BEL Engineering has completed the machining of ventilator parts for the UK Government’s challenge.
During the pandemic, the UK Government challenged engineering companies around the country to design and mass produce 15,000 new ventilators to help aid the fight against COVID-19.
A total of 68,300 ventilator components were procured and manufactured for Dyson, Rolls Royce and Babcock at BEL Engineering’s site in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Due to tight project timescales, BEL Engineering’s structure was adapted to cater to high volume production where low volume, technically complexed products are typically manufactured.
Katy O’Farrell, Commercial Director at BEL Engineering, said: “We had to overcome extremely tight timescales for this project as we had just 24 hours from when the order was received to begin manufacture.
“There was an extraordinary effort made by all employees to ensure the delivery of these critical components. This was achieved through a cross functional-department effort and tremendous team work by all involved”.
A Matsuura MX-330 vertical machining centre was purchased in order to increase production rates and meet demand. Commissioned within three weeks of delivery, the Matsuura’s ergonomic small 5 axis design catered to the high volume orders and the multi-pallet feature allowed for up to 10 components to be installed into the machine at one time. The multiple capabilities of this new machine greatly enhanced the machining of ventilator parts for all of the various designs issued by our clients.
Liam Hamilton, Procurement Executive at Rolls Royce, commented: “I wanted to reach out and thank you for the effort and professionalism that you and your employees have shown throughout the present pandemic; helping us to keep our business operating and to maintain commitments to our customer”.
Alex Knox, Vice President at Dyson, said: “I want to thank you for your commitment to the project. It was an extraordinary and unprecedented effort from everyone involved.”
BEL Engineering worked closely with the companies involved to manufacture the components, not only achieving the scheduled production rate, but exceeding the goals originally set.
If you would like to learn more about our machining capability, click to download our plant list.
