Redditch-based
Redhill Manufacturing, an access equipment manufacturer, has purchased two British-built all-electric tube bending machines from
Unison Ltd, along with two fibre laser cutting machines from Unison’s sister company,
Nukon Lasers UK. The new machines will be used by Redhill to meet increased demand for its products, with one of the tube benders replacing a machine that was lost in a factory fire in May 2022.
The first of the new fibre lasers, a Nukon ECO 315 4kW flat sheet metal machine, was installed at Redhill’s newly acquired facility in December 2022. The second laser, a Nukon NKT-125 2kW 3-D tube cutting model, and the two Unison tube bending machines — both 30mm tube diameter single stack models — will be installed later in 2023. Combined, the value of the four machines is in excess of £1 million.
Following the fire at its previous manufacturing site, Redhill wasn’t simply faced with finding new premises but also quality CNC machine tools to maintain its standing as the only UK manufacturer of ‘kitemarked’ British Standard mobile safety steps.
Andy Colley, Redhill’s managing director, said: “Incredibly, we were up and running again in just three weeks following the fire. With temporary accommodation secured until we could move into our new manufacturing facility in winter 2022, and the insurance settled, we basically needed to rapidly source new tube bending machinery. This was because only one of our existing benders had survived the fire. It also seemed a good idea to end our reliance on outsourced laser-cut parts at the same time by investing in our own flat sheet and laser tube cutting capability.
Mr Colley added: “I had read good things about Unison’s range of all-electric ‘Breeze’ tube-bending machines, so got in touch with the company with a view to ordering two new machines — one to replace the machine we had lost and a second for additional capacity. As it would be several months before the new bending machines were ready, Unison kindly offered to lend us one of their showroom models. This was just what we needed to tide us over until the new tube benders were built.”
It was during a meeting with Unison’s key account manager, Steve Haddrell, to discuss the specification of Redhill Manufacturing’s two new all-electric Breeze tube benders, that the conversation turned to laser cutting. Mr Colley continued: “I obviously had a requirement for two fibre laser machines but wasn’t aware that Unison’s sister company had recently become the UK and Ireland distributor for the Nukon laser range. As I didn’t really know the Nukon brand, Steve arranged to take me to a company in Sheffield that had been using a Nukon flat sheet metal laser for around a year — all so I could see the machine in action and chat to the operators about their experience of using it.”
The build quality was very good On hearing glowing reports of how the Nukon fibre laser had streamlined the process of cutting complex precision components at the Sheffield business, Mr Colley then travelled to Nukon’s European manufacturing facility in Turkey to see further machines in action. Mr Colley said: “The tube laser machine was just as impressive as the machine I had seen in Sheffield. The build quality was very good and both machines were competitively priced, and featured nLIGHT fibre lasers with adaptive beam optimisation and Lantek Expert nesting software. What really gave me the confidence to place an order, however, was my belief that if Unison was happy to be associated with Nukon, there was absolutely no need for me to be concerned about machine quality or after-sales support — they were a given.”
Redhill Manufacturing chose the Nukon ECO 315 4kW 3,050 x 1,530mm flat sheet metal fibre laser for its ability to cut complex shapes and pieces with speed and precision — supported by fast, easy programming, an essential requirement for a business dealing with small batch runs. Similarly, the Nukon NKT-125 2kW 3-D tube laser machine was selected for its speed, easy programming and exceptional versatility whether cutting pipe of round, oval, square or rectangular profile. The machine will also be supplied with a fully automatic Nukon 8m loading and unloading system.
Redhill’s two 30mm Unison Breeze single-stack tube-bending machines will be used in the manufacture of its British Standard (BS EN 131-7) kitemarked steps which includes mobile steps, portable steps and other access equipment. All Unison Breeze machines offer rapid set up, fast tooling changes, exceptional power, rigid mechanical design and all-electric control for ‘right-first-time’ repeat sub-contract work, or immediately after producing a single trial part.
Mr Colley added: “The installation of our Nukon ECO flat sheet metal laser was smooth and straightforward. While thanks to the machine’s easy set up and the thorough training provided by the Nukon Lasers UK team, we were successfully cutting components almost immediately — a benefit that gave us excellent quality control and allowed us to stop outsourcing laser cutting. We are now looking forward to the arrival of our second Nukon laser and the Unison tube benders in the next few months.”
Mr Haddrell concluded: “It was a pleasure to assist Redhill Manufacturing in upscaling its manufacturing. When we heard how the business had lost one of its tube benders, we simply had to help out with a loan machine.”