Today after a series of consultations and enquiries Welland Power is pleased to announce today marks the first day of in house steel cutting. Which is the first stage in the transition to the company manufacturing canopies at the new Welland Power manufacturing facility in Cley Lake Spalding.
Following the decision to purchase, last week a team from Amada came to the new factory and installed and commissioned an Amada LC 2415 CNC Laser.
Alpha CNC lasers offer state-of-the-art technology and high-quality components you’d expect to find in machines that cost two to three times as much or sometimes more. The machine has been carefully selected to meet the requirements of Welland Power and bespoke training and development of staff has been negotiated as part of the overall package.
The laser, capable of cutting 12mm steel is a 4kW CO2 laser, with a Fanuc controller. The machine is also capable of cutting a range of ferrous materials, such as Hot and Cold rolled steel as well as Zintec and galvanized sheets, with both oxygen and nitrogen assist gas, the laser enables Welland to manufacture its own canopy panels, base frames and control panels in house.
The laser is also equipped with an MP300 sheet loader, providing the automated loading and unloading of steel sheets up to 6mm thick in sizes up to 3m x 1m, allowing the laser to run unattended. This will allow the laser to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week when demand from the factory requires it. The laser can be remote operated and a system of CCTV cameras allow the team at Welland Power to check in with the laser at any times the machine may be operating unmanned, for example through the night or at weekends.
The LC2415 Alpha 3 CNC Laser is the first of a series of very expensive machinery that is soon to arrive at Welland Power for the new factory. The vastly larger site at the new Cley Lake factory has allowed the company to expand the production and manufacturing facilities, making possible the long held ambition to build an in house canopy and base frame. The advantages of an in house production for the base frames and canopies being not only a reduction in cost per machine but also a control over quality. In addition the Welland Power in house design team will now have direct and immediate contact with production as they will both be based in one location. The advantage to the design team will be immediate prototyping and feedback which will exponentially improve the reaction time and product development process.
The aim of Welland Power is to be producing the finest quality canopies and base frames available to the market and this endeavour (it was decided) is only possible by taking the full manufacturing and design in house. The purchase of the Amada LC2415 Alpha 3 CNC Laser being the first and most significant step for Welland Power in achieving this.
Managing Director John Farrow said ' I have been at the helm of Welland Power for 20 years and we have always been stalwart in our determination to be a UK manufactured product, the reassurance UK manufacturing gives to our customers and the quality people expect from a UK built product is Key to our brand values and what we want Welland Power to be. For 50 years our canopies have been produced by key UK partners who we are grateful to and thankful to have worked with. In reality though we knew we could not be ignorant to the way the industry is developing, when my father ran the business the competition on price and the push to produce an ever better product for ever lower costs was not a big consideration. We were adamant we would not move production overseas, a UK product is what we are and what we always want to be. So what Welland Power will be is a manufacturing powerhouse, but a UK based one. We will invest not only in the new facility but also in the infrastructure to ensure we can produce everything right here, quickly, efficiently and to the very highest quality. We want to compete on price but not at the expense of the product. The installation today of this Laser is the future for the company and we hope its a very bright future.'
This investment of over $250,000 will enhance our in-house capability and demonstrates the investment Welland are committing to a sustainable future.'