Telford-based
Advanced Chemical Etching (ACE), a precision manufacturer, has completed a £350,000 investment drive to boost capacity. The company, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary later this year, has installed two additional single chamber Chemcut etching machines (pictured below) and a ‘state of the art UCE developer for creating quicker and cleaner imaging. It means 325,000 sheets can be produced every year at its Hortonwood facility, a 30% boost in throughput and, importantly, gives it greater flexibility over product lines and increased accuracy.
The company is already looking to boost its market share in electrification, aerospace, medical and filters, targeting expansion opportunities both at home and across the 30 countries it currently serves. Chris Ball, executive director at Advanced Chemical Etching, said: “There has been so much global uncertainty outside of manufacturing’s control, but we have decided to press on with investment in new technology that makes us more agile and gives us scope to take on additional work.
“The two single chamber Chemcut etching machines mean we now have eight on our shopfloor and the developer is a massive upgrade on our previous equipment. These additions will be used on existing orders and new contracts we have in the pipeline, ranging from busbars for electrification to critical components for aircraft and titanium parts that are used to save lives. At our peak last year we could probably process 1,000 sheets every day. Now that figure is comfortably 1,300, which gives us plenty of space to grow and increase revenues.”
Advanced Chemical Engineering, which holds ISO:9001, AS:9100 (aerospace) and ISO:14001 (environmental) quality accreditations, currently employs 70 people. The scope of its activities is far and wide, seeing it produce anything from simple washers to highly complex precision components for a wide variety of applications, including battery interconnects, fuel cell bi-polar plates, battery grids, cooling plates and heating components. All parts are developed and manufactured at its main site in Hortonwood and at the company’s dedicated sister business, ACE Forming Ltd, in Kingswinford.
Managing director Ian Whateley added: “We are definitely seeing a lot more sectors looking to employ just-in-time supply, which means that we have to make sure the products we supply are right first time. In fact, we are currently recording 99.97% RFT – way above the industry average. This is even more impressive when you consider we send parts to customers in 30 countries around the world, including Denmark, Luxembourg, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand and the USA.”
He concluded: “Etching is still not understood by a lot of manufacturing and a big drive for us is educating clients on how they can embrace this engineering discipline. In a lot of applications, we can deliver the same level of performance at a fraction of the cost.”