J J Churchill Limited – automation to achieve precision and rapid response

J J Churchill is a family-owned precision engineering company with 110 employees. The company’s highly aggressive capital reinvestment policy enables it to stay internationally competitive. Much of the plant is less than 5 years old, and last year a further milling machine was installed at a cost of over £500,000.

The only way to increase the productivity of the company’s machines, apart from speeding up processes such as metal cutting, is by enhanced part handling. Load and unload times can be reduced by using a robotic feed, which can also work lights-out at the weekends, without additional personnel or expensive overtime.

Payback in under 5 years is the aim, as within 4-5 years faster equipment will have entered the market. The company must replace and upgrade at the same rate as manufacturing technologies evolve, to remain competitive.