Whether it is beads or profiles for external wall insulation, external rendering, roofing or architectural cladding and facades, the quality and lead-time performance of Kidderminster-based Protektor Group UK Ltd has placed this progressive manufacturer in a market-leading position. Sitting at the heart of the company’s current success and future ambition are a selection of automated laser cutting and punch press machines from AMADA. Indeed, Protektor Group UK Ltd is currently looking to continue its growth journey by upgrading the company’s fleet of AMADA press brakes.
Founded as Wemico in 1984, it is today known as Protektor Group UK Ltd, which is German-owned by Protektorwerk Florenz Maisch GmbH. The group has a presence across Europe, with Protektor Group UK Ltd specialising in bespoke architectural finishings such as flashings, cladding, copings, louvres and soffits as well as standard off the shelf beads, trim and flashings. The Protektor Group UK Ltd brand is synonymous with quality, knowledge and service. Offering a comprehensive range of products, the company is a preferred supplier for system designers, installers and specifiers up and down the UK. Furthermore, in the retrofit segment, Protektor Group UK Ltd is leading the way with specific profiles built to meet the technical requirements of PAS2035.
A member of INCA (Insulated Render and Cladding Association), Protektor Group UK Ltd is witnessing considerable growth, driven by significant capital investment in AMADA machines. The company has EMZ-3610NT and EMZ-361NT CNC punch presses, both with automated sheet load/unload systems, and an LC-3015 F1-NT CNC laser cutter featuring ASL tower automation. Protektor Group UK Ltd also takes advantage of AMADA VPSS 3i Blank software for its laser and punch presses, which the company describes as “very user friendly”. Protektor Group UK Ltd’s Production Manager Richard Hill says: “Around 95% of our machinery on site today is from AMADA. We believe heavily in automation which, in truth, probably stems from our German parent company. There are some limitations, mainly due to the large number of bespoke profiles we manufacture, but for stock beads and trims, automating our punch presses and laser cutter provides us with obvious gains.”
AMADA machinery gives Protektor Group UK Ltd the ability to run whenever necessary. “That’s where our automated punch and laser machines come into their own,” he says. “We can gain a shift through the night.” Processing mainly aluminium, other materials passing through the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Protektor Group UK Ltd include stainless steel and galvanised steel, typically from 0.7 to 3.0 mm thick. The company can also handle heavy-gauge mild steel, as demonstrated by a recent contract that required parts up to 15 mm thick. For stock profiles, typical batch sizes through the laser and punch are around 500-off. Bespoke fabrication is somewhat different, with lot sizes as small as 1-off.
“Automation becomes more difficult with press brakes because we probably need thousands of the identical profile to make automated folding worthwhile,” explains Mr Hill. “Many of our parts feature a bespoke form.” That said, Protektor Group UK Ltd’s next investment project could well be upgrading the company’s six AMADA HFE series press brakes, possibly to the new HRB range. “AMADA has a new control that we think is really interesting. It will allow us to program offline and lessen our reliance on highly skilled operators. Finding press brake skills is becoming increasingly difficult. We want a shop floor with less limitations, with every operator able to fold every part - where they simply scan a barcode to see how to bend a component.” Protektor Group UK Ltd operates in a competitive market, both locally and nationally. Short lead times are paramount in order to win contracts. Construction projects often evolve as they progress, prompting late orders for products such as copings or corners. “Customers frequently want products almost immediately, which is why we ensure that our lead times are extremely competitive without compromising quality: our plant is ISO9001 accredited for quality management,” says Mr Hill. We also work with high-end 3D CAD modelling software and invest continually in our future.”
By way of example, this ambitious company recently purchased an additional site on the same trading estate, refurbishing the facility to serve as its flagship head office. Protektor Group UK Ltd also insists AMADA will play a major role in its growth journey moving forward, not simply because of the quality and performance that AMADA machines provide, but the levels of service and support available. “AMADA’s service is incredible,” he states. “We get really good uptime from our AMADA machines but occasional issues are inevitable in such a hard-working industrial setting, so having access to first-class support is vital. We’ve never been let down by AMADA and have no reason to look elsewhere for our future machine investments.”
