MACH 2016Just days before MACH 2016 opened at the NEC, Sub-CNC Precision won a contract to produce 30,000 parts destined for the nuclear industry, so the two directors of the company used their time at the exhibition deciding which CNC sliding-head turn-mill centre best suited their needs.

A key consideration was finding a machine that was available immediately and could be installed rapidly, as they had to meet an eight-week deadline.

Director Yian Stavrou said: “We had the enquiry, quoted and had to machine prototypes on existing Citizen machines, then wait for conformance testing. This led to the contract for a family of 22 parts in 316 stainless steel being
received on the Thursday before the show; we needed extra capacity to meet the deadline imposed by the customer.”

Fellow director George Dingley said: “We viewed all the sliding-head machines at the show and found the specification of the latest Citizen Cincom L32-XII was perfect for these parts, so we placed the order on the show stand and took delivery of the machine that was being demonstrated.”

Sub-CNC Precision was set up by Yian and George in Luton in 2009 with one Citizen L20 sliding-head machine (www.citizenmachinery.co.uk). Within six months, a fixed-head lathe and a further sliding-head machine were installed.

Eight years on — with new purpose-built facilities in Dunstable — the company employs eight people; it has grown at a rate of 30% a year over the past two years.