Dundee-based GA Engineering Sliding Head, has made a six-figure investment in two new Star Micronics sliding head lathes to strengthen its offering to its global base of valued customers. GA Engineering Sliding Head is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pryme Group, an integrated manufacturing service provider with five manufacturing sites across England and Scotland, which includes Newcastle, Morecambe, and Ellon, in addition to its Dundee bases.
Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has presented to the manufacturing industry, GA Engineering Sliding Head has experienced continued growth allowing the company to reinvest in new equipment.
The investment in the SR10-J and SR-20R MkIV sliding head lathes brings the total machine count at the facility in Dundee to 27, allowing it to continue to offer a high quality and quick turnaround service to its customers in the energy, defence and aerospace industries.
Both lathes are complemented with a high-pressure coolant system and high frequency turning for improved swarf control and deep hole drilling. These custom-specification machines are ideally suited for exotic materials, achieving excellent surface finish, tight tolerances, and features such as threading, grooving and slotting.
In addition to the two new lathes, the firm has also invested in a new Freddy MkV coolant cleaning system. Sustainability in manufacturing is an ever-pressing issue and the business is keen to ensure that its operations are as environmentally friendly as possible. This can be evidenced in its Freddy cleaning system facilitates which recycles and reuses oil from production processes. By recycling and reusing oil, waste is reduced. The unit also filters the oil prolonging the life of machine filters and pipe work.
Commenting on the new investment, Kerry Devlin, Operations Director for GA Engineering Sliding Head and GA Engineering Scotland said, “We are always looking for ways to offer an improved service to our customers. Our team have worked incredibly hard to keep our business operating successfully over the past year which has ultimately allowed us to invest in new equipment.
“We work to some of the tightest tolerances in the manufacturing industry, working with part diameters as small as 0.3mm and so it is incredibly important that our machinery is of the highest quality. The two new machines are now fully commissioned and operational in our site on the West Pitkerro Industrial Estate in Dundee, which will greatly benefit our growing customer base.”
The 27 sliding head machines are all equipped with bar feeders, allowing for lights out and continuous production cycles. Overall, Pryme Group own more than 110 CNC machines and can meet most supply requests due to the location of its facilities in key industrial hubs across the UK.