Greenfield Engineering, a leading precision sheet-metal contract manufacturer based in Holsworthy, Devon, has placed an order for a third ATC (Automatic Tool Change) press brake from AMADA. The HG-1003ATC will join two existing ATC models at the company complimenting the already extensive bending capability, adding further capacity to this progressive manufacturing business.
Formed in 1989, Greenfield Engineering is at the forefront of sheet-metal fabrication. During the past three decades, the business has endorsed its market-leading position with impressive capital investments in the latest AMADA technology, helping to achieve its best-ever year of trading in 2022.
Serving a diverse selection of sectors that include office furniture, lighting, point-of-sale retail and HVAC, the 65-employee business recently purchased an additional 40,000 sqft site on the same trading estate, prompting the order for a third ATC-series automated press brake. Greenfield points to the excellent aftersales service of AMADA and the high reliability of its machines as major contributors to the company’s growth.
“With our historical success, we were always going to approach AMADA again for our latest machine investment, which is testament to the performance and reliability of our two existing automated press brakes: HD-1003ATC models that arrived in 2014 and 2015 respectively,” reports Managing Director Gary Burnard. “We’ve seen a 35% increase in productivity since the installation of our HD-ATC press brakes, while the reliability has been fantastic. The machines don’t miss a beat.”
He continues: “ATC series press brakes allow us to bend low-to-medium batch sizes competitively and efficiently, meeting the demand of customers. The machines can perform complete tool changes in one or two minutes. In addition, the tooling set-up is always right-first-time for the given program.”
Alongside fast and optimised tool set up, the AMADA HG1003-ATC press brake offers the AMNC 3i control with touchscreen display, an integrated sensor to guarantee bend angle accuracy, and a servo/hydraulic drive system which consumes less energy than a conventional press brake.
Accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, Greenfield Engineering has the ability and skill set to maximise the potential of its AMADA equipment. Aside from its two (soon to be three) ATC series press brakes, further AMADA solutions on site include an ENSIS 3015AJ 3kW fibre laser cutter with OVS system and ASLUL automated material storage tower, three EMZ turret punches with part picking and material storage towers, an ATC Astro bending cell with automatic tool changer and gripper selection, and six standalone HD-series press brakes.
“The third ATC-series automated press brake will have a huge impact on streamlining parts quickly through the new site combating the ‘start/stop’ cycle that’s common with low volume/high mix work put through manual tooling press brakes,” says Mr Burnard. “It will also reduce the pressure on operators and their turnaround of finished folded parts.”
Greenfield Engineering will become the first UK company to have three AMADA ATC-series press brakes, representing yet another impressive milestone.
