Sheet metal sub-contract manufacturer Yellowpatter is expanding with a £1.7 million investment in a new facility in Dunstable, Bedfordshire and has already secured a major eight-year contract from a local furniture manufacturer.
The new 40,000 sq ft factory, which complements Yellowpatter’s existing premises in Storrington, West Sussex, was funded in part by a grant from the European Union.
Among state-of-the-art equipment in the new factory is the Amada EM2510NT all-electric punch press, believed to be the first use of this new machine in the UK. Capable of 1,800 SPM, it is also 60 per cent more energy efficient than conventional models.
Also included in the investment is an Amada TBZ panel bender. “This equipment is very flexible, allowing us to make changes to its program and also checking the profile of the fabricated part automatically. Using it, we can bend steel from 180 degrees to 45 degrees up or down, as well as hemming and radius bending. What’s more, it can switch to new products without losing time for setup or warm-up – another saving for our customers – It can even fabricate a rolled hinge,” says Yellowpatter’s production director, John Tewsley.
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