Lincoln Precision Engineering Ltd (LPE) is reaping the benefits of specialising in both CNC machining and laser cutting and bending.

The company has been on a trajectory of growth since it was established by Trevor Wherrell in 1988, expanding into a new 16,200ft² factory earlier this year and investing in new laser and folding equipment from Luton-based Trumpf Ltd (www.trumpf.com).

Mr Wherrell said: “We started out as a machining company and later got into laser cutting. I think the laser cutting is now taking over slightly, but we still have a big emphasis on machining.

"One complements the other, so we have machining customers that now use our laser services and vice versa. Additionally, some parts that are laser-cut will also need machining.

"Turnover has increased massively, with work coming in from all angles; this includes machining, folding and laser cutting. It is this influx of work that has allowed us to progress to where we are now.”

To support its sheet-metal customer base, LPE has invested in a Trumpf TruLaser 3030, a TruLaser 5030 BrightLine Fiber and a TruBend 3120 — joined recently by a TruLaser 5040 BrightLine Fiber, a TruBend 5170 and also a TruBend 7036.

Company director Aron Wherrell, who was the driving force behind the arrival of the TruLaser 5040, said: “We had been running our other fibre laser successfully for three to four years, but we needed to cut larger jobs, so we’ve gone for a 4 x 2m bed size and an extra kW of output as well.

“The high-power laser ensures that our quality is 100% all the time.”