Jason Aldridge, Managing Director of
Arrowsmith Engineering, commented: “I’m
a big fan of automation and don’t’ sign
up to the notion that it’s taking jobs - if
anything it will make us more competitive
so we can take additional people on.
“The Doosan CNC machining centre and
cobot system is our first investment in
robotics and has been configured to suit
our specific requirements for 24-hour
manufacturing on a complex component
for the aerospace sector.
“It has removed the need for an operator
to load and unload the parts and this
person has gone on to a different
production process that is more skilled.
This is just the start of what we hope will
be a continuous investment drive in robots
at our factory on Bayton Road.”
He continued: “It’s made us 15% quicker
and given us a 50% capacity boost, that’s
some payback already. Automation
shouldn’t be seen as something that
only the big boys do… SMEs can access
it cost-effectively and we need to ‘grasp
the nettle’ in order to bring the UK’s
productivity up and in line with our
international rivals.”
Arrowsmith Engineering is a specialist in
precision turning, milling, thread rolling
and grinding, providing components to
aerospace tier 1s and primes in titanium,
nimonics, stainless steel, exotic metal and
engineering plastics.
The company, which has been supported
by Coventry University and Coventry City
Council on its latest investment, supplies
parts that are used all over the world in
aerospace engines, landing gears and air
frame.
It has been able to overcome Brexit
uncertainty to boost its export business by
400%, thanks mainly to delivering world
class manufacturing performance, with ‘On
Time In Full’ at 98.5% and quality running
at 99.95% for the past twelve months.
This level of continuing operational
excellence has seen it recently secure the
Supply Chains for the 21st Century (SC21)
Silver Award for the third consecutive year,
which has contributed to it becoming one
of the first firms to be entered into the
Competitiveness & Growth Programme.
Jason continued: “It’s all about pushing the
boundaries in what we want to achieve,
challenging our staff to drive growth by
giving them access to training and the
best technology.”
He concluded: “The SC21 Silver Award
is a great achievement for our business
and proves that SMEs can compete with
the best in the world when it comes to
manufacturing excellence. This is just the
start; we want to be at £9m by the end of
2020 and then looking at how we break
the £10m barrier before too much longer.”
For further information, please visit
www.arrowsmitheng.co.uk
Issue 39 PECM
39