Redhill Manufacturing, a Redditch-based access equipment maker has purchased two British-built all-electric tube bending machines from Unison Ltd and two fibre laser cutting machines from Unison’s sister company, Nukon Lasers UK. The new machines will be used by Redhill to meet the increased demand for its products. One of the tube benders will replace a machine that was lost in a factory fire in May 2022.
The first of the new fibre lasers, a Nukon ECO 315 4kW was installed at Redhill’s newly acquired facility in December 2022. The second laser, a Nukon NKT-125 2kW 3D tube cutting model and the two Unison tube bending machines will be installed later in 2023. Combined, the value of the four machines is over £1m.
Following the fire at its original manufacturing site, Redhill had to find new premises and also quality CNC machine tools to maintain its standing as the only UK manufacturer of ‘kitemarked’ British Standard mobile safety steps. Redhill’s Managing Director, Andy Colley says: “Incredibly, we were up and running again in just three weeks following the fire. With temporary accommodation secured until we could move into our new manufacturing facility in winter 2022, and the insurance settled, we needed to source new tube bending machinery – and quickly. This was because only one of our existing benders had survived the fire. It also seemed appropriate to end our reliance on outsourced laser-cut parts by investing in our flat sheet and laser tube cutting capability.
Free loan of tube bending machine
As Andy Colley continues: “I’d read good things about Unison’s range of all-electric ‘Breeze’ tube bending machines, so got in touch with them to order two machines; one to replace the machine we’d lost and a second for additional capacity. As it would be several months before the new bending machines were ready, Unison kindly offered to lend us one of their showroom models. This was just what we needed to tide us over until the new tube benders were built.”
It was during a meeting with Unison’s key account manager, Steve Haddrell, to discuss two new all-electric Breeze tube benders, that the conversation turned to laser cutting. “I required two fibre laser machines but wasn’t aware that Unison’s sister company had recently become the UK and Ireland distributor for the Nukon laser range. As I didn’t know the Nukon brand, Steve Haddrell arranged to take me to a company in Sheffield that had been using a Nukon flat sheet metal laser for around a year. This allowed me to see the machine in action and chat to the operators about their experience of using it.”
Hearing how the Nukon laser had streamlined processes at the Sheffield business, Andy Colley then travelled to Nukon’s European manufacturing facility to see a Nukon tube laser machine in action. “The tube laser machine was just as impressive as the machine I’d seen in Sheffield. The build quality was very good. Both machines were competitively priced, and the features included nLIGHT fibre lasers with adaptive beam optimisation and Lantek Expert nesting software. What gave me the confidence to place an order was my belief that if Unison was happy to be associated with Nukon, there was no need for me to be concerned about machine quality or aftersales support.”
Redhill Manufacturing chose the Nukon ECO 315 4kW fibre laser for its ability to cut complex shapes with speed and precision. Similarly, the Nukon NKT-125 2kW 3D tube laser machine was selected for its speed, easy programming and versatility whether cutting pipe of round, oval, square or rectangular profile. Redhill’s two new 30mm Unison Breeze single stack tube bending machines will be used in the manufacture of its British Standard kitemarked steps; mobile steps, portable steps and other access equipment.
“Thanks to the machine’s easy setup and the thorough training provided by the Nukon Lasers UK team, we were successfully cutting components almost immediately – a benefit that gave us excellent quality control and allowed us to stop outsourcing laser cutting. We’re now looking forward to the arrival of our second Nukon laser and the Unison tube benders in the next few months,” concludes Andy.