Investment keeps 2020 vision in focus

Established in 1989, Alpha Manufacturing is a privately owned business that is part of the Bri-Stor Group. The 100 plus employee company, which is based at a purpose-built 65,000ft² facility near Stafford, processes a wide range of materials in thicknesses from 0.5 to 25mm, from prototype quantities up to batch sizes of thousands. Sectors served include construction, automotive, energy, lighting, electrical, security and medical.

“We have for some time admired the TruBend Cell 7000 from afar, but had resisted as all of our existing bending machines (press brakes) are from another supplier,” explains Operations Director Paul Clews. “However, with press brake skills becoming increasingly hard to source, we knew it made sense to look closely at more automated solutions. At first we considered press brakes with automatic tool changers, but these did not compare with the TruBend Cell 7000. In my opinion, there is nothing else like it on the market.”

Clews and his team performed due diligence on the TruBend Cell 7000 and found the company would have no problem filling three shifts, 24-7, so the purchase decision was made. Installed in June, the machine is now hard at work bending a multitude of different parts.

“In comparison with a standard press brake, we are achieving 30-40% more efficiency,” added Clews. “However, it’s also about the skill set available on the machine. We now have complete peace of mind that no parts will be bent incorrectly. Such has been its impact that in 12 months we may look at taking another. Machines like the TruBend Cell form part of our long term vision to deskill and automate.”