Tools for the trade

Investing in state-of-the-art production systems is a daunting prospect, both in terms of the costs involved and the operational difficulties of bringing new technology online and up to speed.

The results, however, can often be rapid and startling where it matters most — in new business opportunities and on the financial bottom line.

Stockport-based machining subcontractor CTL Engineering took the leap when it began using Mazak machine tool technology to produce landing gear components for a military aircraft project.

CTL boasts expertise in machining different materials, with components weighing up to 10 tonnes and recently installed three Mazak machines, including two Integrex e-650H-II multi-tasking machine tools.

'These machines have taken us into an area of manufacturing that our existing capacity didn't allow for,' said Ian Booth, CTL's managing director. 'While we already had a large capacity machining capability, it was based around horizontal machining centres and vertical turning lathes. The added flexibility of the Integrex machines is allowing us to quote for work that would previously have been uneconomical for us due to the complexity of components requiring multiple set-ups. Now, with the capability to machine components in a single set-up, we are proving to be highly competitive.'