Poole-based Cooney South, founded in 2017 after a merger of the metal fabrication department of Sunseeker and Cooney Marine, has seen significant growth in its business, supplying precision stainless steel and aluminium components to super-yacht manufacturers in the UK.

The company has recently invested in a Timesavers 22 WW Series dry-finishing and deburring machine, supplied by Christchurch-based Ellesco Ltd to remedy a decline in quality of the polished stainless and aluminium sheet material being supplied to it (www.ellesco.co.uk).

Managing director James Cooney (www.cooneysouth.co.uk) said: “With the quality of raw material dropping, we were having to scrap components after laser cutting, due to the finish not meeting customer expectations.

“At the same time, we were under pressure to take quality to the next level — in terms of polished finish — by our customers in the super-yacht sector.”

This led to an increase in hand polishing of components, but it was soon recognised that some automation was required.

As sister company Cooney Marine was already operating a Timesavers machine at its Kettering facility, the initial plan was to transfer work between the two locations.

After further discussion, the decision was taken to invest in a second machine.

Cooney South production manager Chris Sleet said: “Our existing Timesavers machine was a single-head variant, and as we wanted to increase throughput, we looked at buying a three-head version of the Timesavers 22 Series.

"When we visited Ellesco’s facility to carry out trials on our components, we were drawn to the two-head machine; and after experimenting with a variety of belts with different grit sizes, we discovered that the two-head machine was more than twice as productive as the single-head unit we have at Kettering.

"It was also much less expensive than the three-head variant, so it would save a considerable amount of money.

“Not only that, but with the twin-head being in stock, it could be delivered quickly to help us with an urgent order.”