Gear manufacturer Varatio Ltd (www.varatiouk.co.uk) has been in business since the 1920s — and in Slough since the 1950s.

With around 50 employees, the company produces an average of 50,000 gears per month, and it recently purchased a second LX460AE bandsaw from Prosaw (www.prosaw.co.uk) to help manage growing demand (having purchased the first two years ago).

Varatio can produce gears up to 47mm wide, although most of its gears are 12mm wide. After the billets have been sawn by the bandsaw, they are turned on CNC machines, hobbed, shaved and finally heat-treated to form the finished gear.

Many of its products are used in high-quality diesel engines and industrial gearboxes by companies such as Rolls-Royce. The latest bandsaws from Prosaw replace older models that had become outdated.

Production director Colin Brown said: “The reliability of these machines is a really important requirement for us. We operate on a two-shift basis and produce such large volumes of gears that any small interruption to production can have a highly detrimental effect on our business.

“We are delighted with the performance of our new saws; they have proved to be exceptionally reliable, and the capability to dial in feeds and speeds is a huge saving in set-up time for us.”