Steed Webzell

MPD invests £250,000 to boost die-casting capacity

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1 min read

One of the Black Country’s fastest-growing foundries is finishing the year on a high after it pressed the button on a £250,000 investment project. Midland Pressure Diecasting (MPD) has boosted its output significantly after installing a fully automatic aluminium die-casting machine at its Willenhall facility, adding to its existing fleet of automated die-casting machines. The move will introduce efficiencies and create an additional 20% capacity to take on more work, which will generate a number of new jobs locally.

Plant investment is an area that MPD is continually reviewing as part of ambitious expansion plans, with staff actively encouraged to put forward improvement projects and spending suggestions.

Ash Suman, managing director at MPD, is delighted with how 2019 has panned out: “We’re always looking at company improvements, whether via investments into plant, processes or people. For the most recent example, we decided to look at how we could become more lean, which in turn would introduce a host of operational efficiencies and, importantly, additional capacity.

“The implementation of this new machine is the first part of our restructuring strategy and the target is for it to be operational before the end of the year,” continues Suman. “We have additional plans for further investment, growing our business and helping showcase a positive outlook for UK manufacturing.”

The latest spend has marked a very good three months for the firm, with a new contract secured to supply a suite of new tooling and castings that will generate a 15% growth in turnover. Bosses at MPD believe the work was secured due to its ability to offer a comprehensive service, from concept to delivery, and encompassing professional advice on design for manufacture and design for assembly along the way.

In addition to the technical advice provided, the client was impressed with the supply of quality tooling (die castings, press tools and CNC fixtures) and how strict scheduling demands were met.

“The contract highlights how we can work more closely with clients in the early design stages and, by offering our industry expertise, how we can add real value before we even get to the manufacturing process,” says Suman. “Next year will see the start of one of our biggest ever transformation projects, with the entire factory being redesigned to optimise our manufacturing performance. It will take about three months to complete, but will be a game changer when finished.”

MPD, which boasts a turnover of £4 million, offers aluminium and zinc high-pressure die-casting services to customers in batch sizes ranging from 50 parts to 5 million, for components as heavy as 6 kg. The company also supplies tooling and CNC machining services to customers requiring fully finished parts for their assemblies.