Leamington Spa-based Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, counts a diverse and growing number of precision component manufacturers among its customer base.

The company, renowned for the depth and breadth of its machine tool range and for its first-class after-sales service, is not only often the first and automatic choice for many OEMs, Tier One suppliers and precision sub-contractors, but increasingly it has also become the first port of call for many start-up engineering companies.

One such company is Gateshead-based EAG Precision Ltd, a precision engineering specialist, which was established in March 2019 — within its first three months of operation, it had invested in ten new Doosan machine tools all supplied by Mills CNC.

Operating from its 14,000ft² facility in Ryton-on-Tyne, the company is privately owned and specialises in the small- and medium-batch production of complex, high-precision parts for a wide range of industry sectors including defence, marine, medical and renewables.

Complex turnkey projects
EAG Precision has moved fast; it has already achieved ISO 9001:2015 approval and specialises in machining complex components and protoypes to tight tolerances and exacting surface finishes for customers based in the UK and the USA. The company, also designs, manages and implements complex turnkey projects for its customers.

To maintain its growth and profitability the company relies on the expertise of its engineers and the advanced machine tool technologies it has at its disposal — a majority of which have been supplied by Mills CNC.

Dave Graham, EAG’s managing director, said: “Although EAG Precision started trading in March 2019, a great deal of preliminary planning was initiated and completed well before the launch. The strategic business plan we created, and which we used to help obtain funding for the new company, was both robust and ambitious.”

Covering all aspects of the business, the plan identified key markets and customers and also how EAG would approach and build relationships with them. It also highlighted the company’s key capital equipment investment plans, that included the number and type of advanced CNC machine tools it would be looking to acquire both initially and in subsequent years.

He added: “There were, and still are, three guiding principles that direct all our company operations: delivering high-quality manufacturing solutions to customers; providing a rapid response in order to meet customers’ requirements efficiently and effectively; and ensuring value for money as well as cost efficiencies. Everything we do is measured and benchmarked against these principles.”

The directors and senior management team at EAG Precision have over 100 years’ collective experience of working in the precision manufacturing sector. Their knowledge and expertise is invaluable when approaching potential customers to secure new machining contracts and orders. This experience was also critical when identifying and selecting the right machine tools that would meet EAG Precision’s immediate and future requirements.

Although the company canvassed the market looking for the best-performing and best-value machine tools available, the directors’ previous positive experiences of dealing with Mills CNC and of using Doosan machines put Mills in pole position.

Mr Graham continued: “We knew that owing to the depth and breadth of the Doosan machine tool range we would be able to find machines perfectly suited to our needs and requirements. It was also a big positive, especially for a new start-up in terms of time and logistics, if the machines could be acquired from a single source.”

Many start-ups initially invest in used or pre-owned machines to get up and running but EAG opted to invest in new machine tools from day one. Mr Graham explained: “The cost differential between used and new is not as great as one might think. We decided on new Mills CNC machines as they were competitively priced and were backed by full warranties and Mills’ leading applications and after-sales support services.

“We were also able to take advantage of Mills CNC’s machine tool financing operation, which gave us access to flexible capital equipment funding packages.”

Mills CNC’s stock policy means that many machines — over 70 at any given time — are available from its Campus facility in Leamington Spa ready for immediate delivery to customers in the UK and Ireland.

Mr Graham added: “It was important that we hit the ground running from day one as we had already secured machining contracts from a number of customers. The ability to order and get our machines delivered, commissioned and installed in double-quick time was critical.”

To improve operational efficiencies, optimise manufacturing flexibility and help with leadtime fulfilment, EAG invested in a number of advanced and proven multi-tasking Doosan machines.

These included Lynx long bed lathes with Y axes, sub-spindles and driven tools, a large-capacity Puma lathe with full mill-drill capability, Doosan DNM machining centres supplied with 4th-axis units and a high-productivity twin-pallet vertical machining centre.

All ten Doosan machines purchased by EAG are equipped with Fanuc controls which enables programmes to be transferred quickly and seamlessly between machines when required and as such prevents production bottlenecks from occurring.

EAG Precision machines precision components for a wide range of sectors and customers and as a consequence parts are made from a range of materials including steels, aluminium alloys, duplex and stainless steels, plastics, inconels and titanium. The Doosan machines, with their rigid structure, build characteristics and advanced spindle technology are versatile and capable of machining such diverse materials to high geometric tolerances and surface finishes.

Mr Graham continued: “The Doosan machines provide us with manufacturing flexibility. Our DNM machining centres enable us to machine prismatic parts (up to 1 x 1 x 1m), and the largest of our Doosan lathes provides us with a maximum turning diameter of 550mm.”

Start-up companies are increasingly turning to Mills CNC to help them with their machine tool and, more recently, their automation requirements.

Mr Graham concluded: “We are delighted with our Doosan machine tools and the level of service we receive from Mills CNC.”