While many household names from aerospace companies to Formula One teams have been
in the headlines for their part
in supporting the UK Government’s call for manufacturers to help increase the supply of ventilators and respiratory equipment to the NHS, behind them is a large group of engineering companies supplying vital components, including Liverpool-based Bryken Precision Engineering (
www.bryken.com).
The C-PAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) devices have been reverse-engineered in just one week from an existing off-patent device by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains and engineers at University College London.
Having received an order for 30,000 components, Bryken had just ten days in which to deliver.
The limited timescale put pressure on the company’s manufacturing capabilities, but with its experience and knowledge gained serving customers across a wide variety of industry sectors, it was quickly able to adapt to meet this short lead-time, high-volume requirement.
The company has clients in many sectors including automotive, construction equipment, oil & gas and power generation.
In addition to the demands placed on its machining capacity, with 14 machines, including twin-spindle turning centres and sliding head lathes being dedicated to the order, availability of tooling was also a major factor in meeting the deadline.
As such, Bryken turned to long-term tooling partner Ceratizit UK & Ireland (
www.certatizit.com) which is able to provide tooling for Covid-19 related projects at very advantageous discounts.
An initial order was placed for over 325 items from the Ceratizit catalogue, including high-performance solid carbide drills, turning inserts and internal grooving and boring bars.
Stewart Taylor, Bryken’s commercial director, said: “The support we have had from Ceratizit UK & Ireland has been brilliant. Following the initial order, we have been asking for additional cutting tools daily, ranging from taps to end mills.
“As always, we received what we ordered the very next morning, with technical support available as and when we needed it.”
He added: “With this initial order for parts from Bryken, complete Mercedes AMG HPP has been able to complete the first 10,000 C-PAP devices.
“The success of this order may lead to follow up business in support of the project.”
The Ceratizit offer is open until 31 August and is available to any engineering company manufacturing ventilator and other related diagnostic equipment for the NHS during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
The offer includes: full technical support with additional support from projects team and applications team; free test tools for cutting trials on ventilator projects; priority handling of orders; free delivery no matter what the value of order is; 70% discount on tools used in the manufacture of ventilators until 31 August; and 180 days for returns, instead of the usual 30 days, to allow for freedom of ordering different tools.
Nigel Walls, Ceratizit UK & Ireland industry solutions engineer, said: “This is a perfect example of why we set up the offer of support to those customers assisting in the fight against Covid-19.
“Our ability to get tools to customers when they need them has always been at the centre of what we do, but we are happy to go that extra distance and support this vital work with tooling discounts and any technical support that a customer may need.”