We all know that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on our everyday lives, from socialising and seeing our families, to working from home. The British economy shrank by nearly 10% in 2020, this is the biggest slump in more than 300 years. But now, in May 2021, things are looking up, with the prospect of vaccines allowing us to go back to a new normal. There are some initial signs that a wave of optimism has swept British companies as the economy gradually reopens following a third national lockdown in the past month, with pubs reopening and non-essential retail opening their doors once again. The country is beginning to recover from the large slump caused by the global pandemic.

UK manufacturing

UK factories were not directly affected by the lockdown restrictions at the start of 2021, many of their customers were. Meaning many took advantage of the furlough scheme offered by the UK government.
April saw an acceleration in the rate of the UK manufacturing industry. Growth of output as well as orders were among the best seen in seven years. In a recent survey, nearly half of smaller British manufacturers are expecting to recover their pre-pandemic health in the coming months, many of these plan to invest in hiring, plant and machinery. The South West Manufacturing Advisory Service (SWMAS) and Manufacturing Growth Programme said 48% of small and medium-sized manufacturers expected to meet their pre-COVID position in the next three months. The IHI Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index® rose to 60.9 in April, up from 59.9 in March. The latest reading is the highest since July 1994’s record high 60.0.

Impact on CMT

Curtis Machine Tools were impacted by the pandemic, just like thousands of other business in the UK last year. Fast forward to the first half of this year and business is booming. We have received enquiries for standalone and production line machines from across the globe and even managed to pick up new customers. These customers are currently really impressed with our customer service and grinding solutions we can provide. In May 2021, we will have dispatched 3 VECTOR Twin grinding machines as well as having various initial consultations with potential customers, and development projects taking place.

The future

At CMT we all hope that business continues to be busy and we can keep providing our customers with engineered grinding solutions. We are also looking to grow and develop the business further. CMT will continue to invest in new technologies and hire highly skilled employees.

Our latest VECTOR Twin grinding machine has been dispatched this week, ready to be delivered to our customer, a major automotive supplier, in the USA. Manufacturing this machine has taken several months of designing, assembling and testing to make sure it is to the exact requirements of our client.

VECTOR Twin

The VECTOR Twin can be used to grind a number of different components, depending on the requirements of our customers. Many of our customers manufacture small, high precision components within the automotive, medical and defence industries. The Twin, from the VECTOR family of grinding machines, inorporated an indexing twin-spindle workhead, this allows loading and some secondary operations to be performed concurrently with the grinding process. Using this machine means that the process can be nearly halved in time, therefore improving productivity.

This particular machine uses a conveyor system which holds a number of pallets containing components. This reduces the amount of human interaction that the machine needs to operate. Once the pallet has finished being ground, the conveyor system moves it to the end of the machine, ready for the operator to pick up. An SPC drawer has been incorporated into the machine to allow the operator to inspect finished components whilst the machine is still running. This machine also features a Staubli robot and Siemens control system.

Check out our YouTube channel soon to see this machine in action.

Customisation as standard

When creating a bespoke solution for our customers, there are limitless possibilities to customising our grinding machines. We do this by using the latest technologies from the likes of Siemens and Staubli. The integration of additional processes can be offered to provide a complete turn-key solution, such as;

• Vision systems
• Automation
• Workpiece inspection
• Deburr, wash and dry
• Laser marking, packaging and much more.

If you wish to find out more information regarding our grinding machines, please contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, to keep up to date with our latest news.

CIMT (China International Machine Tool Show) 2021 was a huge success for the machine tool industry. Unfortunately, colleagues from CMT and many international attendees were unable to attend, due to Covid-19 restrictions. Our representatives at Rieckermann attended the show to meet with potential customers and showcase the engineered grinding solutions CMT can provide, with our 45 years’ experience in the machine tools industry.
Some of our team at our headquarters in Essex, UK were available to take part in video calls to speak with potential clients. Rieckermann team members had some in depth discussions about what CMT can offer, the capabilities of our machines and the requirements of potential customers.

CMT and Rieckermann worked closely to ensure we could provide attendees with the best possible experience. We created a slideshow that was interactive on the stand for viewers. CMT also send out a number of different components that our VECTOR family of grinding machines would be able to manufacture. Employees at Rieckermann were also helpful with translating documents into Chinese, and printing copies ready for the show, see below for the link to our Chinese (simplified) Brochure.

Although our team was disappointed to not be able to attend CIMT, the use of technology made the event enjoyable. However, we hope that in the future we will be able to attend exhibitions in person to build a better relationship with potential customers. CMT were very impressed with the professional stand at CIMT and thank them for their hard work.