NEW LASER SOLVES MAJOR RELIABILITY ISSUE – AV METALS

CUSTOMER INFORMATION

AV Metals offers full sheet metal solutions. They are committed to consistently providing high-quality and precise sheet metal services. In a relatively short period of time, AV Metals has grown its business while developing a strong customer base. They have a solid understanding of the importance their customers place on quality, on-time delivery, and value.

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MACHINE INFORMATION

When your key machine is working 118 hours a week there is virtually no capacity to absorb any downtime. That’s the precise problem that faced AV Metals with its previous laser cutting machine.

“We set the company up on a tight budget with a second-hand laser machine, but as the business grew the repeated downtime and the limited capacity started to add up,” says Scott Brooks, Managing Director at AV Metals, based in Bolton. Scott’s own work history is steeped in sheet metal work, with more than 20 years’ experience in the sector. So, when a friend and business owner approached him in 2018 with the idea of setting up his own sheet metal company, Scott was ready to listen.

AV Metals has grown rapidly since its foundation with a dedicated team of 24 staff and a successful apprenticeship scheme

THE BEGINNING OF AV METALS

The new company was set up in 2018 using the successful AV name and branding. AV Metals now specialises in supplying “turn-key” solutions for many of their customers in various sectors, making products as diverse as LED lighting, security furniture, stairlifts, and building equipment such as cement mixers.

With AV Unibrak’s strong connection to the redevelopment of the Manchester skyline, working with a major developer, architectural metalwork seemed the obvious next direction for growth.

The business has grown rapidly whilst ensuring quality and service still remained at the forefront. With a dedicated team of 24 staff and a successful apprenticeship scheme the company now provides a range of services for its subcontract customers, including folding and forming, punching, welding and powder coating, along with a very strong design and development offering.

“We’re very design heavy and generally make products for people that are value-engineered following specific demands. Everything we produce from concept to manufacture is done using the latest 3D and CAD/CAM software. We have built lasting partnerships with our customers who recognise the commitment we have.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Success brings its own challenges, and for AV Metals, that meant dealing with the bottleneck created by a second-hand laser machine that just couldn’t be trusted. Scott spoke to several laser manufacturers, with Yamazaki Mazak very much the wildcard in the pack. “I was impressed by what Mazak had to say, and I ended up going for an 8 kW OPTIPLEX 3015 Fiber III. My contacts in the industry told me it was a good choice and we managed to get the new machine installed only three months after completing the tender process.”

iNCREASED pRODUCTIVITY

Scott’s machine operators have really taken to the OPTIPLEX and the new way of working with CNC programming. “Our operators really like the Mazatrol PreviewG control. Obviously, there is always a learning curve initially, but the effort that Mazak put in to getting the machine installed, getting everyone trained and the overall aftersales support has been great.” The OPTIPLEX has transformed AV Metals’ manufacturing processes. “We’ve seen major uplifts in machine availability and energy savings,” says Scott.

“The key issue for us was always machine reliability and how that impacted productivity. We’re now seeing a 20-25% increase in productivity since the OPTIPLEX was installed and that is running for only a 90-hour week. With the previous machine we were down by a similar amount despite running a 118-hour week. In short, we’re running for a lot less time, but with a massive increase in output.” Most importantly, AV Metals now has some capacity in the system. “Previously we just couldn’t afford the machine to go down at any point due to the opportunity cost and not being able to make up the lost time. We’ve got some slack in the system now.”

“We were losing an enormous
amount of production time due to the laser being down. It became a bit of a no-brainer to get a new machine due to the amount of money being spent on lost consumables, such as CO2 gas, and just keeping the machine going,” says Scott.

Future Vision

Scott explains that the OPTIPLEX has resolved AV Metals’ capacity issues, giving them room for future growth. With the increased laser machining capacity, they are exploring further investments, such as folding and a press brake. Scott plans to expand the subcontract manufacturing side, as the OPTIPLEX is adaptable to different batch sizes. Additionally, he sees an opportunity to create and market their own architectural product line, capitalizing on the ongoing construction boom in the UK.