Worcestershire-base Barton Cold-Form, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of bespoke critical fastenings and special cold forgings and also the UK manufacturing division of Optimas Solutions — has announced machinery and technology upgrades totalling over £2.6 million.

Operating from a ‘state of the art’ 55,000ft² facility in Droitwich, the investment has enabled the manufacturer to substantially increase capability, capacity and solidify its position as a world-class market leader in the production of highly engineered, bespoke fastening solutions.

The company has bolstered its already strong machinery line-up with the addition of advanced Nedschroef NH518L and NH515 five die cold formers, a Smart NG W40 SEMS thread roller and a Smart NP 24-DD pointing machine.

The Nedschroef cold heading machines enable Barton to produce fasteners with an increased range of dimensions - between 6-175mm length, 2-18mm diameter, and in even greater volumes, yielding upwards of 7,000 fasteners per hr.

The Smart Machinery NG W40 thread roller and NP 24-DD pointer, both capable of handling a wide range of sizes, perfectly compliment the Nedschroef cold formers by offering increased levels of speed, reliability and exceptional levels of quality.

This cutting-edge machinery accompanies a high-performance Takamaz XY 120 Plus CNC bar turn machine, ensuring that Barton can provide a diverse and comprehensive range of services including integrated engineering, rapid prototyping and quality testing capabilities for quick turnrounds and full-scale production.

Much of Barton’s current output is supplied to OEMs and Tier One automotive customers, and increasingly, in support of the dynamic challenges posed by the rapid adoption of cleaner electrification technologies (vehicles, charging stations and infrastructure).

Fasteners are also frequently manufactured and designed to customers requirements in a variety of industry sectors, from defence and construction to aerospace and medical. Due to the growing demand for superior quality products, and the supply chain stability that localised sourcing affords, the company is also the manufacturer of choice for many other fastener distributors throughout the UK.

Aaron Milborrow, director of manufacturing at Barton Cold-Form, said: “We work continuously to provide customers with comprehensive fastening solutions that meets their needs and our latest investment in new machinery ensures we are well equipped to deliver ever more complex projects.

“The addition of this new technology will help increase efficiency and value offered to customers looking to satisfy their requirements for a reliable, single and localised source.”