Member Article

Smart decision as P&T Precision Engineering invests in a Nakamura to surpass £2m sales

A fast-growing County Kildare manufacturer is settings it sights on smashing the £2m sales barrier after investing in state-of-the-art CNC machine technology.

P&T Precision Engineering, which currently employs 15 people at its Naas Industrial Estate facility, has purchased a Nakamura AS200 LMY twin spindle lathe that will help it take on new orders and work with harder materials.

The company made the decision during a Smart Machining event held by the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) in Newbridge and will take delivery of the machine in July, where it will be installed and a number of components proven out.

It is anticipated that the sub-spindle capability will give the firm the opportunity to build on its expertise in design for manufacture and should lead to new contracts in food, packaging, print and the medical sector.

“Our relationship with ETG goes back to 2016 when we made the conscious decision to invest in upgrading our machining capabilities with the acquisition of a Quaser MV184 vertical machine tool,” commented Darragh Walsh, who runs the company with his business partner Kevin.

“The technology lived up to its reputation, but what we were really impressed with was the level of service, support and understanding delivered by Jamie Fletchmoore and his team in Newbridge.”

He continued: “Following the success of the first purchase we decided that we would take on another CNC machine in 2018 and jumped at the chance of attending the Smart Machining event so we could see the technology we had in mind first-hand.

“We were not disappointed. The demonstration was world class and we had no hesitation in placing the order for the Nakamura AS200 LMY there and then.”

P&T Precision Engineering, which was formed in 1992 by the current owners’ father Tom Walsh and his friend Peter Clark, offer a full range of engineering services, including design, machining, milling, turning and grinding to clients in Ireland and the UK.

It passed the £1.8m sales mark in 2017 and this year intends to go one stage further by adding an additional £200,000 of new orders as part of expansion plans that could see it recruit two more staff and double its manufacturing footprint by taking on a nearby unit.

ETG’s Jamie Fletchmoore added his support: “We are delighted to be working with Darragh and Kevin again and helping the firm move forward with confidence that it has access to technology that will allow it to make parts quicker and more accurately.

“The Nakamura AS200 LMY gives it turning and milling at full power, all with the added bonus of a ‘Y’ axis. It’s a fantastic machine and one that will help the business reach its target of £2m annual sales this year.”

The Engineering Technology Group (ETG) brings together the strengths of the world’s most advanced manufacturers of high technology machine tools, automation and workholding systems to deliver highly productive turnkey solutions to customers involved in automotive, aerospace, domestic goods, high value engineering, medical and oil and gas.

It calls upon a huge portfolio of machines from leading brand names, such as Chiron, STAMA, Nakamura, Bavius (formerly Handtmann), Hardinge Bridgeport and Quaser.

The recent Smart Machining event, which was held at its dedicated Newbridge facility, was a huge success, with over 120 people from across the south and north of Ireland visiting over the course of the three days.

In addition to the P&T Precision Engineering order, a number of leads were taken including enquiries for the industry-leading HALTER LoadAssistant.

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