Lincoln-based manufacturing company
Micrometric is continuing to lead the way in micro laser manufacturing and multi-process services as it celebrates its 40th year in business. With this special anniversary, the company is reflecting on the changes the company has faced and the evolution of services it provides for a range of sectors including medical, aerospace and automotive.
Founded by Maurice Gates and Neil Main, Micrometric began by cutting sheet metal using innovative CO
2 lasers in January 1983 and had a turnover of only £50 in its first month — but this soon changed. Mr Main, now managing director of Micrometric, remembers contracts that changed the services provided by the company. He said: “We were asked by the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell if we could make radiation sensors for detecting alpha radiation. They needed small rectangles cutting and each to have a letter and number and error code that was different on each. At that time our competitors were not able to do this, so we rose to the challenge and successfully produced the parts using our large CO
2 laser (DE) and BBC Micro.”
By 1990, Micrometric Techniques was a precision laser processor, and several industry sectors were asking the company to to produce parts for them, including electronics, gas turbines, food manufacturers, and medical. Most of the medical items were for instrumentation but Micrometric was asked to make one part for a prostate cancer remover.
In 1994 the company moved into a new purpose-built factory on Doddington Road, Lincoln, allowing further expansion. With more space the company invested in new high-tech lasers including its first Bystronic laser which was fast, flexible and precise.
After Mr Main purchased Micrometric in 2004, he faced a great challenge — the biggest customer which accounted for around 25% of turnover in Micrometric’s portfolio bought its own laser. The company’s revenue declined, and it resulted in redundancies.
Recovery took a while before the company was able to invest in new equipment. However, technological advances meant that the new lasers when purchased were ‘state of the art’ and Micrometric was able to produce better quality components more quickly, while upskilling its workforce.
Over the past five years, Micrometric has enjoyed strong growth to meet the demand for precision components, including the Coherent Starcut tube-cutting machine which produces exclusive high-precision medical instruments, and a new Lasercube machine which delivers on quality, precision, speed and efficiency. It is these developments that will allow the team to continue producing high-quality precision components for a range of industrial sectors including medical.
Mr Main is very positive for the future. He continued: “Most things develop out of a need, and we have seen so much change in just the last three years, but customers are still asking for new parts and processes. We are always looking for new ways of expanding our services so there is huge potential for growth in the medical, aerospace and automotive industries.”
Micrometric is AS9100 accredited and is a member of the Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), Make UK, Association of Industrial Laser Users (AILU), The Welding Institute (TWI) and the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA).