Parker Steel invests €6 million in automated production line

The system combines a full software management solution from Steel Projects with completely automatic and integrated Ficep drilling and sawing, drilling and coping, shotblasting and painting. Claimed to be unique, the production facility will automatically transfer material direct from the dock side through each of the desired Ficep CNC processes. Depending on the customer's requirements, the material can be sent for a combination of shotblasting and painting, cutting to length, drilling, countersinking, tapping, milling or scribing, notching or coping and then be loaded onto transport in a pre-planned delivery sequence, using the minimum amount of personnel. Parker and Ficep have been collaborating on this massive project for over three years, which has resulted in the UK's first fully automatic production line to process multiple parts, bars, contracts and jobs from production office to loading the trailers. The system has capacity to produce up to 100,000 tons of steel per year from the Shoreham site and can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.