North West Precision Engineering company, Merc Engineering UK Ltd, invests vast amounts to secure new orders in the Aerospace Market.
In order to sustain the company’s impressive rate of growth and facilitate the ever increasing work load, Merc Engineering has been investing heavily in state-of-the-art machinery over the past 15 months with a total of 6 new CNC machines worth a total of £766,000. Industry downturn announcements for 2008-2009 have not slowed down Merc’s investments, and Merc’s Managing Director, Les Nuttall visited the MACH show in April to finalise the acquisition of a second Doosan Puma MX2000 ST 13-axis Mill-Turn Centre, offering the capability to produce complex parts in one hit.
With tougher competition from Eastern Europe and South-East Asia, Mr Nuttall believes that investments in state-of-the-art machinery and highly skilled people will provide the necessary drive to push the Company towards its target status as a World Class Manufacturer, enabling it to provide its customers with the best product and service possible, and secure the Company’s place in the future precision market.
Merc’s investments do are not restricted to the purchase of new machinery. In order to speed up Merc’s expansion in the Aerospace market, the company recently acquired local company Bright Spark Engineering and their property for a value of £1.2 million.
Bright Spark Engineering has significant expertise in 5-axis horizontal machining and it counts the Aerospace industry as one of its most prolific markets serving various prestigious Aerospace groups. The Aerospace sector can be extremely competitive and most of the components supplied are complex in nature and require very tight deadlines as well as critical tolerances.
Bright Spark believes its position as a recognised supplier to the Aerospace sector is due to its investment in technology as well as the flexibility and technical know-how of its people. The company is approved to the AS 9100 Aerospace standard, and they have been responsible for producing components for all manner of Aerospace and aircraft interior devices including military seating, commercial seating, and bed seats for Virgin’s first class cabins.
“With Bright Spark on board, and with AS 9100, I know we can make this market a big success for us. Aircraft manufacturers require suppliers they can rely on at any time, who can produce the high quality of parts required for such a critical industry,” says Mr Nuttall.
Merc already benefits from a history of manufacturing parts for the Aerospace Industry, having manufactured parts for Rolls Royce for over 15 years. Merc however specialises in the military side of the Aerospace market, having been involved in the prototyping and development of prestigious projects such as the ASRAAM missile and the 1000lb Bomb for Royal Ordnance. Merc is currently going through the process of getting approved to AS 9100 in order to secure more aerospace contracts for flying parts.
The combination of the EDM Charmilles section at Merc Engineering with the Mazak Integrex and Horizontal Machining Centres at Bright Spark has boosted the group’s performance and productivity for a range of Aerospace components and working to extremely tight tolerances is something that is part of the day-to-day running of both companies.
Merc will be showcasing their recent success at the 46th year of the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2008. The company has booked a stand on the NWAA (North West Aerospace Alliance) pavilion, stand D14, Hall 1. Now held bi-annually, the Show will celebrate its 60th Anniversary, as it was held for the very first time at the Farnborough Aerodrome in 1948. Merc is confident that the show will lead to an increased profile in the Aerospace industry.