Christchurch-based Peter Day Precision Engineers (www.peterday.co.uk) has invested in the latest CNC technology to help it meet a 20% growth in orders.

The company — part of the Venture Precision Engineering Group (VPEG) — has installed a Nakamura WY150 from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) (www.engtechgroup.com) at its 14,000ft² facility.

This machine’s twin-spindle twin-turret configuration gives the company the ability to eliminate many secondary operations, making the overall ‘turning’ process quicker and more cost-effective.

General manager Pete Makosa said: “Our work is very much around manufacturing complex machined components that have
to perform in demanding environments, whether that is in the aerospace, oil and gas or medical sector.

"We have seen a 20% increase in orders over the last 12 months, which will allow VPEG to achieve a £10 million turnover this year.

“Combined with a strong pipeline of future orders, this meant that we needed additional CNC turning capabilities, so we asked long-term supplier ETG to come up with a solution.

"Our first Nakamura — a Super NTJ — was installed in 2010, so we know how reliable they are — and that they offer fast metal removal rates while still holding tight limits. The WY150 is a very impressive machine — and a very big plus for us.”

The new machine was installed in June, and it is already having the desired effect of freeing up capacity and meeting increased volumes generated by the recent clutch of contract wins.

Technical experts from ETG took just five days to install and configure the WY150, with two staff now fully trained and getting the most out of the new technology.