Lasershape puts offcuts to good use by establishing Steelblanks.co.uk
1 min read
A new business - Steelblanks.co.uk - has been established to meet demand from engineering companies, metal users and the general public seeking smaller sheets of steel.
The website (www.steelblanks.co.uk) allows users to select mild steel, stainless steel 304 or stainless steel 316 material, although aluminium will also soon be available. Mild steel can be selected in thicknesses ranging from 0.9 to 20.0 mm, while the stainless materials range from 0.9 to 15.0 mm.
In all materials and thicknesses there are three sheet sizes available to select, 240 by 240 mm, 490 by 490 mm and 990 by 990 mm. All of the products are in stock for same-day dispatch or collection from the warehouse in Nottingham. The company also plans to add thicker (up to 100 mm) water-jet cut blanks to the site in the near future.
The new enterprise is a sister of Nottingham-based Lasershape Ltd. Material off-cuts and remnants are a common by-product of everyday operations at Lasershape, a specialist in laser profiling and water-jet cutting. Seeking a responsible resolution to the issues of cost and the environment, while normal industry practice is to use a scrap recycling company, Steelblanks.co.uk presents an alternative option that is beneficial for all concerned.
Tim Leam, the company's director, takes up the story: "There are so many engineering companies out there who only need a small piece of material to make a handful of brackets, for example. The unnecessary expenditure and effort of buying a full sheet, storing what's left – and possibly never using what's left – is now averted with Steelblanks.co.uk."
The initiative originated from the installation of a new off-cut management system at Lasershape in 2012. Thanks to the new system, Lasershape now reuses as many off-cuts as possible in its own processes. However, remnants below a certain size are almost impossible to reuse, hence Steelblanks.co.uk.
"As well as a business initiative, it also facilitates a greener process in that metal recycling requires processes such as collection, sorting and melting, all of which increase carbon footprint," Mr Leam adds. "Steelblanks.co.uk has none of that."
