Factory move trebles capacity

NTG Precision Engineering has marked its move to a new purpose-built facility with a series of production investments to further increase its capabilities and capacity.

Having run a dual production schedule while it transferred its machinery and team from its previous premises to ensure minimal disruption to customer projects, the new 45,000 sq ft facility in North East England is now fully operational.

The first machine into the new facility was a Mazak Variaxis i800 NEO simultaneous 5-axis machining centre.

Mike Hutchinson, Group Managing Director at NTG Holdings, said: “Our 5-axis capability has become a bottleneck due to demand from customers for this type of complex work. The new machine will enable us to offer shorter lead times by reducing the restrictions around our 5-axis work.”

Other new machines include a Matsuura H.Plus-405 multi-pallet horizontal machining centre and larger turning capacity with the addition of a Doosan 700LM II turning centre.

Mr Hutchinson said the new facility offers further growth opportunities for NTG. “We’ve increasingly diversified the business from its roots as predominantly a tooling and oil and gas focused supplier. We now operate across defence, food production, energy, subsea, electric vehicles and renewables. The new facility will give us the footprint to be able to continue to grow and service all our sectors, whilst also giving us the footprint to introduce more capacity and new technologies in the future.”

This equipment will be used in the manufacture of metal components for a range of industries including automotive, food production, automation and energy generation.

Three times the size of its former base, the new facility, in 8th Avenue, Team Valley, Gateshead, will enable NTG to increase its presence in key markets.

The building also reflects NTG’s commitment to sustainability and is part-powered by Solar PV and includes electric vehicle charging points and air source heating.

Significantly, it gives NTG more space to grow over the next five to ten years, allowing the business to be more agile and respond to commercial opportunities.

Mike Hutchinson said: “We have grown year on year for the past decade and this new facility will provide the space we need to meet demand and strengthen our position as a manufacturer of choice across our key customer industries.

“We have established ourselves in sectors including defence, electric vehicles, energy generation and food production, particularly from customers that have moved towards reshoring as they become more inclined to source services and products from within the UK.

“This has enabled us to deliver an investment strategy that not only includes the move to our new premises, but also new equipment as well as our people. The addition of new technology, such as the 5-axis machining centre, enables us to support OEMs with broader precision engineering capabilities as well as building additional capacity with a larger manufacturing footprint.

8 ntg-ltd.co.uk

South Shields-based Ford Aerospace has been acquired by US manufacturing group SPIROL.

Ford Aerospace was founded at Tyne Dock in 1910 by Robert Ford, and the family business has most recently been led by the founder’s great-grandson, Chris Ford. The company specialises in manufacturing high precision metal components and sub-assemblies for the aerospace, industrial, and hightechnology sectors.

SPIROL is a successful, familyowned company with a rich history also closely tied to aviation development. Founded in 1948 by Herman Koehl, the grandfather of the current chief executive officer, Jeff Koehl, SPIROL has grown from a single manufacturing facility in the United States to a global enterprise with manufacturing or distribution locations on four continents and twelve countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

With a legacy spanning 75 years as an expert in fastening, joining and assembly, SPIROL says its global footprint will take the UK based Ford Aerospace’s products to a wider international market. It also stated that one of SPIROL’s core principles is to continuously reinvest back into the business to ensure long-term, enhanced success and better serve its customers. It says that this principle is also firmly held by Ford Aerospace and therefore the synergies in markets, products, history and approach