Thompson helps Dutch firm forge new subcontract service

Thompson has supplied a Model 60 to Kampen-based Friction Welding Holland BV for joining a variety of components including piston rods and hydraulic cylinder tubes for customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg as well as other European countries. The machine is specially designed to handle a wide range of piston rods with diameters of 20-90 mm and up to 3,500 mm in length, as well as tubes with a maximum external diameter of 160 mm. It can also be used to join a selection of hydraulic parts that feature eyes, clevises and forks as it is equipped with interchangeable chucks, a two-jaw version for accommodating piston rod eyes and a three-jaw variant for round components. Other special machine features include a CNC external flash removal system. The Dutch subcontract service had been well received since its launch last December and the company had already secured a substantial number of contracts. This installation is the latest in a series of new machines supplied by Thompson to customers around the world. The Halesowen-based manufacturer has also recently secured more than £5 million worth of orders from customers in China, Italy and Australia. Thompson, holder of a Queen's Award for Enterprise, produces machines to join parts used in the aerospace, automotive, construction machine, mineral and water exploration industries.