Cambridge Precision Ltd (CPL) (www.cambridgeprecision.com) — a leading sub-contract high-precision machinist based in St Neots, Cambridgeshire — is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

It specialises in manufacturing complex parts for a growing — and increasingly diverse — domestic and international customer base that includes companies from the aerospace, defence, scientific instrument, X-ray, security, medical, research instrumentation, audio-visual and thermo-imaging sectors.

Although 1976 is relatively recent in historical terms, it is ‘light years away’ when considering the technological advances of the last 40 years. Then, it was still the age of manual machine tools; and despite the emergence of NC machines in the 1960s and CNC machines in the late 1970s, most UK manufacturers continued to put their faith in the ‘more established’ ways of machining parts.

Cambridge Precision — then known as Craychase Ltd and established by Mike Hobbs and Roger Whiteley — started in an ex-RAF ‘prefab’ hut in the Great Gransden area of Cambridgeshire. With a surface grinder and an assortment of manual machines, the fledgling company began by making parts for local customers in the instrumentation and hydraulic-equipment sectors.

In the early 1980s, the company bought its first CNC machine from Mills Marketing Services Ltd — now Leamington-based Mills CNC Ltd (www.millscnc.co.uk).

Mr Hobbs says: “We approached Mills about investing in an Okuma & Howa 5VA vertical machining centre as a means of
increasing our manufacturing capacity and capabilities, having recently moved to larger premises and taken on more staff.

“Facing what was then a massive £78,000 investment, I was nervous about buying the machine. Fortunately, managing director Peter Mills arranged for us to trial it at our facility for three months — free of charge — and that was the start of an enduring partnership between our companies. As for the Okuma & Howa VMC, we sold it in 2010
after 28 years’ service.”

In 1991, Mr Hobbs’s son Richard — together with Nigel Rata — established Cambridge Precision Instruments Ltd, which operated independently, building its own profile, reputation and a strong customer base. In 2003, it merged with Craychase to create Cambridge Precision Ltd, with Richard Hobbs at the helm. During the ensuing period of expansion, CPL maintained its relationships with Mills CNC.

To “stay ahead of the game” and ensure that it maintains a competitive advantage, CPL regularly reviews and benchmarks its performance. This resulted in the recent: streamlining of its manufacturing operations to create dedicated and flexible CNC milling and turning cells; strengthening of its assembly/sub-assembly and testing capabilities; a strategic investment in laser marking technology; and an expansion of its R&D facilities (these are designed to help new and existing customers to design and develop prototypes, as well as prove out methods of manufacture and pre-production processes).

Managing director Richard Hobbs says: “We operate in a highly competitive environment. On-going investment in staff development, systems, processes and plant is critical to maintaining our leading position across all the markets we serve. The creation of dedicated machining cells makes us even more efficient; while the upgrading of our assembly, testing and R&D facilities means we can offer customers a total manufacturing capability ‘from concept through to completion’.

“A significant proportion of the new machine tools we have acquired in recent years have been Doosan vertical machining centres, twin-pallet VMCs and horizontal machining centres — all supplied and serviced by Mills CNC. We have also invested significantly in Doosan lathes and turning centres.”