Metal pressings and stamping specialist Pre-Met is on track for its best year so far in the rail sector.
It is set to produce half a million brake plates for the first time ever and is now targeting new opportunities supplying components to rolling stock, infrastructure companies and train manufacturers.
The company’s acquisition of Quality Springs & Pressings has helped increase capacity to take on the additional work and, even with a 20% increase in volumes, the firm has been able to achieve zero defects over an eleven-month period.
Destined for a major tier 1 supplier, the braking plate is manufactured in up to 18 different variants, including left to right set variants.
Growth in the rail sector is helping Pre-Met increase its workforce, with four new people taken on in welding, press setting, quality and in the tool room.
“Diversification was a big priority this year for the business, and we wanted to look at ways where we could maximise our core expertise in automotive, aerospace and advanced engineering and take it into complementary areas,” explained James Leng, Managing Director of Pre-Met.
“Rail was a natural target. We had started to deliver a couple of projects on time and to budget and this has accelerated this year, with the one back plate now passing 500,000 of units in 2025 – with a 20% rise in production expected next year.”
He continued: “This is just the start. All the recent investment has given us a platform to offer rail customers a one-source solution for tool transfers and new products. We can do everything from initial prototyping and small batch work, through to developing the tooling, producing in medium and high volumes and completing value added assembly.
“We have recently been working with another rail client to help reverse engineer one of its existing products to improve the base design and simplify the production process. In turn, this will improve finished quality, whilst extending longevity of the component lifecycle.”
The company offers a full product lifecycle service from concept and design to prototyping and low, medium and high-volume production.
It holds ISO 9001, AS9100 (aerospace) and TS16949 (automotive) accreditations and, more recently, has reinforced its commitment to digital transformation by obtaining its Cyber Essentials security certificate.
James concluded: “2025 has been a pivotal year for us, with the Quality Springs & Pressings acquisition and subsequent consolidation of its operations at our existing site on Studley Road. Over £500k has been invested in the integration and this has given us an extra 30% boost in production and access to new robotic technology.”