Sittingbourne-based LMR Geartech (
www.lmrgeartech.com) — a leader in precision gear cutting and engineering — has experienced a remarkable level of growth (25% in the last year alone).
Managing director Dave Rungay says: “To maintain expansion like we’ve seen, we have continually invested in our equipment and staff. Most recently, this has been seriously ramped up as a result of a large order from London Underground. We now have the largest gear-cutting capacity in the South of England.
“We currently employ 15 full-time staff, including some of the most experienced gear-manufacturing staff in the country, with hundreds of years’ experience between them.”
A £150,000 grant from Kent County Council was matched by LMR; the money was used to extend the machine shop and buy some new CNC machines. In addition, the company has taken on four apprentices from Mid-Kent College and plans to train a further seven over the next five years.
“We feel that training young people is vital for all of our futures. They come in on a day-release basis and have a mentor who teaches them everything, from using a file to programming a CNC machine.
“The recent contract with London Underground was for 2,000 assemblies, and we needed some new equipment to fulfil the order. We’re big fans of Haas machines, so we decided on a Super Mini Mill 2 with a 10,000 rev/min 40-taper spindle, plus an ST-10 lathe with a Y axis.
“Both machines have very compact footprints, so they were ideal for the space we had available. The assemblies are for the Underground’s new ticket paddle gates, which are reversible to keep the flow of passengers at the optimum rate.”