SDE Technology has laid the foundations for an extraordinary 1000-tonne Chin Fong press and coil handling line at its Brixton Way factory in Shrewsbury. This latest implementation will permit the application of larger dies that particularly aid in forming larger aluminium components for the automotive industry.
The entire investment required for such an endeavour is approximately £2 million, and the firm is spending it for primary upgrades pertaining to the project. Once fully optimised and operational, this will be deemed the largest progression press with a bed size of 4.5 metres x 1.8 metres.
SDE Technology projects that the press can efficiently generate £2 million in revenue. The company associates have begun recruiting tier 1 suppliers and OEMs to induce a closely knit supply chain with no risks of malfunction or failure. SDE is engaged in conversation with impactful OEMs for a risk-free trade and stewardship of aluminium car parts in the automobile sector.
The new investment has opened eight new job opportunities, and ten existing roles were saved by it.
The newly appointed Managing Director of SDE, Richard Homden, announced: “This is our largest ever progression press and one of the largest in the UK automotive supply chain.”
“It is a fantastic time to invest in this new capability. Yes, there are current headwinds, but for the bold, there are also opportunities, with lots of reshoring, electrification and carbon reduction projects currently being discussed,” he exclaimed.
“The £2m investment will be a game-changer for our business and the West Midlands as a whole,” Richard asserted.
SDE Technology is a leading UK manufacturer of pressings and assemblies, with over 130 employees in their production and Salop Haulage Ltd. divisions. Despite challenging conditions such as the pandemic, chip shortages, and energy costs, the company has secured new opportunities in the automotive sector and plans to maximise its latest Hot Form Quench (HFQ®) process.
This innovative hot-forming process produces high-strength aluminium parts for the automotive, aerospace, and renewable industries, providing designers with greater flexibility to create lightweight components with enhanced structural rigidness.
Additionally, the HFQ® process improves the formability of six and seven-thousand-series aluminium alloys that cannot be formed through cold methods. Also, in some cases, it can minimise the number of components required, to just a single, precisely designed aluminium structure.
The Commercial Director at SDE Technology, Chris Greenough, illustrated: “The Chin Fong investment comes off the back of two earlier press installations, offering 100 and 200-tonne capabilities.”
“These have been put in initially to deliver pressings for the white goods industry, but they could also be used to support other tooling projects going forward,” Chris concluded.
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