ENGINEERING
CUTTING EDGE
High-tech – SM Thompson managing director Harvey Thompson with the firm ’ s new state-of-the-art laser profile machine .
Middlesbrough firm invests in stateof-the-art laser machine
WORDS : PHILIP TALLENTIRE PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH
An ambitious Teesside steel plate processor is reaping the rewards after investing in a new 12kW laser cutting machine . SM Thompson , which is based at Dormor Way , South Bank , installed the state-of-the-art piece of equipment in December and have already seen orders from customers increase .
The major financial investment comes from the firm ’ s desire to give its clients the best possible service .
Managing director Harvey Thompson is rightly proud of the high accuracy laser profile machine , which employs the latest laser technology to neatly slice through steel sheets up to 50mm thick .
“ Lasers , in the past , have only been on the thinner end of the cutting spectrum , from 2mm to 20mm ,” he explains . “ Now the technology has come on so far that lasers can cut plate that ’ s 30mm , 40mm , even 50mm thick .
“ No one else in the region is offering this capability yet ,” he continues . “ The accuracy is so good and we know that ’ s the way the market ’ s going and it ’ s what the customer wants .
“ Our aim is to stay one step ahead of the market in the North-East , to stay at the forefront of what we do in the region .”
In simple terms , SM Thomson is a plate steel specialist . At its expanding Marathon Works headquarters , skilled workers cut steel and roll steel into a variety of shapes and sizes . That can mean working with mild steel and stainless steel as well as aluminium , titanium , brass and copper .
The company has the capability to cut through sheets up to 350mm thick using flame cutting , while plasma cutting is also a viable option for certain jobs .
But laser cutting technology is improving year on year and , as Harvey points out , delivers a very accurate , highspec finish .
“ What the laser does is it cuts accurately . Lasers have come on leaps and bounds and accurate cutting is where the technology ’ s going ,” adds Harvey .
“ Lasers are more efficient as well . They use less energy than traditional methods , so that reduces running costs and our carbon footprint .
“ It ’ s an evolution of the technology that already existed . Lasers have been around for the best part of 25 years in steel industry profiling . Back then they used different technology to produce the laser . It wasn ’ t the most cost-effective method and it made laser cutting expensive . “ About 10 years ago the laser manufacturers went down a different route , using a fibre-optic to get the laser to do the cutting , and that greatly improved the efficiency and made the process much more cost-effective .
“ The last few years we ’ ve seen a massive growth in 6kW , 12kW , even 40kW lasers , something that would have been unheard of even five years ago .
“ We bought our first 6kW laser less than three years ago and that was state of the art then . In less than three years we ’ ve traded that machine in to buy a 12kW machine .”
The speed of technological advances means companies like SM Thompson can ’ t stand still and that ’ s why it is firmly committed to investing in new equipment and training .
“ The staff have quickly adapted to the new machine and have been impressed by its capability to cut through the thicker widths of materials ,” confirms Harvey .
“ The bed size is 4m x 2m but that is classed as large for a laser . We ’ ve gone for more capacity to give us greater flexibility when costing jobs for clients . We ’ ve had the machine since December and we ’ re seeing an increase in orders and enquiries .
“ Our philosophy ever since we started has been to stay right at the forefront by investing in new equipment and moving with the times .”
In addition to spending on equipment , SM Thompson is also investing in infrastructure . The family firm , which was established in 1950 , moved to South Bank from Newport Bridge in 2015 and has made significant improvements to the site and this year will construct a new purpose-built building for its latest laser profile machine . For more information visit smthompson . co . uk
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