Fife Engineering Company’s Major Investment - FiFab’s New Machine Punches above its Weight

Subcon exhibitor Fife Fabrications Ltd (stand C23), has commissioned a new £700,000 machine which the company believes will enable it to compete with the burgeoning producers in the low cost areas of the world.

The state of the art TruPunch 5000 sheet metal punching centre, the first to be installed in the UK, was switched on by Councillor Tony Martin, Chair of Environment and Transport at Fife Council and Dr Peter T Hughes, Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering.

The investment is the latest step in the company’s £2.5 million pound redevelopment plan which has seen the company grow into one of the top technological market leaders in the Europe.

The six figure expenditure has enabled Fife Fabrications to install the world’s most productive and energy efficient punching machine in its Glenrothes factory.

Archie Smith, Fife Fabrications’ managing director, told us “Britain’s manufacturing industry has been very hard hit by low cost manufacturing competitors in the Europe/Far East who are able to use their incredibly cheap labour costs to undercut UK manufacturers. There is only one way to handle this and that is through radically improving our skills, productivity and manufacturing flexibility. I am incredibly proud of the Fife Fabrications team who share my vision of how we must continually improve. We believe that the provision of the highest quality and service across our operation will drive our success. Our continuous improvement systems, key performance indicators, dedication to Lean Manufacturing and Total Quality Management focuses every employee’s attention on the need to maintain the highest possible standards of excellence.”