Engineering firm expands to meet order demand

A BLACK Country engineering firm is aiming to increase production capacity by a third after winning new business.

Midland Deburr and Finish Ltd, which specialises in vibro deburring and barrelling of ferrous and non-ferrous components, is embarking on the expansion programme to meet customer demand.

Chris Arrowsmith, managing director of the Stourbridge-based company, said: “We have won a lot of new business over the last 18 months and we need to take steps to cope with growing customer demand.

“Over the coming months, we will be investing in new vibro and barrel mass finishing machines, increasing the number we have from 16 to more than 20, giving us far greater capacity.”

Utilising vibro deburring and barrelling processes, the nine-strong workforce provide a range of mass finishing services, including radiussing, scale and rust removal, polishing and pre-plate/paint finishes.

They work with component sizes ranging from 2mm to 700mm, in batches of one to several thousand. The bulk of the company’s orders come from component manufacturers in the automotive sector supplying the likes of Honda, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover.

The firm said the other side of its business – the degreasing of finished components – was also becoming busier. Midland Deburr and Finish is currently the only company in the region able to offer a subcontract degreasing service using equipment that is compliant with the Solvent Emissions Directive (SED). This legislation banned the use of open-top degreasers, traditionally used in-house by many manufacturers.

Spotting a market opportunity, Midland Deburr and Finish invested in a state-of-the-art, hermetically sealed degreasing facility. This is now attracting a growing number of orders from companies who need to clean up their operations but do not want to change their processes, and are either unable or unwilling to invest in new plant and therefore have to outsource their degreasing requirements.

“Our investment programme will also ensure we maintain our quick delivery times,” added Mr Arrowsmith.

“What’s more, we are looking to offer our customers additional, added-value services by acquiring or forging partnerships with finishing businesses who can complement what we do.”