Running a business their own way was always the dream for brothers Ben and Matt Wesley, and it became a reality last year, when they founded Kent-based ProSpeed Precision, a sub-contract machining company that specialises in reverse engineering and takes on complex jobs that other engineers typically shy away from.

After registering the company name, they organised funding, looked for suitable premises and finalised their CNC needs by visiting the Haas stand at MACH 2018 (www.prospeedprecision.co.uk).

Six weeks after buying a new factory in Ramsgate, the brothers invested in a Haas VF-4SS Super-Speed vertical machining centre, with a 12,000rev/min spindle and a 30+1 high-speed side-mounted tool changer.

They opted to add through-spindle coolant and Autodesk’s Fusion 360 high-speed machining software for greater versatility.

Ben said: “We wanted the very latest machine on the market — something ‘state of the art’, with a full set of features.

“We needed to future-proof our business as much as possible, and the Haas mill fitted the bill.”

After its first three months of trading, ProSpeed had over a dozen customers on its books, ranging from motor-sport to manufacturing and fabrication.

With both brothers still holding down full-time jobs elsewhere, time is at a premium.

“We’re focusing on making the parts other companies find too difficult. We recently did a job for some
machines that recycle copper cables. We did the plate work and blade holders; there were some very complex compound angles involved.

“I’ve worked on Haas machines for over 10 years, and they were the only brand I wanted in our workshop. I thought I knew them inside out, but I was surprised by how far they have developed in that time.

"The rigidity and accuracy keep us well within tolerances, and the tool change speed on our machine is fantastic.

"In addition, the next-generation control is user-friendly, with some brilliant time-saving features.”