Category: News

News

New Apprentices to give Erodex the leading edge for years to come

Post author By Mooch_Admin
Post date March 5, 2020

Halesowen based aerospace suppliers Erodex Tooling Solutions have recently taken on an additional Apprentice Design Engineer, taking the total number of apprentices recruited by the Erodex UK group to six within the past 18 months alone.

George Crocker joins the expanding Erodex Tooling Solutions (ETS) Design Team, with the apprenticeship scheme delivered by the City of Wolverhampton College.

Having serviced Rolls Royce’s tooling requirements as part of a long-standing working relationship, Erodex Tooling Solutions has amassed an unrivalled level of experience and continue to grow, particularly within the aerospace sector.

This growth has been enabled due to the expertise of Erodex’s dedicated team, who provide robust solutions in the aerospace and IGT sectors, along with the wider engineering community. In addition to having a robust design team, ETS are fully equipped to manufacture the finished solution completely, enabling a customer’s component to enter production in a reduced time scale. This enables ETS to provide a complete ‘one stop shop’ solution, which is a real differentiator in the market.

As part of the continued expansion of the design team, Erodex felt now was the right time to bring through the next generation of design engineers within the company and take on an apprentice. Erodex Tooling Solutions are no stranger to investing in the next generation, having already taken on two apprentice toolmakers within the past 12 months for their Halesowen based ETS Machine Shop.

“The Erodex Group are aware of the skills shortage facing engineering in our region. When you consider niche skills such as those of a toolmaker, this is particularly poignant and highlights the need for us to start to grow our own talent”, comments Director Steve Rolinson.

Erodex also have a good working relationship with Dudley College and currently have several apprentices enrolled in their courses. Within the same timeframe, a further apprentice, Hollie Mitchell was taken on in accounts and another in the ETS Office Administration department, who is now employed by Erodex as an Office Administrator.

Director Steve Rolinson concludes: “We are proud to be able to give these talented young people a start to their careers in engineering. At the same time, we are building our workforce of the future. We commit a significant amount of time to training our apprentices on the job and look forward to seeing them progress within the company. There will be opportunities for these individuals to grow within the business moving forward as we help them to develop the required skills. Everybody at the Erodex Group wishes them the best moving forward and I am sure that they will all continue to enjoy successful careers with us”.

Tags Apprenticeship

News

Erodex launches the UK’s fastest EDM speed wire gapstar ONE

Post author By Mooch_Admin
Post date November 14, 2019

Erodex UK, market leaders in the provision of EDM wire, wear parts and other EDM consumables, have launched the fastest EDM speed wire available in the UK, gapstar ONE.

Working in partnership with bedra (Berkenhoff) Germany, the revolutionary wire will enable users to achieve unprecedented cutting performance across a broad range of applications, as well as uncompromising precision and surface quality.

Berkenhoff have built on the pioneering technologies of their previous high performance wire generations such as cobracut®, topas® and boline, to develop a new electrode and coating technology in TRIMPAC, featuring a zinc-enhanced coating.

“We are extremely excited about this new wire and how it can benefit the UK market. As well as dramatically increasing speeds by 40% – 60% compared to standard brass wire and typically 10% + compared to our boline H product, users will also see a significant increase in feed rates. This increase is achieved in both in rough and skim cuts, without necessarily adjusting current settings. A further benefit is the reduced wear of wire guides and power contacts, reducing downtime and ultimately cost. Thanks to the newly developed TRIMPAC coating, an accuracy to Ra of 0.25 microns can be expected, as well as increased stiffness and excellent straightness for auto threading” comments Brendan Kelly [Technical Sales Engineer] of Erodex UK.

From stock, gapstar ONE will be available in 900N and 500N tensile strength, is compatible with all brands of machines and is available in most spool sizes. The wire has been received extremely positively in early customer trials.

“As with its predecessors, whilst gapstar ONE is more expensive than brass wire to purchase, dramatically increased wire speeds and its ability to achieve the desired surface finish means more throughput and increased efficiencies. Users can expect savings of up to 40% when compared with the topas® Plus H 2.0 range for example.

“Simply using gapstar ONE will enable these benefits to be realised, but we are also able to work with customers to optimise their machine settings and generate even better results for them too” concludes Brendan.

Erodex UK’s strong working relationship with bedra (Berkenhoff) and vast experience within the EDM industry has cemented the company’s position as the leading authority in the UK for all things EDM wire.

If you are interested in learning more about how gapstar ONE can benefit your EDM performance, contact us.

Tags EDM Wire

News

Engineering firm invests to offer vital support for local community

Post author By Mooch_Admin
Post date August 7, 2019

One of the UK’s fastest growing SME’s for exports, West Midlands based Erodex UK has focused its latest investment efforts closer to home in order to offer vital support for the local community.

Following a recent investment in two defibrillators located at each of its sites in Halesowen and Darlaston, the aerospace engineering firm has become a registered site in the local areas for emergency defibrillator access.

“The reason that we invested in the defibrillators and training was not just for the benefit of Erodex employees. We care about having a positive impact in our local community and now, if anyone in the area needs access to a unit in an emergency, they can look up online and see that there is one here” explains Erodex Director Steve Rolinson.

According to research, the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest jumps from 6% to 74% if a shock is delivered within 3 minutes, highlighting the importance of defibrillators and having people nearby that know how to use them.

Erodex invested around £4,500 for the two units and specialist training for six staff members, provided by ST Johns Ambulance service.

Steve Rolinson continues: “Whilst commercially we have enjoyed huge success overseas, we have always maintained the view that it is important to be a socially responsible business. As a local employer of over 100 people, we care about the places that our employees live and work, so we want to do the right thing for them wherever we can”.

The recent investment follows regular fundraising activity for local and national charities by employees of Erodex, including the 3 Peaks Challenge, where Chris Grice, Technical Operations Manager of Erodex Tooling Solutions (ETS) and a colleague raised in excess of £2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Erodex staff supported the initiative by holding a ‘Cupcake Day’ and ‘wear your own clothes to work’ day that contributed around £150. The company will also be hosting a ‘Coffee and Cake’ morning in September in support of Macmillan Cancer Care.

As the Erodex workforce continues to grow year on year, the company has also maintained a focus on creating opportunities for the next generation, recruiting 4 apprentices with the ongoing support of Make UK.

Tags Charity