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WWW.AERO-MAG.COM 30 AEROSPACEMANUFACTURING | MARCH 2013
METALLICS I MACHINING
High flying machinery
Suppliers to the highly competitive aerospace sector are always searching for ways to increase production efficiency and reduce machine downtime. Yamazaki Mazak has helped keep one company stay ahead of the game for over 25 years.
B
ob Ringham, managing director of Manx Engineers, possesses a wealth of manufacturing experience within the aerospace market. “We work within a fast paced
industry where attention to detail is paramount,” begins Ringham. “We are constantly under pressure to find better and faster ways of completing our processes to keep up with the demands of our clients.” Established in 1947, Manx Engineers machines a wide variety
of turned and milled parts for the aerospace, medical, subsea and oil and gas markets. However, aerospace accounts for 75% of its machining output. The company employs 22 staff at its Isle of Man facility which is strategically located within touching distance of the UK aerospace industry’s life stream, the North West of England.
One step ahead Despite the aerospace industry’s demand for high quality parts, one of the biggest challenges faced by British suppliers is the need to constantly stay ahead of foreign competition. “Whilst our Eastern European competitors may be able
to offer a lower cost per part, the reality is that it’s not that simple,” says Ringham. “British manufacturing has a solid track record of providing the precision made parts. End manufacturers have to understand that putting price before quality can only cause issues further down the supply chain, which could lead to potentially lethal consequences. It is important to take into account the ‘total cost of acquisition’ of a part as transport and management costs are often forgotten or hidden when considering foreign parts. Those companies are also not always able to offer fast response times if required.
Bob Ringham, Manx Engineers’ managing director with the company’s most recent Mazak machine, a Hyper Quadrex 200 MSY
“Quality control is highly important when machining parts for our aerospace clients and there’s absolutely no room for error. We’ve built up an excellent reputation within the industry over the past 60 years.” Manx Engineers’ reputation is endorsed by a string of
noteworthy accreditations, including AS9100 Rev-C and BS EN ISO 9001: 2008; as well as individual customer accreditations. “However, the bottom line is that we continually need to be producing precise parts to the highest of standards for our clients,” says Ringham. Due to the complex nature of the parts required by many of
Manx Engineers’ clients, traditionally the company had to use a combination of different machines. “Whilst this set-up enabled us to produce parts to the required precision, in reality it was a time consuming process and required our staff be trained across a range of machines,” says Ringham. “The company knew the machining strategy could be re-evaluated to optimise
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