“This machine is literally costing me nothing to run!”

At Hi Fly Engineering, owner Ed has a message for manufacturers trying to stay competitive in today’s market: you don’t need to sacrifice performance to reduce costs. His investment in a BROTHER BT30 machine, supplied by Whitehouse Machine Tools, has transformed his operations in more ways than one.

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“This machine is literally costing me nothing to run,” says Ed. And he’s not exaggerating. With energy efficiency built into every aspect of the machine’s design, Hi Fly Engineering has seen a dramatic drop in production costs. The benefits go well beyond electricity savings. The move has enabled the business to reduce its environmental impact, support net zero goals, and become less reliant on external suppliers—making it more self-sufficient and scalable.

Ed highlights that productivity is also through the roof. “It’s not just cheap to run—it’s fast. Really fast.” This has translated into quicker turnaround times, greater capacity, and the ability to offer more competitive pricing to customers without compromising on margins.

But perhaps most significantly, Ed is helping to dispel a long-standing industry misconception: that BT30 can’t match BT40 in performance, especially when machining harder materials. “We’re running tougher steels and alloys on this BT30 machine, and it’s delivering results on par with what we’d expect from BT40. The performance is there. It’s consistent and reliable.”

This echoes what Whitehouse Machine Tools has been advocating for some time—BT30 technology is not only viable for high-performance machining, but in many cases, it’s the smarter choice.

In a time where operational efficiency and sustainability are more important than ever, Hi Fly Engineering’s success with BROTHER is a strong example of how strategic investment in the right machine tool can drive measurable results across cost, performance, and environmental responsibility.

To hear Ed’s full story and see the machine in action, watch the video interview now.