From left: James Harrison, Unison Ltd; Andy Bedford, Total Hydraulic Solutions Ltd; and Steve Chambers, Unison Ltd

New Zealand-based Total Hydraulic Solutions Ltd (THS) which is based in Rotorua, has purchased a brand new all-electric ‘Breeze’ 65mm single-stack tube bending machine from North Yorkshire-based Unison Ltd, the inventor of all-electric tube manipulation.

THS modifies new excavators from leading global brands such as John Deere, Caterpillar, Hyundai and Kobelco to accept forestry harvesting equipment, and also provides a wide range of maintenance and support services for users of hydraulic equipment. Currently being shipped to New Zealand, the Unison Breeze machine will be used to manufacture small batch runs of heavy gauge tubular components from either stainless steel, black schedule steel or carbon steel. It will replace an older hydraulic tube bender that has been in operation at the Rotorua site for several years.

While visiting Unison’s headquarters in Scarborough for factory acceptance testing of his company’s new Unison Breeze machine, Andy Bedford, THS Ltd’s joint owner, said: “The obvious question people will ask is why we chose to travel halfway around the world to buy a new tube bender. The fact is, after considering machines from several manufacturers and dismissing those which failed to meet our exacting requirements for quality, reliability, repeatability and support, we were directed to the Unison website by a company we know and respect in Australia.”

Robust single-stack machine
He continued: “A conversation with Unison’s sales projects manager, Steve Chambers, then followed. Steve clearly understood our need for a robust single-stack machine that offered easy set up, rapid programming and fast tooling changes — all essential as, with small production runs, we typically need to change bend tooling up to 20 times a day.

“In our busy manufacturing facility, the near-silent operation of an all-electric machine was also highly appealing, while Unison’s intuitive Unibend CNC meant training future operators would be very straightforward. Appreciating our desire to keep costs under control, Unison also offered to adapt our existing tooling so it could be used on our new Breeze machine. Impressed with Unison, the quality of its machines, its approach and its global support network, we placed the order.”

The Unison Breeze all-electric tube-bending machine was chosen by THS for its ability to quickly, quietly and precisely produce the multiple components required by the business on a daily basis. Like all Unison Breeze tube-bending machines, the 65mm Breeze offers 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.

These are all attributes that Unison believes make its Breeze models the ultimate tube manipulation machines for businesses specialising in small batch runs. It is also equipped with Unison’s recently upgraded Unibend software, which offers cycle time speed improvements in the region of 25% compared to earlier versions, and incorporates new teach routine and simulation features.

Mr Chambers concluded: “It was a pleasure to assist THS in purchasing the new Unison Breeze all-electric tube bender that will fulfil both their current and future tube bending needs. We look forward to commissioning the new Breeze machine in Rotorua in the coming weeks and training the THS team in its use. Going forward, the business will also benefit from first-class support from our regional representatives, as well as from our UK headquarters.”