The UK turned parts contract machining specialist Precision Products has weathered recent turbulence well. Turnover for 2022 is ahead of target, and profitability increased following a detailed analysis of cost structure and working practices by managing director Sally Thorley, enabling the company to quote more competitive prices. Two additional staff have been appointed: finance manager Charlotte Turner and Sales and Estimating Engineer Sean Keet.
Extra business received from UK sources has helped the company achieve a positive result, including machining families of stainless steel spindles, studs, and end caps to tight tolerances for top-end mountain bike pedals manufactured by Pembree Heathfield, East Sussex. An increase in direct exports has also boosted turnover by 12%.
Mrs Thorley: “Brexit has had very little impact on our business practices…on the contrary, it has helped UK manufacturing by making domestic OEMs less likely to source components from abroad. We already see increased orders from companies that traditionally use continental European subcontractors. Moreover, the problems that Asian suppliers are experiencing due to the pandemic result in more work for UK subcontractors.”
On the shop floor, the company’s Citizen Cincom slider with LFV (low-frequency vibration) software for automatically chip breaking difficult materials arrived in early 2020. The 20mm bar capacity L20-VIIILFV with B- and Y-axes allows technically challenging components to be produced more efficiently from normally long-chipping plastics and stainless steels.
Mrs Thorley sats customers are increasingly asking for components produced from both materials, with plastics being used more for medical work, while stainless steel accounts for as much as 40% of throughput.
