TPT September 2011

I ndustry N ews

UK laser cutting firm set to expand its operations nationwide

SSC LASER has opened three new sales offices and is planning to develop them into stand-alone manufacturing sites once it has built up a local customer base. It comes after the company invested £800,000 in new machinery at its Hixon, UK headquarters – the biggest single investment it has ever made. Sales director Andy Evans said the investment in new offices and equipment is part of SSC’s drive to become the biggest laser cutting firm in the UK. He said: “Our industry is quite parochial and you tend to find that buyers like to use suppliers that are in their area. “So our vision is to develop a nationwide network of SSC centres to give customers a local service. “I shall be extremely disappointed if 10 years from now we don't have at least 20 of these centres dotted around the country. This will make us by far the biggest

laser cutting company in the UK, which is exactly what we want to be.” The sales offices, in Sunderland, Castle Donington and Reading, currently employ eight people between them – three in Sunderland and Castle Donington and two in Reading. Sales manager Andy Hume said: “Obviously, the minute we turn one of the sales divisions in to a manufacturing facility, we will need to employ further.” At SSC's New Road headquarters, which employs 41 people, bosses have invested £800,000 in a new Adige LT8 tube laser cutting machine and associated handling equipment. Mr Evans said: “We didn’t just want to be a flat bed laser business because there are already 500 of these in the country. The new tube laser facility gives us a unique selling point because customers can now come to us for all their laser cutting

requirements. We can handle all kinds of sections – box, circular, hollow, angle, channel, flat, irregular – and manufacture parts up to 8.5 metres in length. There aren’t many people who can do this. “It’s also more cost-effective and convenient for customers if their complete order can be processed under one roof rather than having to deal with separate suppliers.” SSC, which was founded in 2000, is co-owned by Mr Evans and managing director Austin Jarrett. It makes precision- engineered components and finished products for a range of manufacturers. Staff work continuous shift patterns 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which means they can turn orders around within two to three days. SSC Laser – UK Website: www.steelservicecentre.co.uk