Two million pound-plus order is Trumpf UK's largest ever
2 mins read
Sheet metalworking equipment specialist Trumpf UK has taken the largest ever single order in its history. Valued at just over £2 million, it is for a range of machines and associated automation to be supplied to Stoke-based IAE, the country's leading manufacturer of livestock handling equipment, equestrian stabling, steel fencing and shelters.
According to IAE director Frank Klucznik, the move will not only allow the 500-employee, £44 million turnover company to redeploy labour to other tasks, it will "speed response times, improve accuracy and raise the bar from a design and development perspective".
IAE had typically operated second-hand sheet metalworking machinery, which included one Trumpf model – a 3030 laser cutter with 4kW resonator. However, over the course of the past decade, the company has been developing a purpose-built 26-acre site at Stoke, and the recent completion of a 72 by 32m extension, earmarked for the sheet metalworking shop, signalled the time to consider investment in new technology.
"We could have carried on with our existing kit but, to be honest, we'd arrived at a different level," says Mr Klucznik, the third generation family owner (with his father, mother and sister) of IAE. "We consider ourselves the market leader in the UK, and it's our intention to stay in that position, so it was time to take the next step and jump ahead of our competitors once more."
The performance of the company's second-hand Trumpf laser cutter and the associated support it received ensured Trumpf were among the front runners for the new order.
"Ultimately there aren't many suppliers of sheet metalworking machinery who can supply fully integrated, turnkey solutions, so when we got down to detail, there was only ever one winner," says Mr Klucznik.
The order placed by IAE includes: a Trumpf TruPunch 5000 large format punching machine with SheetMaster auto load/unload, ShearMaster auto scrap shredder and TruTops programming software; a Trumpf TruBend 5170S press brake with automated sheet feeding unit and BendMaster 150 bending robot; a Trumpf TruLaser 3030 with LiftMaster Compact auto load/unload; and a STOPA compact storage system (fully automated using crane transfer) with 220 spaces for raw material and finished parts.
Due to start arriving at Stoke in February 2012, the equipment will largely be used for manufacturing IAE's own products, although, due to their ability to run 'lights-out', there is potential to sell subcontract capacity.
"The new Trumpf machines will almost certainly allow us to manufacture parts that others can't, putting the company in an even stronger market position," Mr Klucznik adds.
Products at IAE, which currently operates 24 hours a day, five days a week, are entirely manufactured from natural and pre-galvanised mild steel in sheet/plate ranging from 1 up to 25 mm. Batch sizes can be anywhere between 200-off and tens of thousands, for customers across the UK and mainland Europe.
"For our standard product ranges, the market is very price conscious at the moment, and so the introduction of automated manufacturing will help combat this issue," he concludes. "Additionally, for our bespoke equipment, we have always prided ourselves in meeting our promised delivery lead-times, and again the new Trumpf technology will ensure we maintain the high targets we set ourselves. This investment is a brave, bold step for IAE, but we are totally committed to our market sectors and we've got to keep looking to the future."
