Member Article

New machine helps RSD press forward with £750,000 contract haul

Investment in a new state-of-the-art machine from Worcester Presses is helping a Cannock automotive supplier win over £750,000 of new contracts.

RSD Pressings, which supplies components for seats, sub-frames, cross car beams, bumpers and body, has installed a new GTX300 Chin Fong Progression Press and can now take on much bigger parts for tier 1 customers and major car manufacturers.

Nearly £350,000 has been spent on the machine and a Tomac TLN4 coil line, with more than £100,000 of funding secured from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Grants 4 Growth and the European Regional Development Fund.

Three new jobs have already been created as a result of the investment and a further eight will be recruited over the course of the next twelve months once production starts on the projects already secured.

“The components we manufacture at our new facility in Cannock end up in millions of cars all over the world, including Aston Martin, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Volvo,” explained Daniel Burton, Operations Director at RSD Pressings.

“We recognised the opportunity to expand our product offering by acquiring a press with a much bigger bed size and had been impressed with the reliability and performance of the OCP 260 tonne Chin Fong we purchased a few years ago.”

He went on to add: “Worcester Presses came in, looked at our requirements and then developed a turnkey solution that involved the GTX 300, the latest HMI touch screen control and new Tomac TLN4 coil line that will increase our progression and coil feeding capabilities.

“This machine has doubled our bed size and has already led to several new orders that we wouldn’t have been able to take on previously. There is still lots of capacity on it too, which means we are looking for even more new work.”

RSD Pressings, which boasts annual sales of £5m and employs 50 people at its state-of-the-art facility on Gallan Park, has worked with Dudley-based Worcester Presses for more than five years.

The relationship has seen it purchase eight machines over that time and this understanding was key in the swift installation and commissioning of the GTX 300 and the subsequent training of three operators.

“This is a major investment for our business and we need to be able to know the company we are using will meet deadlines and deliver on after sales support,” continued Daniel.

“Worcester Presses offers a fantastic service and maintenance package and we know that if there are any issues with the machine they will be dealt with quickly, meaning minimum downtime for the machine and no inconvenience for our customer.”

Russell Hartill, Director of Worcester Presses, added his support: “The GTX is a state-of-the-art press in every sense of the word and offers fantastic performance, reliability and, with the large bed size, capacity.

“RSD is already reaping the benefits with three long-term contracts already secured and the potential of more to come. It’s one of the region’s best kept manufacturing secrets and we’re delighted to be supporting the next stage of its growth.”

Established in 1949, Worcester Presses has seen a 30% increase in sales over the last twelve months from customers involved in the automotive, aerospace, construction and medical sectors.

The Peartree Lane firm, which will be on stand H20-354 at MACH 2018, supplies a host of mechanical and hydraulic presses from Chin Fong and Yeh Chiun, as well a growing range of Tomac coil handling equipment.

As part of its expansion, it has recently recruited an additional service engineer, taking its total workforce to 14.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .