Back in 1979, a decision to diversify into selling plastic packaging led an entrepreneurial greengrocer in Staffordshire to lay down the foundations for Kenson Industrial Plastics Ltd.

Kevin Hutcheson, the son of the company’s founder and now managing director, has since redirected the Cannock-based business from packaging into machining plastic rods and tubes, and it now has a host of CNC turning centres.

Its latest acquisition is a DT26 turning centre from Coalville-based Tornos UK Ltd (www.tornos.com/uk).

Kenson purchased its first CNC machine over 25 years ago to complement its capstan lathes, and the company now has nine turning centres at its disposal.

Machining spacers, rollers, washers, threaded gears, insulating pads and machine guarding from materials such as nylon, delrin, ertalyte, polyethylene and other plastics, the ISO:9001 company produces anything from small batches up to production runs beyond 10,000-off, and it is here that the Tornos DT26 has made all the difference.

Before the arrival of this machine, the monthly quantity was tying up one of the company’s 65mm-capacity single-spindle turning centres for three weeks every month.

Mr Hutcheson said: “The parts being machined are only 12mm in diameter. We looked at all the sliding-head suppliers as well as a few other options, but the Tornos DT26 fitted our business perfectly.

"Other sliding-head suppliers recommended using neat oil, which is standard for sliding-head machines, but Tornos said we could run the machine with either soluble or neat oil.

“As we machine plastic parts, we don’t want them stained by oil, nor do we want to clean oil from them; Tornos had instantly tipped the scales in its favour.”