£600,000 investment at Pratt Burnerd
In response to substantial demand increases, particularly for its large diameter oil country chucks and big centres, Pratt Burnerd International is investing even further in new machines at its prestigious manufacturing plant in Halifax, West Yorkshire
It has installed a large Webster and Bennett vertical turning lathe and an order has been placed for a Mazak FH8800 horizontal machining centre for delivery in November this year, a total investment of £600,000. This investment will ensure that PBI can continue to provide rapid lead times for all its chucks as well as sustain the efficient manufacturing practices necessary to maintain its competitive pricing structure.
Pratt Burnerd International is the leading European manufacturer of chucks and workholding systems. The Webster and Bennett, installed during June 2007, is the latest in a long line of investments in the manufacturing plant at Halifax. Director/General Manager Peter Simms said “The only way in which we can remain competitive and maintain our scrupulous quality and delivery standards is by a policy of continual and discerning investment in appropriate equipment and systems. We are enjoying something of a boom in our fortunes – in addition to a steady increase in demand for our standard ranges of manual and power chucks, our superthin chucks, which we introduced last year, are proving very popular with customers. Demand for our big oil country chucks (up to 1m), which we introduced earlier this year in response to market demand, has been such that we needed additional manufacturing equipment to keep up with the requirement”.
Pratt Burnerd International operates out of a 6,000 sq m factory in Halifax, West Yorkshire. The manufacturing plant operates only to the highest standards of manufacturing excellence, quality control and assurance, and provides full traceability. A policy of continual investment ensures that the latest machine tool technology is employed in the manufacture of the chucks. This not only enables the company to meet outstanding quality standards but also assists in controlling production costs and therefore price to the customer. The machine shops are organised into dedicated cells arranged to give the most efficient production flow and carefully furnished with the most appropriate machine tools for the complex task of manufacturing chucks and collets. Over the last few years it has built and equipped a dedicated state-of-the art grinding facility and installed a fully computerised stock holding/order/dispatch system ensures orders are progressed and tracked efficiently. Customer support services are also computerised.
For more than 150 years it has been designing, manufacturing and developing chucks for and with its customers. Throughout that time, innovation and development have been the watch-word of the company, keeping it at the leading edge of chuck technology. Essence of Pratt Burnerd International is its ability to design and manufacture chucks which meet any workholding requirement. The standard range, much of which was developed initially for special applications, reflects the company’s efforts to remain close to its customers and develop the workholding systems which the industry needs not only today but will need tomorrow. Of equal consequence is Pratt Burnerd’s exceptional ability to design innovative, cost effective solutions to complex workholding problems.
For further information, contact:
Peter Simms (Director / General Manager – Pratt Burnerd International)
Tel + 44 (0) 1422 366371
Mary Hollingsworth (Hollingsworth Enterprises)
Tel: + 44 (0) 1773 836757
