Leicestershire-based OLD Engineering is a precision manufacturing sub-contract specialist that has installed 21 new Doosan machines from Mills CNC Ltd, Leamington Spa (www.millscnc.co.uk) since 1995 — seven at the company’s manufacturing facility in Hinckley in the last four years.

The new Doosan machines have helped OLD Engineering to capitalise on the economic upturn, allowing the company to significantly expand and diversify its customer base.

The most recent Doosan acquisitions include a Puma 600 (large-capacity) lathe, two Puma 400 lathes, two Lynx lathes with driven tooling, a VM 960L vertical machining centre and two VC 500 (twin-pallet) vertical machining centres. All are high-productivity, multi-tasking models.

Managing director Mary Topp said: “Multi-tasking machines make us more productive and increase our flexibility. The sectors we serve are highly competitive, so the technology we invest in has to help us make precision parts faster.”

The Doosan machines allow OLD Engineering to manufacture completed parts in fewer set-ups and shorter cycle times — both of which help to reduce operational costs and help the company meet its customers’ stringent delivery schedules.

“It machines precision components from cast iron, aluminium and steel, as well as stainless steels and materials that are more-difficult to machine, for a diverse and growing range of customers operating in the power generation, electronics, fluid power, packaging, automotive and motor-sport sectors. The parts are varied, and volumes range from prototypes to medium-batch production.

Ms Topp adds: “Without multi-tasking machine tools, we would find it difficult to cope. We would have to transfer parts between machines; and as well as such action potentially affecting component accuracies, the resulting bottlenecks would seriously compromise our operational efficiency.”

Flexibility is particularly important to OLD Engineering; since the early 1980s it has manufactured a range of parts for a diesel engine OEM, becoming a preferred supplier to this company — a position it still holds— during the 1990s.

“While we value this customer’s business, we don’t want to become too dependent on it. If it slowed for any reason, the effect would be damaging to us. Conversely, we need to ensure that an increase in work for this customer would not take capacity to the detriment of our other customers.”

OLD Engineering’s investment in Doosan multi-tasking machines means that it has more than enough machining capability and capacity to cope, should its diesel engine customer ramp up production. The new machines have also enabled the company to secure profitable work from a range of new and existing customers that would more than offset any dip in business from the diesel engine OEM.