Vire Engineering, the Totnes-based sub-contractor, is emerging from the recession relatively unscathed. It manufactures hose and pipe end fittings for brake, fuel, oil and coolant assemblies used in the motor-sport and defence sectors, and it has bought a Traub TNC65
twin-spindle turning centre from UK agent Geo Kingsbury to fulfil a new contract.
Janet Vincent, managing director of Vire, says: “We succeeded in obtaining business from a UK company supplying fittings to a US customer that wanted aluminium fittings of larger diameter than our existing lathes could accommodate, so we needed a new machine. The difficulty we faced was the low unit cost of the fittings, which led us at the outset to install a relatively inexpensive new lathe, so that the investment was proportionate to the profit margin. However, that machine proved to be unreliable, and service was poor. We already had two Traub CNC lathes from Geo Kingsbury, who heard
of the trouble we were having and undertook to keep their eyes open for a good-quality used mill-turn centre of larger capacity that would meet our budget and reliability requirements.”
When such a machine was found in Germany, it was checked by a Geo Kingsbury engineer, who was impressed by its condition and recommended it to Vire. After being refurbished, the machine was installed at Totnes in mid-2009, and it has been running 24/7 since then.
It has transformed the production of titanium, stainless-steel, mild-steel and aluminium
fittings up to 65mm in diameter.