HTA Group (Coventry, Warwickshire, England), a subcontract supplier of laser-cut parts, has joined laser cutting services provider WEC Group (Darwen, Lancashire, England) to create a business with 800 employees and a projected £75 million ($108 million) in turnover.
HTA managing director Adam Thomas is working within the expanded business on a consultancy basis, while his brother Philip remains a key member of the HTA staff.
In 2015, HTA Group invested more than £2 million ($2.8 million) in automated laser profiling technology in an installation that was reported to be unparalleled in the country. The equipment consisted of two 5kW TRUMPF TruLaser 5040 fiber laser cutting machines, with BrightLine fiber technology and SortMaster part sorting automation.
The new deal means that the expanded WEC Group will have 23 laser cutting machines working across all its operations, including two tube machines that will allow HTA to offer 3D laser cutting to its customers for the first time.
In the past 12 months, WEC Group has invested around £11 million ($15.9 million) in new machinery and workspace, including £7 million ($10.1 million) on a new 300,000-sq-ft. factory in South Yorkshire.
WEC's robotic 7.2 × 640 ton press also increases HTA's current capacity, and adds waterjet and plasma cutting to their operation. HTA also adds CNC punching to WEC Group's overall capabilities, allowing it to offer that function to its existing and future customer base.
For more information, please visit www.wec-group.com.