HIGH-FLYING CHEVRON COUPLES EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH CHIRON VMCS FOR RAPID RESPONSE
"Some customers still ask us what capacity we have: others know that if they tell us what they need, we'll make sure we have it!"
That's how managing director, Haydn Martin, explains Chevron Aerospace Engineering's ongoing investment in new factories and CNC machine tools, including 10 Chiron vertical machining centres over three years.
Established in 1984 in a Nottingham industrial unit, since greatly extended, sub-contractor Chevron has opened a new 30,000 ft2 factory at nearby Mansfield (recently extended by an additional 9,000sq.ft) and more recently acquired Yewlands Engineering (now Chevron Aerostructures) at Ilford, in London.
These autonomous business units have different but overlapping specialisms: Nottingham handles mainly avionics and fabrication, Mansfield is entirely devoted to machining while Ilford's structural assembly work involves both machining and fabrication. A common management team provides a unifying strategy.
Chevron numbers Airbus, McDonnell Douglas, Westland, Rolls-Royce and Shorts among its illustrious clients.
"Our customer-based philosophy depends on reacting quickly to their needs," explains Haydn. "For example, when we won an order for stringers for the Airbus A330/340 series to be machined from extrusions, Chiron provided a machine within one week and we made the first deliveries a week later. We now have a dedicated Airbus wing components cell, producing stringers, spars and ribs.
"In another example, a customer delivered the fixtures and tooling for an urgent job to our factory one Saturday morning and we completed the order the following Monday!"
The combination of structural stresses and the need to minimise weight means that many aircraft parts must be machined from solid rather than forged or fabricated to conform to materials requirements. Typical materials are aluminium, titanium and nimonics, in the form of extrusions, plate, bar, castings or forgings.
For example, certain aerospace components have cycle times as long as 15 to 20 hours, removing up to 80 per cent of the original workpiece material. So fast, accurate and reliable machine tools are central to success. Chevron bought its first two Chirons in 1996, a further six in 1997 and two more in 1998 to replace old plant and/or provide extra capacity. The Chirons have been variously allocated to all three factories.
"In competition with another machine supplier for our latest investments, Chiron gave good sales support and were able to offer us greater productivity with fewer machines. Speed and flexibility are crucial, and our experience shows that Chirons have the edge over traditional CNC machines - with quick set-ups, high spindle speeds and high feed rates for minimal cycle times. In many ways, they're more akin to automotive industry practice.
Batch sizes at Chevron are usually small: 20 per month is typical. But the variety and complexity of parts can be enormous.
Chevron supplies kits to Shorts and to British Aerospace's Airbus Manufacturing Division at Filton, near Bristol and Prestwick, Manchester, for use in the conversion of older, A300B4 passenger aircraft into freight carriers by the addition of a cargo door and modifications to the cabin floor, air conditioning and other electrical systems. Four planes were converted in 1997, 10 in 1998 and 13 are scheduled for this year - but each kit comprises 5,000 parts!
"In a business like ours, where JIT is the rule, we can't afford unplanned downtime," concludes Hydn Martin. "Fortunately, Chiron's service back-up, both routine and emergency, has been all we could ask."
Now owned by SPS Technologies, Chevron's commitment to customer service and rapid response, and its willingness to invest in the latest technology, is undoubtedly the recipe for continued expansion and success. For example, last year it won a massive £15 million contract with Airbus to supply kits of parts for the trailing edge on the A320, and lading edge and wing box for the A340-600 series.