Re-shoring trend sees Derbyshire engineering firm invest £600K in new machines

A Derbyshire machining specialist has invested £600,000 in new equipment to keep pace with growing trend to “re-shore” work from Europe and China back to the UK.

Subcontract CNC machining firm HPC Services, based in Merlin Way, on the Quarry Hill Industrial Estate, in Ilkeston,  has said it has seen an increasing demand from major multi-national companies to return work to British shores.

Now, to meet present and future orders, the firm has invested a six-figure sum in three new machines.

The latest additions are a trio of Nakamura machines – two WT150s and a WT100 - which are already boosting the speed of production.

Managing director Paul Cobb, who founded the business in 1997, said: “Demand has been huge. We have seen no sign of a slowdown over the last year on all sides of the business. Better still it is coming from a very wide range of industries.”

The firm has invested £600,000 in three new machines (Cucumber PR)

According to Mr Cobb, some of the company’s work is coming back from China, with many of the multi-nationals choosing to place work in the UK.

It is the same with orders coming from the EU, with customers opting to make a strategic choice by placing work with sub-contractors who can offer fast lead times and repeatable quality.

Mr Cobb said: “It’s because we can deliver what they need in terms of speed and quality. Price is important too, but it’s secondary.”

HPC is winning more work because it can offer 'speed and quality' (Cucumber PR)

The company, which is part of the Hemlock Group, has 45 CNC controlled milling and turning machines. The machining side of the business employs 80 of the firm’s 150 workers.

The new machines, which are being used to make thousands of milled parts have been supplied by the Engineering Technology Group (ETG), which has customers involved in the automotive, aerospace, domestic goods, high value engineering, medical and oil and gas sectors.

The machines have been supplied by a company called ETG (Cucumber PR)

Jon Mannion, regional sales manager at ETG, said: “Nakamura technology has really grown in popularity in the UK, with many sub-contract manufacturers switching on to the outstanding performance and value for money it offers.

“I have worked with Paul for many years and understand his enthusiasm for Nakamura’s range of machines.

“It is the automatic choice for people who are looking for a quality-built machine that can in turn produce high quality parts quickly and can be programmed for ‘lights-out’ operations.”