TPi May 2018

business & market news

Conex Bänninger grows turnover from OEM solutions

of our processes and systems, alongside product tests and measurements. Both aspects are essential to us delivering the best possible products and services to our customers, ensuring our high standards are always met. “Our test procedures are thorough, with pressure, thermal, tensile, resistance and pneumatic tests all carried out, alongside other more specialist tests depending on the product in question. We have nine dedicated members of staff in the quality control team, with the machinery operators on the factory floor also playing an important role, as they constantly carry out quality tests as part of their daily remit. “Looking at our OEM service specifical- ly, having an in-house team enables us to eliminate problems before they reach the customer. We can identify potential issues and propose solutions to rectify them very quickly. This includes production process improvements, staff training and tooling performance monitoring.” Conex Bänninger – UK www.conexbanninger.com In addition to the local impact, other businesses will see benefits, including Italian company Marcegaglia, which supplies the unbent tubing material. UKF/JPC managing director Simon Greenhill commented, “This is a very exciting time for the company and local businesses. Being able to keep skilled manufacturing in the area was a real bonus for us when we agreed the takeover.” The Joint Perforating Company – UK

Conex Bänninger, a manu- facturer of pipe fittings and valves, has grown its OEM tube solutions revenue within the last five years, highlighting the company’s expertise and manufacturing skill within this discipline. The business supplies bespoke tube components and pipe fittings, with OEM customer end products ranging from boilers to industrial heat pumps, and the company servicing sectors such as ACR, domestic and industrial heating, medical and industrial gases. The company has the ability to under- take processes of tube manipulation as well as tube fabrication on tube diameters ranging from 54 to 219mm. Piotr Matykiewicz, OEM cell manager at Conex Bänninger, said, “Thanks to recent investments in our world class machinery, we are able to produce complex products to high quality standards for our customers. The modern technologies at our disposal also mean that we can offer our industry-leading functions such as tube manipulation at a competitive premium, with high reliability.

“The machinery performance is matched by our in-house engineers’ technical expertise, who work with the customer to provide the product design, bespoke tooling designs and technical support to achieve the required solution. This includes constantly refining the designs, with any modifications to existing products made to minimise cost for our clients.” Conex Bänninger’s quality control function ensures that the solutions provided are of a high standard – an increasingly important function with the complex nature of the work and the rise in volume of OEM orders. Ewa Szymańska, quality manager at Conex Bänninger, explained, “The key to our quality control is the repeated review operation to outside the UK. JPC was able to step in, already being a supplier of tubular components to EET. Rather than seeing the loss of the manufacturing site, JPC agreed that it would take over the EET bending cells and keep the jobs in Coventry. With six sophisticated bending machines that it says rival any other firm in the country, JPC offers job security for at least the next five years, producing and supplying a complete range of original equipment bend and manipulated exhaust pipes direct to EET’s remaining facility in Cowley.

Boost to local economy The Joint Perforating Company (JPC), based in Bromsgrove, UK, plans to save local jobs by taking over a pipe bending business and preventing the loss of employment.

JPC, part of the UKF Stainless Holdings Group, said it expects to save at least 12 of the existing workforce and has plans for further expansion. Previous owner Eberspaecher (EET) had planned to move its automatic welding cells from Coventry to Cowley, where it has warehouse facilities next door to its customer, but was considering moving the tube bending

info@ukfstainless.co.uk www.ukfstainless.co.uk

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May 2018 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL