Story added 04 July 2008.
Orders for 19 sliding-headstock lathes were taken by Star Micronics GB during June 2008, an all-time record for a single month. Twelve subcontractors, seven of which are new to Star, will take delivery of the machines over the coming months.
The exceptional total, which spanned the full capacity range from 10 mm to 32 mm, was partly the result of the company holding an open house exhibition at its Melbourne technical centre from 16th to 20th June.
Managing director Bob Hunt said, “We had a major impact on the precision turned parts sector in the second quarter of this year. It started at MACH, where we topped £1 million of orders.
“Holding an open house eight weeks later enabled us to secure the latest clutch of orders. Some prospective customers expressed interest in our machines in Birmingham but were not prepared to place orders at the time. We were able to consolidate much of this business when they came to see us in Melbourne.”
The one-week open house featured a BBQ dinner for visitors on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, which attracted 64 and 72 guests respectively. Encouraging such large numbers to attend so soon after a major machine tool show is not easy and was testament to the hard work put in by the whole Star team.
The high level of attendance was also due to visitors being able to see not only the latest Star multi-axis turning centres, but also a wide range of associated equipment designed to facilitate and increase turned parts productivity.
They included Star GB’s agency lines – FMB bar magazines and JBS compensating guide bush systems. Additional technologies on show by third parties were modern cutting tools for sliding-head mill-turning, metrology equipment, computer-aided engineering software, high-pressure coolant delivery, mist extraction, component cleaning, high-speed spindles and tool pressure monitoring. Attractive finance packages were on offer throughout the show.
The Manufacturing Technologies Association was also present to promote its ‘User Partners’ section, aimed at encouraging subcontractors to take advantage of core elements of the MTA service at a competitive annual fee.
On the last day of the open house, Mr Hunt was delighted to welcome Councillor Heather Wheeler, Conservative District Councillor for the Repton ward in South Derbyshire and Leader of the Council. She was accompanied by husband Bob, a District Councillor for nearby Linton ward.
The importance of apprenticeships in manufacturing industry was discussed. The lady councillor was pleased to see that Star GB took on its first apprentice, Joe Whiteside, a couple of years ago and plans to employ a second later this year.
The wide-ranging conversation touched on local education and how to encourage young people to become involved in manufacturing, which has lost 1.5 million jobs in the last decade and now accounts for a proportion of GDP and employment of only around 15 per cent. Cllr Wheeler was well aware of the difficulties facing the sector.
Before the councillors left, Bob Hunt mentioned a couple of initiatives that Star GB has introduced for local schools and colleges. One is to offer a facility for providing students with modern CNC technology within their educational establishments. The other is to invite pupils studying engineering in the Derbyshire area to Star’s technical centre, where they can be helped with practical exercises and project-based coursework.
