Tag: Economical

Erodex UK Limited, the UK’s leading supplier of EDM graphite and tooling to the aerospace market, has reported record levels of turnover with the company set to hit the £20million mark for the first time in their history.

Overall turnover increased by £2million to £19.3million during the last financial year, including strong growth within the Machining / EDM sundries division and a 46% rise in turnover within the Tooling division, Erodex Tooling Solutions. Following a strong start to 2019, the company is now set to surpass total sales of £20million.

Erodex has continued to benefit from a strong and growing reputation within the global aerospace industry. Notably within the context of a post Brexit Britain, a large proportion of new business has been won outside of the EU, including countries such as Israel, USA and Mexico.

Director Steve Rolinson comments: “We operate in a mature industry, so achieving the level of growth that we continue to achieve is testament to our people, the expertise that we have within the group and our constant efforts to innovate. Export sales have increased significantly, our US operation continues to grow year on year and we have secured a further three customers in Mexico for tooling and EDM electrode work.

“Within the UK, the 46% growth in our Tooling division follows on from the success of previous years and our decision to invest in our own tool rooms as well as dedicated tooling inspection facilities. In addition to designing the optimum electrode, electrode holder and workpiece holder, Erodex Tooling Solutions design and manufacture the whole package, all with a single point of contact. This is unique in our market and we continue to see more and more customers buying into this mindset because of cost and time savings”.

Within the period the company has made investments totalling £1.2million and also surpassed a total head count of 100 members of staff. Erodex added 15 new people to reach a total of 109 within its workforce, including the recruitment of five new skilled Operators within the Machine Shop. To continue to future proof the workforce, three new apprentice Tooling Engineers were also taken on.

Steve Rolinson adds: “In total we have spent around £1.2million on capital equipment over the past 12 months. Around £900k of this was spent on upgrading plant, IT infrastructure and machinery, such as machining centres, grinding machines and Mitutoyo equipment as part of the continual improvement of our quality assurance process. Such investments go hand in hand with our focus on employing and investing in the best people, as part of our long-term growth strategy”.

Erodex UK Ltd have announced further investment, in excess of £1million into its Tooling division, Erodex Tooling Solutions (ETS), following continued growth in this area of the business.

The recent acquisition of a local engineering works has doubled the number of dedicated ETS staff, increasing further the firms already specialised skill base. The introduction of CNC Machining centres, Wire & Die sink machines and fast hole drilling capability now enables ETS to manufacture controlled goods completely in house. This means they are able to protect their own Intellectual Property (IP), as well as that of its growing number of customers.

Director Steve Rolinson commented: “As a result of our latest investment in ETS, we are now capable of offering complete development of EDM Die sinking applications. For many years Erodex have maintained our position in the market for the design, manufacture and asset care of EDM Electrodes.

“Thanks to the recent acquisition, ETS can now support the group with Die sinking trials to ensure electrodes are performing to their full potential. In addition, our association with graphite manufacturers allows us to maximise the efficiency of the machine, maintaining surface finish and improved wear on the electrode. This combination keeps cost down and increases throughput, all whilst maintaining quality.”

The wealth of experience within the growing workforce, particularly within the field of EDM, has created opportunities for the firm to innovate and diversify, added Mr Rolinson.

“Our customers have also been approaching us for a solution to an ongoing problem regarding the verification of features post process. This has led to us developing a state of the art inspection machine that will transform the way these features are inspected, which we expect to be completed by the end of Q3 this year. This is an exciting opportunity for Erodex and one that is eagerly awaited by our customers”.

Building work is currently underway to transform existing offices at the firm’s Halesowen headquarters into a fully contained showroom and conference facility to host the inspection machine, enabling customers to develop and test the machine for their own production needs.

Erodex, UK leaders in the provision of EDM supplies, graphites and graphite machining are celebrating 20% growth over the past 12 months, following a period of substantial investment.

The company has invested a total of £1.75million in machinery and premises as part of an expansion strategy which has included record orders for a newly formed toolroom and diversification in product ranges. The growth is the third year in a row that the company has set record levels for total revenue and also includes the company bolstering its’ workforce with an additional 17 new employees.

Director Steve Rolinson commented: “We are extremely pleased with the progress of the company over the past 12 months, not only with regards to the ongoing success of the new tool room following our investment in that, but also in increased market penetration for the provision of our graphite materials and EDM supplies. We have established ourselves as a market leader for a variety of sectors, enjoying strong relationships with blue chip customers. It is clear that the market has started to realise the benefits of utilising graphite over the more traditional material, copper in their EDM process”.

“As the UK leader for EDM graphite supplies and graphite machining, we are constantly on a journey to help our customers improve processes. For example, recently we have reached an exclusive agreement with Houghton International to handle all UK distribution for their Dielectric EDM Fluids. For 15 years we have been supplying a product made in Canada called Commonwealth Dielectric EDM 244 and Super Supreme. The company producing that was acquired by Houghton and the production of that dielectric has been brought back to the UK as a result. We are extremely pleased that Houghton demonstrated such confidence in us by establishing our own exclusive agreement with them”.

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