Dumfries-based Franklin Steel plc (www.franklinsteelplc.co.uk) has invested in an Esab (www.esab.co.uk) SGX plasma cutting machine (www.esab.co.uk).

This has reduced lead times for customers ordering profiles and opened up a new revenue stream by enabling the steel stockholder to offer a profile-cutting service.

The SGX was developed specifically to meet the needs of customers such as steel stockholders and fabrication shops requiring compact machines that still offer the reliability and longevity associated with Esab’s larger plasma and oxy-fuel cutting machines.

It features the same plasma system, controller and software, while the Vision T5 touch-screen quickly enables users who are not familiar with automated plasma cutting to get ‘up and running’.

The machine supplied to Franklin Steel can cut mild steel up to 50mm thick, stainless steel up to 25mm thick and aluminium up to 38mm thick. It is suitable for both cutting and marking, and it virtually eliminates the taper that is often associated with plasma-cut holes.

Michael Wallace, sales director at Franklin Steel, says: “When we started to look for a machine to bring profiling in-house, we knew very little about plasma cutting, but Esab explained everything and took the time to find out what we needed to do, so that we would end up with the right machine for our purposes.

“We are now offering much shorter lead times; we previously quoted three to five days, but now we can often deliver profiles the next day if there is an urgent requirement. Customers also appreciate the very high-quality finish on the cut faces.”