Luton press manufacturer set to deliver a machinery ‘world first’

A Luton-based press manufacturer has agreed a £500,000 deal that will see it deliver a ‘world first’ to the South Coast in 2014.

BRUDERER UK, which employs 11 people at its facility in Craddock Road, will supply a high-performance automatic stamping press to electronic component specialist Harwin to help it increase efficiencies and attack new opportunities in aerospace, instrumentation and industrial markets.

The company has built on a 30-year relationship with the Portsmouth firm to secure the order for a new BSTA 280-75 with a BSV-75 high-speed servo feeder.

The world first comes from the integration of a planetary gearbox into the shaft of the main motor, which will allow Harwin’s engineers to have full control of tooling development to produce test runs of new products.

Adrian Haller, Managing Director at BRUDERER UK, explained:

“This is a really exciting project and we’re delighted to bring new machine technology to the UK, which will help a forward looking manufacturer expand and create jobs.

“We listened to what Harwin wanted and, by working with experts at our parent company in Switzerland, came up with a solution that met their exact requirements.

“The company will benefit from a high-speed press that offers great versatility by catering for both the development of new tools and full production.”

Paul McGuinness, Operations Director at Harwin, continued: “This new technology basically removes the need for a separate development press, as we can put new tools through at the lowest stroke rate and at full press capacity – allowing us to identify any issues before flicking a switch on full production.

“There are lots of advantages…increased efficiency, reduced costs, less space required and even gains in terms of logistics since tools have to be transported less.”

He continued: “We specialise in high reliability connectors and innovative PCB hardware and are continually investing in our new product development programme. This new acquisition will help us develop the next generation of connectors and in particular our EZ-BoardWare range.”

BRUDERER’s UK operation has been working with Harwin for over three decades and has been in discussion with the manufacturing team to develop the innovative solution for many months.The deal could prove to be the catalyst for a record year for the punching technology specialist, with the management team keen to build on annual sales of £3m in 2013.

Investment in a range of new presses coincides with greater confidence in the manufacturing sector, with automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical all benefitting from increased funding towards capital machinery.

Adrian concluded: “The high-speed press, servo feeder and planetary gearbox ‘world first’ will be unveiled to a global audience at MACH 2014 next April.”

For further information on BRUDERER, please visit www.bruderer.co.uk. More details on Harwin can be found at www.harwin.com