How time flies when you are busy! A&M EDM celebrated 20 years in business with an anniversary event for customers, retired employees and business partners and a report on the company's economic impact.

A&M EDM bought their first Hurco machine in 2003 and haven't looked back since. They now have a total of 27 CNC machines from Hurco, including a variety of vertical machining centres and lathes. Their latest investment, a BX60i bridge-design vertical machining centre with 1,600 x 1,300 mm travels and high-dynamic capabilities, allows them to focus on ensuring the best results for accuracy and surface finish. Although, the BXi range has been popular for some time. This will be the first of the largest variation, the BX60i to be installed in the UK.

A&M was set up by Arthur Watts and Mark Wingfield in rented space with one wire eroder in October 2002. The Smethwick based precision engineering business now works from two closely linked sites covering 60,000 sq ft of manufacturing space and specializes in engineering solutions to manufacture high volume components and tooling for many sectors including aerospace, motorsports, automotive, marine and space exploration.

Professor Delma Dwight, Director of Black Country Economic Intelligence Unit said:

“As this impact report shows, A&M EDM is a great example of the entrepreneurship, growth and resilience of manufacturing, ready to take on the challenges and opportunities of the future. Over 20 years, the company has driven strong economic value as well as cultivating a committed, skilled workforce at the heart of the local community. A&M EDM truly is a leading light of manufacturing in the West Midlands, particularly highlighting the excellence of the region's many SME, supply chain firms."

 

 

A&M EDM's story is one of growth, powered by entrepreneurship, innovation and skills development. In 20 years, the company size has increased from two people and one rented machine to over 70 employees and annual sales of over £7 million. Most impressive is the manufacturing capacity of more than 80 machines, meaning that complex 5 axis machining and EDM wire processes can be carried out in-house on a range of CNC machines, depending upon component size. Hurco capacity includes 2 huge 3 metre travel DCX32i machines and a DCX22. On the 5-axis side they have a VMX84SWi, VMX60SRTi & 3 VMX42Ui machines, plus a variety of smaller trunnion models.

From early conception A&M were recognized as the go-to, one-stop-shop for components that are challenging to manufacture. The subsequent growth and industry-wide recognition is a testament to the hard-work and commitment shown by Managing Director, Mark Wingfield and his team.

Mark Wingfield, Managing Director of A&M EDM said:

“In 2002 our ambition was to become a sustainable sub-contractor offering EDM (electronic discharge machining) services to West Midlands manufacturing. The reduction of the Midlands toolmaking and automotive industries created opportunities to grow the business into other sectors such as aerospace.

My advice to anyone starting today is to find ways to add value to every customer and continuously reinvest in equipment and developing apprentices and employee skills."