In 1988, Trevor Wherrell formed Lincoln Precision Engineering (LPE) Ltd and the company has been on a trajectory of growth since its inception. However, this steady growth has blown into an exponential curve in the last few years with the North Hykeham business moving to a new £1.5m factory and also adding to its sheet metal capabilities with the addition of new laser and folding equipment from TRUMPF.
Located near Lincoln, LPE is a business that has evaded tradition, specialising in both CNC machining and laser cutting and bending. This sees the 25 employee business servicing a host of industry sectors such as the yellow goods, hydraulic, agricultural goods, cladding, solar shading and much more. Commenting upon the company background, Founder and Director of LPE, Mr Trevor Wherrell says: “We started out as a machining company and we got into laser cutting. I think the laser cutting is now taking over slightly, but we still have a big emphasis on machining. As a company, everything gels together and one complements the other. So, we have machining customers that now use our laser services and vice versa. Additionally, some parts that are laser cut will also need machining.”
To support its sheet metal customer base, LPE has invested in a TRUMPF TruLaser 3030, a TruLaser 5030 BrightLine Fiber and a TruBend 3120. However, the rapid growth has prompted further investment with the recent arrival of a TruLaser 5040 BrightLine Fiber, a TruBend 5170 and also a TruBend 7036.
“Turnover has increased massively and work is coming in from all angles and this includes machining, folding and laser cutting. It is this influx of work that has allowed us to progress to where we are now,” says Mr Wherrell. Commenting upon one of the three new TRUMPF machines, Company Director Mr Aron Wherrell was the driving force behind the new TruLaser 5040 arrival. He says: “We opted for this machine because we had been running the other fiber laser for 3-4 years and we have always got on great with that machine. But we had a requirement to cut larger jobs, so we’ve gone for a 4m by 2m bed size and an extra Kilowatt of power on the output as well.”
Referring specifically to the Fiber Laser and the difference offered to customers, Mr Wherrell continues: “The Fiber Laser has enabled us to cut thin jobs much faster with a greater range of material types and material thicknesses, so it’s actually opened up a lot of new doors.” Commenting on the surface edges and finish quality, Mr Wherrell continues: “The original Fiber machine had the BrightLine technology, which gave us a great edge quality and the latest TruLaser 5040 machine has carried on from that.”
The new machine has 6kW of power and for the customer the benefits are considerable. As Mr Wherrell remarks: “The high power laser ensures our quality is 100% all the time and when you are cutting thicker materials, it’s absolutely nailed-on with precision and cut quality. The beauty of now having three machines is that we can now judge which machine will do the best job on the relevant material and allocate jobs accordingly.”
Alluding to the rapid growth of LPE, Ben Campbell, the TRUMPF Area Sales Manager says: “It’s been exciting to see the progress of the company over the last four years, firstly taking on the two press brakes, then two lasers and now seeing the two new press brakes and the third laser.”
Looking specifically at the new TruBend 5170, Mr Campbell says: “Trevor and Aron initially had two of the 3 Series TruBend machines and these are workhorse production machines, which are fairly typical of what you would see in the UK. Now, what these guys decided to do when re-investing in the technology was to not only increase capacity but also diversify. So, with the new 5 Series, what we actually have here is a machine that is leaps and bounds ahead of all others with regard to technology. The machine has the Y-axis that allows more diverse jobs in a single set-up and it allows features such as safety hemming. The TruBend 5170 also has the ACD technology and that allows Lincoln Precision Engineering to add-in extra accuracy if required. One of the most recent machines to arrive is the TruBend 7036. This is a very different machine in itself and highlight’s this customers aims for diversification. Whilst the 5 Series can do a whole plethora of work, the smaller 7 Series is designed to do very small bracket work at high speed. Everything about the TruBend 7036 is designed to make the user comfortable and get through high volume work.”
Looking at the machines at Lincoln Precision Engineering, Mr Campbell says: “This Company is certainly bucking the trend. With the 3 Series machine, Lincoln has a fairly standard installation but the TruBend 5170 and TruBend 7036 really are a cut-above the rest in technology levels. The fact that LPE has both at its disposal really means the company can cover all bases from small bracket work through to very complicated parts and also very long parts.”
