Futuristic Manufacturing in an Ancient City

Few people realise York also has a thriving manufacturing sector, particularly in steelwork. At Yorkshire Profiles Ltd, a York-based metal cutting and fabrication specialist, half a million pounds has just been invested in new machinery to ensure precise and fast sheet metal cutting using the latest in laser cutting technology. This technology is so new, in fact, that the serial number for the top spec Amada Ensis fibre laser is #4!

The Ensis and its counterpart Aslul stacking tower were installed on January 25th, with a fleet of three 44 tonne articulated lorries, complete with abnormal load escort, arriving on site before 8am ready to begin an installation process that would take 3 weeks to complete.

3 times faster than conventional Co2 lasers – and Yorkshire Profiles has one of those too in the form of the Amada F1 – and requiring a fraction of the electricity to run, Fibre Lasers like the Ensis are not only futuristic but they are efficient and environmentally friendly too! The fibre laser can also cut brass, copper and titanium, where the Co2 lasers can’t – this is because the laser is on a different frequency. With all of the advantages of a 4 kw Co2 laser on metals above 3mm thick, the 2 kw Ensis Fibre laser really is the perfect laser cutting machine for manufacturing in the UK. And it’s in York!

But wait, there’s more! Along with the Ensis is its partner-in-manufacturing-excellence, the Aslul stacking tower. This automated tower has the capacity to hold up to 12 tons of metal and load the machine completely unmanned. The combination of these two machines has allowed Yorkshire Profiles to increase its manufacturing capacity exponentially when it comes to sheet metal cutting, and has created additional jobs in quality control, despatch and sales without using the Regional Growth Fund. Great news for manufacturing, employment and business in York!