Well prepared and well resourced!

Leading specialist fastener and hot forged bolt manufacturer invests in three new Doosan machines from Mills CNC to meet the growing demand for its products and solutions from offshore and subsea drilling, production and processing equipment customers.

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied three new Doosan machines to Mellish Engineering Services – a private, family-owned specialist precision manufacturer of performance-critical, high-integrity and fully-traceable fasteners and hot forged bolting used extensively, but not exclusively, in the oil and gas sector.

The machines – a Mynx 6500/50 large-capacity vertical machining centre, a Puma 2600SY Mk II multi-tasking lathe and a compact, high-performance DNM 4000 vertical machining centre were installed at the company’s 26,000 square foot facility in Aldridge during August and September 2018.

The new Doosan’s are being used to machine a range of high-precision, performance-critical standard and non-standard fastener components that include bolts, pins, clamps, studs, nuts, washers etc. These components are all made from hard and difficult-to-machine materials (i.e. Duplex and Super Duplex stainless steels, carbon steel, titanium, Inconel, Monel etc.) and are machined to tight dimensional tolerances and high-quality surface finishes.

They are machined in small batches (i.e. one-offs) right through to larger volumes to suit individual customer requirements.

A growth in demand

Mellish-manufactured fastener systems and solutions are in high demand.

This demand has been fueled, in no small part, by the company achieving API (American Petroleum Institute) certification back in 2017.

Explains Mark Rattenberry, Mellish’s Managing Director:

“The global oil and gas industry has always been volatile, and oil price fluctuations are nothing new.

“However, the spectacular and rapid fall in oil prices, from a peak of $115 per barrel in June 2014 to under $35 at the end of February 2016 had a serious knock-on effect on our business resulting in reduced sales revenues and an unwelcome squeeze on company profitability.”

2014, as it would later transpire, proved to be a ‘watershed’ year for Mellish. Because, instead of ‘battening down the hatches’, cutting overheads and riding out the down turn – the company made the strategic decision to plan ahead and invest in its future.

Continues Mark Rattenberry:

“We took a long-term view and looked at ways to increase our share in a relatively flat, and sometimes declining, market.

“A key decision we made was to gain API certification which, we believed, would not only differentiate us from our competitors but would also, in the highly-regulated oil and gas sector where environmental and health and safety (EHS) concerns are paramount, position us as an approved quality supplier.”

In 2017 Mellish achieved its ambitions gaining API Q1, API 20E and API 20F certification. (Mellish is one of only a handful of companies across Europe to have achieved these standards and as a consequence, able to use the official API monogram on its machined products).

“API accreditation is the ‘Gold Standard’”, says Mark Rattenberry. “It is an internationally recognised and accepted kite-mark that has had a positive impact on sales”

Since 2017 Mellish has experienced a marked increase in the number of companies, from around the world, making contact…enquiring about the company’s solutions…and, ultimately, placing orders.

Meeting the demand

To meet the growing demand for its fastener systems and solutions Mellish, as part of its company-wide continuous improvement programme, makes regular investment in its people, plant, equipment, processes and systems.

Says Mark Rattenberry:

“We are always looking at ways to increase productivity and improve performance – and regularly audit and review our manufacturing processes to see how and where they can be improved.

“Our future depends on us maintaining quality standards, meeting customer lead times and controlling costs. To help us do this we invest in the latest advanced machine tool technologies.”

The recent acquisition of the three new Doosan machines is a case in point and is evidence of Mellish’s continuous improvement programme in action.