrication company WEC Group, has invested £3m in new premises and equipment.
The new 33,000 sq ft factory is on the Knowsley Business Park in Merseyside, just 528 yards from the old facility, but boasts more shop floor space and larger offices to make room for further growth.
In addition to the new factory, the £3m investment includes a 4m x 2m fibre laser cutting machine which will enable 5750 to cut larger sheets of metal and maximise productivity across the entire parts spectrum, as well as two additional press brakes to complement the new machinery line up.
The 8KW 5040 Trumpf TruLaser comes fully fitted with automated handling and is now the fastest laser cutting machine out of the 24 within the Group, offering high speed nitrogen cutting on a large range of materials as well as the ability to cut up to 40mm stainless steel, 25mm mild steel and aluminium.
Michael Fitzgibbon, Director at 5750 Components, said: “The investment in the new facility and state-of-the-art technology will enable us to take on more business and improve our service and lead times to customers.
“Our new factory will also give us more assembly space as well as creating additional welding capacity as we continue to recruit more welders.”
5750 has recently recruited three new sales estimators to enable the company to offer quicker quotes and turnaround times.
Mr Fitzgibbon added: “It’s extremely important for us to respond to our customers quickly and to offer competitive turnaround times as we continue our growth in the industry. Taking on more engineers and staff in sales will help us to achieve this goal.”
5750’s cutting capabilities complement the Group’s wider profiling line-up which includes tube and box section cutting up to 6m length and 220mm diameter, as well as waterjet cutting of almost any material up to 200mm.
Wayne Wild, WEC Group Commercial Director, said: “The additional capacity at 5750 is the next step of our expansion plan which has seen us open new offices in Stafford and Glasgow over the past year.”
Further investment is already on the horizon at 5750 as the company is planning on commissioning a third tube laser cutting machine at the new facility to mirror WEC Laser’s operation in Darwen, Lancashire.
WEC Group now boasts 24 flat-bed laser cutting machines, 2 tube lasers, 4 waterjet cutting machines and 24 press brakes as well as in-house fabrication, powder coating and CNC machining facilities.