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Redcliffe Precision Limited ('Redcliffe' or the 'Company'), the specialist precision engineering company, is pleased to confirm the visit of Vince Cable, the Secretary of State for Business to its premises today.
The visit follows Redcliffe’s successful application for a grant from the West of England Growth fund to support its ambitious plans to develop a “Centre of Excellence for Thread Rolling” in the West Country.
Redcliffe Precision is a small but growing family run British engineering company within the aerospace manufacturing sector. Redcliffe offers production manufacturing, spares and “Aircraft on the Ground” (AOG) services to the UK and international aerospace supply chain, robotics and F1 motorsport sectors.
Investments made by the Company in state of the art 5 axis machinery and an engineering design and programming capability have enabled it compete successfully on the international stage. Substantial orders have been won recently for airframe components that would otherwise have been sourced from India or further a field. Similar recent investments made in a high precision gang tool lathe have contributed to other work being awarded in favour of Redcliffe ahead of competitors in Europe
The grant will enable Redcliffe to invest in a new electric (as opposed to hydraulic) thread-rolling machine. This will further improve productivity and the Company’s competitive position. It will also increase both capacity and the Company’s capability to roll more difficult threads, building on its successful history and continuing Redcliffe’s growth in the future.
Thread rolling is a process for manufacturing very high precision threads. The thread is formed by simultaneously spinning and squeezing the blank part with tremendous pressure between two grooved rollers on specially made machines. The bolts and shafts manufactured with this process have significantly higher accuracy, are stronger and more resistant to fatigue failure, than when manufactured by alternative means such as cutting the thread. Parts from each batch are destructively tested and undergo a microstructure examination to ensure they are as strong and as reliable, as possible.
Redcliffe Precision holds Quality approvals for most aircraft manufacturers together with AS9100 Part C. It is a member of the Thread Rolling standards commission.
Commenting on the visit, the Secretary for State for Business Vince Cable said:
“Our Aerospace industry is a national success story, and companies like Redcliffe Precision Limited are helping to strengthen the quality and depth of the supply chain.
“This is why my Department is working with business through our joint Aerospace Industrial Strategy to create the conditions that will help local companies expand their operations and create new, skilled jobs."
Commenting on the visit, Redcliffe Precision Managing Director Kevin Sage said:
"We have been delighted to welcome Vince to our premises today and conduct him around our facilities. He showed much interest in what we do and met many of our workforce; we currently have a number of apprentices and they got quite a thrill out of meeting him.
The support that we have had from the West of England growth fund towards developing our Centre of Excellence for Thread Rolling has allowed us to accelerate our investment plans in advanced manufacturing technology and will create new employment opportunity in a high tech engineering sector.
A substantial proportion of what we manufacture is exported, which is good both for jobs and for the UK as a whole."
