PEG Precision Engineering & Fabrication’s recent move to new premises in Plympton, near Plymouth, Devon, was prompted in part by founder Malcolm Ross’ decision to pass on day to day running of the family business to John Bailey.

Formed in 1981 as Plymouth Engine & Gearbox Co to carry out automotive engine and gearbox reconditioning, the company was previously housed in a purpose-built workshop at the rear of the family home in nearby Wembury. However, having been asked repeatedly by customers to produce piece parts, by the late 1980s the focus had switched entirely to the precision machining of materials ranging from plastics to high nickel content alloys.

A longstanding commitment to quality, via accreditation initially to BS5750 in 1990, has seen the ISO9001:2008 subcontractor grow steadily to 16 people and this, coupled with the earlier addition of welding and fabrication, proved to be the tipping point. “We needed to install another machine but there was no space available in our previous premises,” says John Bailey, works director. “So we decided to move to larger premises on the Langage Industrial Estate and bought a 9,000ft². unit here in 2008, converting it to meet our specific requirements and moving here the following year.”

The emphasis at PEG Precision is on providing a complete manufacturing service that includes advice, development and prototyping through to volume production and delivery of fully traceable finished components. A former PEG apprentice, John Bailey is a firm believer in the apprenticeship system as a way of bringing skills into the business and PEG Precision currently has two apprentices, one training as a welder/fabricator and the other as a machinist.

Now in his second year with the company, apprentice machinist Anthony Harper had been shown how to use an existing XYZ ProTURN SLX 425 CNC/manual lathe but was actually working most of the time on a manual lathe. This restricted the type of work he could be given and it was while visiting XYZ Machine Tool’s Burlescombe headquarters that Mr Bailey decided to invest in a smaller 7.5hp/50-4,000rpm ProTURN SLX CNC/manual lathe.

“Our XYZ machines are all CNC/manual rather than full CNC as this fits the type of work we do, which is not all long production runs,” he says. “Our operators are highly skilled people who write their own programs, set the machines up and take responsibility for the quality of the components they produce. Looking to the longer term, I want our apprentices to learn these skills and the right way of doing things, so Anthony now has a new machine equipped with the latest ProtoTRAK SLX control, which is a good system to introduce someone to the intricacies of CNC machining.”
The ProtoTRAK SLX control can be programmed easily without any specific coding knowledge being required, while standard features of the 1,000mm between centres ProTURN 355 include constant surface speed (for optimum surface finish) and TRAKing, which allows the operator to execute a program by winding the apron mounted handwheels.

PEG Precision’s customer base is extensive and embraces oil and gas, automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, electronics, defence and even super yachts. There is a high level of repeat business, which is a testament both to the quality values instilled by Malcolm Ross and to the work of another ex-PEG apprentice, Paul Furneaux, who oversees quality control and ensures compliance with every aspect of the company’s ISO 9001 accreditation.

“Our insistence on quality extends to suppliers, too,” Mr Bailey advises. “The relationship with XYZ began many years ago with the retrofitting of a digital readout to a lathe and has continued. It is a local company offering reasonably priced quality machine tools as part of a good overall package of sales and service.”

XYZ Machine Tools
www.xyzmachinetools.com

PEG Precision
www.peg-precision-engineering.co.uk