The company has set up a new Grinding Technology (GT) division in Birmingham to work alongside the established Large Prismatic Machines (LPM) division in recently expanded offices on Blythe Valley Business Park.
Dean Kiefer, who has been recruited to head the GT division, has 25 years’ production engineering experience in the aerospace manufacturing sector. Specifically, he has been involved in developing technical solutions based on Haas Schleifmaschinen grinders, so brings with him directly relevant knowledge of the machines and technology. He will be assisted by another new appointee, senior applications engineer Ryan Lakin, who joins on 27 February.
Richard Kingsbury, managing director of Geo Kingsbury comments: “This is an exciting development that takes us into a new area of manufacturing, as our other agency lines comprise milling and turning machines.
“Haas Schleifmaschinen is a provider of very high quality grinding solutions, including simulation software and automation options, located in Baden-Württemberg close to the headquarters of our other seven principals, whose products are similarly top-end.
“We are greatly looking forward to collaborating with Haas Schleifmaschinen’s senior management to develop the market over here and provide front-line service for the 62 machines that have already been installed in the UK and Ireland over the last decade.”
Use of the grinders is strong in the medical sector in Ireland, while in the UK, sales of the machines have seen rapid growth in the aerospace industry, particularly in the competitive field of turbine blade tip and root grinding.
The other agency lines handled by Geo Kingsbury are Index and its subsidiary, Traub, which offer CNC single- and multi-spindle lathes; Hermle, which builds 3- to 5-axis machining centres; and four large prismatic metalcutting machine manufacturers, Burkhardt + Weber, F Zimmermann, SHW and Waldrich Coburg, although the latter also produces vertical turning lathes.
