AMADA machines are a recipe for success ...

Alphin Pans, a contract sheet metalworking shop based in Oldham, has invested ￡500,000 in a new AMADA press. The machine is the latest result of an extensive?investment programme over the past three years that has seen this progressive manufacturing?business introduce automated AMADA laser cutting and punching machines, along with an AMADA all-electric press brake.?

As a company, Alphin Pans is best known for its pizza pans and accessories. The?UK's leading manufacturer in this area, Alphin estimates that over 500 million?pizzas are cooked on its pans worldwide every year. And yet this activity?represents only a small proportion of revenue for the company's contract?manufacturing arm. Sure enough, while many of the sectors served by Alphin Pans are catering-related, the business also supplies industries?that include lighting, construction, pharmaceutical, military, aerospace,?shop fitting and oil and gas.

Drawn by the company's expertise, capability and reliability, the growing list of customers is helping to spur growth at Alphin Pans, which won a Queen's Award for Export in?2020.?

Formed in 1989, Alphin Pans is a family-run firm that has grown into a significant and successful sheet metal manufacturing company with 56 employees. The business holds accreditations to both ISO9001 and ISO14001 at its 35,000 ft2 facility.?

"We offer a complete solution for all precision sheet metal?requirements;· states Managing Director Matthew Sykes.?"Furthermore, we are committed to quality, innovation and?investment, providing contract manufacturing solutions?to a diverse range of sectors. Investment in the latest?technology benefits our customers through quality, cost and delivery." Supporting its continuous?investment programme, Alphin Pans recently identified the need to upgrade its pressing capacity, leading to the placement of an order?for a new AMADA SDEW-3025 Servo?Power Press. Representing an investment of around ￡500,000, this 300-tonne capacity machine will be the first of its type in the UK. Notably, such is the company's confidence in AMADA machines that it placed the order without?a physical viewing or demonstration.?

"Although I would never describe ourselves as a press shop, we have a small number of presses that complement our metal spinning operations," says Mr Sykes. "However, we've never invested heavily into the press side of our business. In the past we opted for preowned presses that come up in auctions."?

With its existing presses starting to display one or two "niggles", Alphin Pans decided to invest in new technology. And yet, with space at a premium, the size of any new press was a major consideration.?

"We know that installing the AMADA SDEW-3025 will allow us to replace three existing presses and create a lot of space - the new press is so much more compact," explains Mr Sykes. "It will also open up other potential work as the machine has more bed width capacity than our current presses, so we can load larger tools. What's more, we serve a number of big internationals who may decide to re-shore some of their press work."?

Mr Sykes says that Alphin Pans is approximately 40% up on last year, thanks in many respects to a growing appetite for re-shoring among its larger customers.?

"We've been competitive for a long time, but buyers haven't been looking," he says. "However, with global freight charges now rising steeply, purchasing teams are beginning to make enquiries, discovering that UK manufacturers such as Alphin can compete."

The global pandemic has also had a positive effect on business. Many of the company's largest customers are oven manufacturers serving the quick-service food industry. This sector enjoyed a phenomenal performance during the pandemic as most quick-service restaurants kept delivering during lockdown periods. Alphin Pans also supplies the houseware sector, which in turn serves major high street retailers. Again, there is an increasing desire to purchase British because obtaining goods from overseas means long lead times.?

"We didn't really look at any presses other than AMADA," says Mr Sykes. "I was talking to a customer who is very knowledgeable on presses. Although he didn't mention AMADA, he did mention the benefits of servo-driven electric presses, particularly their variable stroke manipulation. "We approached AMADA based on our existing experience of using their machines, along with the company's servicing and training offer. I have every confidence in the AMADA power press."?

The AMADA SDEW-3025 has started its life at Alphin Pans pressing mainly aluminium, but also some mild steel, in sheet thickness between 0.7 and 2.0 mm.?

"We are a subcontractor, which means we never really?know what will arrive tomorrow;" states Mr Sykes.?"As a result, we need a versatile press that offers?quick set-up times. Tool set up is the biggest downtime?on any press, but with the AMADA SDEW-3025 we will?be able to store different jobs in the memory, which is?a huge help. I'm really hoping this press will be the first?of a few to replace our entire fleet."?

Alphin Pans positions itself as a one-stop-shop, offering laser cutting, punching, pressing, spinning, folding, welding, surface finishing, machining and design services. To support this extensive provision, the company invests regularly in the latest manufacturing technologies, a recent example of which was the arrival (in 2020) of a new AMADA EG-4010 all-electric press brake.?

"Space was the issue in our folding department, so we opted for the AMADA EG-4010 all-electric machine, which doesn't take up much room but still covers about 60% of our work;' explains Mr Sykes. "It's very ergonomic and user-friendly, and really cracks through the parts, making it the perfect complement to our larger hydraulic press brakes."?

Alphin Pans has three AMADA hydraulic press brakes on site, including an HFE3i-1003 and two HD series models.?

Investment levels are equally high in the company's profiling and punching section. An AMADA ENSIS-3015AJ fibre laser cutter with ASF-3015 automation tower arrived in 2018, as did an AMADA EMZ-3510 automated punch press. These two machines support an existing AMADA EML-3610NT combination punch/laser, again with automation. The machines are programmed offline using AMADA's VPSS 3i Blank CADCAM software.?

"We run 24 hours a day from Monday to Thursday," says Mr Sykes. "Thanks to the automated AMADA machines we run lights out production at the weekends, just popping in to change materials. We process everything from aluminium, mild steel and stainless steel, through to zintec, copper, brass and titanium."?

Ultimately, it is the company's ongoing investment and 'can do' attitude that are propelling it to the forefront of UK precision sheet metal manufacture.?

You can visit their website here: https://alphin.co.uk/