Businesses from Southland to as far afield as Canterbury are benefiting from a new computer numerical control (CNC) laser cutter investment from Southland firm MPE Limited, the first of its kind in the region.

MPE Managing Director, Chris Hughes, said offering this technological capability had been highly sought after given the current pressures on labour and the continued focus on increased productivity currently experienced by southern manufacturing industries.

“We’re helping our customers where we can, by taking the manual work out of specific jobs that can sometimes take days or weeks to complete. The automated function of the laser saves time and money, leaving the staff to utilise their time and skills more efficiently to add real value elsewhere in our clients’ businesses,” he said.

Not only is the new machinery the single largest investment MPE has seen in decades, it is also an investment for the general industry in the lower to mid-South Island, offering customers a new, intelligent automated option for their steel processing and engineering needs.

Chris said there were several machines that cut flat plate and used similar technology, but no machines in Southland that could do this to various profiles of sections other than plate.

The design software converts 3D files into a code format for the machine and then the computer’s numerical control process takes over and produces high precision parts at speed which are more efficient than traditional methods, thus saving time and resources.

Not only does it cut steel sections, but it was also designed and manufactured to be able to cut through a range of different profile sections in various steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass and other material types.

Chris said that MPE had further integrated into their clients’ supply chain by performing this type of work which has allowed their clients to focus on adding further value to other areas of their business.

“It ultimately offers our clients additional labour capacity which they would not have had before, so it really is a winning situation for them in a very tight labour market. By also reducing their overall component costs this adds another dimension to the term value added supplier.

“We are looking to partner with businesses with product that require a lot of manual time and labour or have some very specific, bespoke products that just want a superb finish to very tight tolerances.

“Our machine meets not just immediate local need, but we’ve also secured clients further north in Otago and Canterbury as the technology and services it provides to clients makes sense to them,” he said.

This new machine compliments MPE’s existing business perfectly where they already use the latest in CNC equipment in conjunction with traditional lathes, mills and other engineering equipment. The company are the best equipped dedicated precision engineering workshop in Southland, servicing a multitude of other engineering companies, manufacturers, heavy industry and the agricultural sector.

This is a significant win for Southland and the wider regions to have continued investment for the future that benefits not only MPE, but also many other businesses that can take advantage of the technology and savings it offers.