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News Release from: Pratt Burnerd International
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 10 December 2007
Chucks and collets add on 'solutions'
service
Manufacturers of workholding equipment, such as collets and chucks, are now having to offer 'solutions' with production engineering know-how, and not just products.
According to 600 Group companies, Crawford Collets and Pratt Burnerd International, machine performance is inevitably limited by the capability of the workholding system, in this case, collets and chucks Director/general manager, David Tucker, said that however much machine tool manufacturers improve machine performance, the workholding systems have a large influence on overall machine tool effectiveness
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 5 Mar 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Pratt Burnerd International and Crawford Collets now offer users 'solutions to workholding requirements', irrespective of whether those solutions come from the standard ranges or are designed and manufactured specifically to meet the demands of an individual application.
Tucker said: "The focus of the businesses, which both offer comprehensive standard ranges, is solution oriented work holding.
Although customers can still order standard products, commonly we find they want a productive answer to their immediate machining problem.
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We can supply the solution - our design team and applications engineers have extensive experience of the most effective workholding mechanisms available and use that experience for the benefit of the customer.
Our task is to make our customers more competitive, more profitable, more successful".
For over 150 years, Pratt Burnerd International has been designing and manufacturing precision chucks and workholding systems for the manufacturing industry.
Sister company, Crawford Collets, has similarly been designing and manufacturing high precision collets and collet chucks for over 100 years.
The two companies were brought together in one 6,000m2 manufacturing unit, in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 2003 to ensure that manufacturing costs stayed competitive, whilst maintaining the same high standards of design and quality control.
Tucker said: "We are proud to be a UK manufacturer, and even more proud to be such a successful one.
The two brands we manufacture are each industry-standards in their own sector.
Both have a second-to-none reputation for the design and manufacture of innovative bespoke solutions to atypical workholding requirements, based on a profound knowledge and experience of the industry.
Our task is to preserve our position as an industry leader whilst retaining competitive manufacturing facilities in order to grow the business and ensure that our brands are first and always choice for precision workholding.
We are taking a very aggressive marketing approach, based on the confidence we have as a powerful and prominent manufacturer".
Recent innovative and ingenious solutions to everyday workholding problems introduced in the last eighteen months include the following.
* The exclusive Programmable Power Chuck.
* The Super thin chuck.
* The 2+2 chuck.
* The low-cost replacement chuck.
* The air collet system.
* Heavy duty live and dead centres.
* Large diameter chucks for the oil industry.
Historically, Pratt Burnerd developed the world's first international power chuck, the world beating - and still novel - high speed quick change chuck and the first opto-coupled gripmeter (forerunner of the radio frequency gripmeter).
Crawfords introduced the unparalleled Crawford Multibore collet chuck system.
* Investment is set to continue - the manufacturing facilities have benefited from substantial investment, including a recent investment of over GBP 600,000 in new machines and equipment.
These will provide additional capacity for the manufacture of the large diameter (up to 1m) chucks and to ensure lead times remain competitive.
The latest investment is additional to an investment of over GBP 3 million in the state of the art grinding facility installed specifically for collet manufacture in 2003.
"We need to concentrate on enhancing our procedures and processes to ensure we are as efficient as possible not only in the production methodology we employ but in our handling of enquiries and customer support services," said Tucker.
"Just as important, we are introducing formalised systems to monitor our performance against our goals and objectives in order to improve our business performance continually.
This is in line with our expansion programme, and will enable us to remain effective and customer orientated despite what we anticipate will be a significant growth rate and further increase in market penetration world wide".
Investment in machines and equipment, sophisticated production procedures, environmental controls, the site itself are insignificant if not accompanied by a highly skilled and dedicated workforce.
Training programmes, which are operated regularly for all levels of the workforce, are being increased in line with the growth plans and a new apprenticeship scheme is in place, with the first two apprentices already engaged.
Tucker said: "Our aim is for excellence in all areas of our business in order to continue to provide customers with high quality precision workholding systems, realistically and competitively priced, from a prestigious UK manufacturing base.
Our strategy is to increase market penetration throughout Europe and in North America by close co-operation with our experienced distributors.
We will achieve that aim because we are committed, dedicated, and determined, and because we are starting from the point of a staunch and highly skilled workforce manufacturing precision standard and bespoke workholding systems which are already the industry-standard throughout the world".
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