Merged toolmaking companies offer a total solution service to the plastics and associated industries from initial concept through to full production.
Kent based Millaber and Folkestone Precision Engineering have combined their 60+ years experience in rapid prototyping, toolmaking, checking fixture manufacture and low volume production to form a new company called Advanced Tooling Systems UK (ATS-UK). The merging of the two companies individual services places ATS-UK in a unique position in the marketplace as the only UK based company that can genuinely offer a total solution service to the plastics and associated industries from initial concept through to full production. Adrian Gander-Group Managing Director said 'With the formation of ATS-UK we have created a market defining company, a number of our competitors claim that they can offer the level of services that ATS-UK can but none of them offer it all in house and with the level of technical management that comes as standard to ATS-UK.

This truly puts us in a class of our own!' Operating out of two sites, rapid prototyping and Fixture manufacture in Maidstone, toolmaking and Moulding in Folkestone, ATS-UK currently employs around 50 staff and turnover is expected to exceed GBP 7.5 million this Year.

David Greenwood-Director said 'We are anticipating Year on Year growth in turnover and to support this we have been making heavy investment in new technologies and systems in order to reduce our leadtimes, improve our service levels and remain a competitive player in today's highly volatile marketplace despite competition from overseas'.

The current customer base includes many prestigious clients such as Visteon Interior Systems, Jaguar, Bentley Motors, GDA Group, McLaren, Lear Corporation, Geberit and the various divisions of the Etex Group.

Mark Terry-Group Business Development Manager said: 'Although the main focus is currently centred around large automotive projects we firmly believe that the very high quality of our services and the levels of support and project management demanded by the major Automotive OEM's will be of benefit to many players within the non-automotive sector and this is an area in which we will be actively pursuing new business particularly in the aerospace and medical industries, indeed we have just secured our first aerospace tooling contract for the new Airbus A380 which we plan to expand upon very quickly'.

ATS-UK is linked with the European ATS Group within which lies a very strong manufacturing base in large scale Toolmaking (Moulds of up-to 185t have been manufactured!), Aerospace fixture manufacture and Project Management services all of which strengthens ATS-UK' s ability to manage very large and complex projects with each division being centrally managed and contracts being placed according to each sites relevant capabilities.