FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

The technical consultation and equipment service this laser system distributor provides enabled one fabricator to grow its business with reliable, advanced machinery at an affordable price.

MPJ Fabrications (Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England) started as a management buy-out of the fabrication workshop of a pump manufacturing company in 2002. With three years of contracts and co-location on the pump manufacturer’s site, its business prospered. The shop originally used an old Strippit CNC punch press to produce many sheet metal parts, but chose to subcontract its laser cut components.

In 2005 it decided to replace the punch press with a laser cutter and was recommended by others to evaluate MSS Lasers (Rugby, Warwickshire, England) as the machine tool supplier. Based in Rugby, MSS Lasers is a privately-owned distributor that was formed in 2003 by managing director Carlos Gonzalez-Lee. His research and experience in laser cutting is the reason why the core business of MSS Lasers is servicing and sales of all types of refurbished laser cutting systems.

The need for an independent specialist laser company in the UK provided the springboard for his business to grow. Partnerships made across Europe provide a source of second-hand laser systems to MSS Lasers which are refurbished, with quality checked to such a high standard that it enables the Rugby distributor to supply the exact machine make and model that matches its customers’ requirements.

MSS Lasers is also a pioneer in the supply of high-pressure nitrogen generation plants for laser cutting. Not only does this save users the cost of purchasing gas, but it also has environmental and operational benefits by providing nitrogen on demand at the customer’s premises. All of this expertise in laser cutting technology helped MPJ to optimize the efficiency of its laser cutting machinery at a reasonable cost. Mike Jeffs, the managing director of MPJ Fabrications, explains that “they carried out a site survey, evaluated the type of work we were doing, recommended the most appropriate laser and produced a schedule of works for machine installation. For us, the cost of a new machine was prohibitive, so we needed to find a reliable partner for used machinery.”

The company started with a pre-owned 2 kW LVD Helius machine and then shortly afterwards added a second 3 kW Helius. To achieve further efficiency improvements and to cut manufacturing costs, MPJ decided to trade in both machines for a much larger 4 kW LVD Axel with a pallet changing system and an 11 m footprint from MSS Lasers.

By now, the Kenilworth fabricator had broadened the range of parts they produced, supplying components for specialist vehicle manufacturers, motor sports, and even James Bond films! Jeffs adds, “The pallet changing capability of the Axel made a big difference to our efficiency, maximizing the cutting time and minimizing the handling of sheets and components. Service from MSS Lasers ensured the reliability of this pre-owned machine, enabling us to easily meet customer deadlines – which can run as little as four hours. The installation was seamless too, as they left us with one of the Helius machines until the Axel was up and running.”

Unfortunately for MPJ, it was given notice to quit its existing premises. However, Jeffs had the foresight to purchase an industrial unit that he had initially planned to rent out, so the move to this new system took place in December 2010. MSS Lasers played a role in this as well. “Our new factory was too small for the LVD Axel because we needed to maintain a separate polishing shop, but we wanted to maintain the pallet changing capability of the LVD,” notes Jeffs. “They proposed a pre-owned 4 kW Trumpf system which has a front loading pallet system and a 7 m x 5 m footprint. Although space is tight, this has been the perfect solution for us. We find this piece of equipment to be a robust and technically advanced machine tool.”

The Trumpf system uses nitrogen for cutting and to purge the bellows. “The quality of the cutting on this machine tool is excellent,” add Jeffs. “Furthermore, cutting with nitrogen takes out an operation. Previously, we had to clean the oxidized edges of our components so that any welding would stick properly and similarly, for powder coated parts to avoid chipping.”

Space in the new workshop is at a premium, so MPJ made the decision to rent a high-pressure nitrogen generation plant from MSS Lasers. “This system is absolutely fantastic,” smiles Jeffs. “Previously we had to use two nitrogen banks, which only lasted two days, and one oxygen bank. Each bank contains 15 bottles, is 1.5 m x 1 m in size and weighs 1.5 tons. These are difficult to manuvere and use up valuable space. We also used to be subject to delivery delays when we ran low on nitrogen, causing disruption to our production. With the nitrogen generator, we let it run overnight, and there is plenty of gas for us to start cutting at 6 am and run all day with nitrogen. As well as saving the cost of gas and the potential disruption of running out, we now also use less oxygen for further savings.”

MPJ now relies completely on its laser cutting system, as virtually every part it manufactures goes through it. Jeffs says, “The service which we get from MSS Lasers is absolutely vital to us. We believe in relationships built on trust. Not only have they provided us with affordable machinery, but their service is first class and, in the five years we have been working together, there has never been a single occasion when they have let us down.”

MSS Lasers, Units 9-10, Allerton Road, Central Park, Rugby CV23 0PA, 01 788 552299, Fax: 01 788 553303, sales@mss-lasers.com, www.mss-lasers.com.