AJN is a forward thinking, independently owned  steel stockholder that  was originally operating from the one 11 acre site in Kentford near Newmarket, but recently they have opened an even larger 17 acre depot in Henstridge in Somerset.

This substantial new £13 million investment included the construction of the new site, 22 combi forklifts, 16 trucks with £5 million of the overall total being spent on new FICEP steel processing machinery.

From the very start AJN were looking to source all the machines from the one supplier to ensure continuity of support. It was only after in-depth research by AJN and numerous trips around world to access the different machine manufacturers and visiting many sites that the decision was made to go with FICEP.

At the long established Kentford site has a daily turnover is around 350 tons of steel. The new Henstridge site total is growing rapidly month by month with the goal to achieve 500 tons per day within 5 years by increasing shift patterns from 1 to 3  to fully exploit the potential of the FICEP steel processing machinery.

From the first order placed, the FICEP machines were delivered and installed and  commissioned on time and were operational within 3 months.  The 8 new FICEP machines in operation at AJN include an Endeavour – a multi-spindle drilling line, the Gemini – the gantry drilling, milling and thermal cutting system for plates, several Katana – high speed bandsaws,  the Rapid – high speed drilling line for angles and flats and a shot blasting machine and a second Endeavour machine was purchased for the Kentford facility.

A detailed time study analysis determined that a 48 minute job on the old machinery now takes under 5 minutes on the Endeavour and is 4 times faster when drilling only. Productivity has been further enhanced by the Gemini which is the most versatile machining centre for the processing of plate products. The Rapid now allows AJN to drill and cut angles which is a new service they can offer their customers.

The Henstridge site now covers the whole of southern England and their customers are already benefiting from AJN’s increased productivity and lower production costs – it’s a win, win scenario for both parties.

Courtney Bell, Finance Director of AJN had this to say “When we decided to expand the into a new site we were looking for the very best equipment available. FICEP were the ones who offered us the best solutions after a considerable review of existing and new suppliers. The Endeavour proved to be the ultimate solution for drilling and sawing, on top of this, the Rapid 25 we purchased allowed us to secure a large amount of new business. In buying several machines from FICEP including the Gemini, Katana Saws and one of the UK’s largest roller conveyor shotblasters, the capacity and performance in the new facility has exceeded all expectations. FICEP has lived up to all our requirements in terms of delivery, commissioning, machine capability and customer support.”

Tel: +44 (0)1924 223530
Email: info@ficep.co.uk
www.ficep.co.uk