Celebrity touch for
national art scheme

The first of more than 200 steel art works made by Laser Process got a touch of celebrity royalty as they were unveiled by relatives of Richard Burton and Rob Brydon recently.

The steel sculptures of the two showbiz legends were the first in a series we will be making to be placed alongside more than 70 new walkways and cycle routes from the Highlands of Scotland to southern England.
The art work scheme is run by sustainable transport charity Sustrans to mark the new footpaths and cycle routes, with local people picking local heroes to be included in the sculptures, called Portrait Benches.
Richard Burton's brother, along with many other members of the actor's family, as well as the parents of comedian Rob Brydon unveiled the first Portrait Bench alongside a route in the Afan Valley near Port Talbot. Rob Brydon visited the site following the unveiling and gave the statue the thumbs up. "I love the thought of becoming part of the landscape alongside Dick Wagstaff and the great Richard Burton," he said.
"I'm hoping that my sculpture might be able to persuade Burton's sculpture to quote some poetry of an evening, or at least a bit of War Of The Worlds."
Laser Process managing director, Dave Lindsey, said: "It's great to think that work we've done has got a bit of showbiz treatment being unveiled by the family of stars like Richard Burton and Rob Brydon.
"It adds a real special touch to the job.
"Our link up with Sustrans means that work done by us will be seen by thousands of people up and down the country, with them stopping to admire our craftsmanship as they take in some of the most picturesque spots in the UK," he said.
Following the unveiling Richard Burton's brother, Graham Jenkins, said: "This portrait is fantastic and I am very, very proud that my brother is a part of it.
"We were born in this valley and it's wonderful that local people have chosen Richard, he would've absolutely loved this."
The remaining Portrait Benches, part of a contract worth over £150,000 to the company will be installed over the next two to three years.

For our regular feature in Cutting It highlighting a service offered by Laser Process, this edition of Services Spotlight looks at the computerised measuring machine service.
Laser Process is one of only a few laser cutting contractors in the market place who are able to offer this service to clients.
The computerised measuring machine can take extremely accurate and detailed measurements of any component, within a certain size, to produce CNC data for production, enabling parts to be reproduced very quickly.
The technology was originally developed to quality test parts but this reverse engineering use has become far more popular.
The technology has a very wide range of applications from reproducing parts for vintage cars to freehand drawn components for artworks.
The CMM can be used to produce drawing for parts where drawings no longer exist or have never existed, for instance on an obsolete or old piece of machinery. The technology can also be applied to specialist parts that have been made by hand.
"This is a very accurate measuring device which takes just seconds to completely measure any object within its size capability," said Laser Process managing director Dave Lindsey.
"It has a host of applications and is yet another service we can provide at Laser Process."

When it comes to keeping up standards of work, management consultant Bob Hawkins is the man that ensures the way Laser Process operates is up with the very best in the industry.

Bob has worked as a consultant to Laser Process for more than 10 years making sure we meet the rigorous standards accepted across the industry in all aspects of our work, from manufacturing to administration.
More recently Bob has helped us to attain a higher industry standard enabling Laser Process to work in the aerospace industry.
When he first started working for Laser Process Bob helped us to attain ISO9001 in 1999, writing the standard system for the firm and guiding us through the certification process.
"When I first started working with Laser Process they had their own systems of working in place," he explained.
"By meeting the ISO9001 it provided a good approach to implementing managegement systems for the company to operate by, it is a standard building block that companies aspire to."
Two years ago Bob help us achieve the higher AS9100 certification.
"The upgrade to AS9100 is a great step forward and means the company can expand its business into aerospace production, as this has become a standard requirement for suppliers into the aerospace industry.
"It ensures Laser Process is doing things consistently and producing quality products time and time again and so cutting the cost of rejects for customers and thereby improving customer satisfaction."
Managing director Dave Lindsey said: "Bob's expertise has been invaluable in enabling us to meet these higher standards of working and to apply them across every aspect of the business.
"It's laid the platform for the future of the company and will help us to expand into new areas of work," he said.

Recovery powers up at MACH

Laser Process is set to join all the big names from the industry at the largest gathering of manufacturing technology firms in the UK for two years at the MACH 2010 exhibition.

Exhibitors from across the industry will be at the exhibition from June 7-11 at the NEC, which attracted more than 27,000 visitors when it was last held in 2008.
Laser Process will be demonstrating laser cutting and forming as well as laser marking at our stand in the Confederation of British Metalforming section next to the engineering lasers sections.
Managing director Dave Lindsey hoped the exhibition would be used by firms to strengthen the recovery.
"This is the first time the whole engineering industry has come together on this scale since the recession," he said.
"There is a much more positive outlook for industry as a whole than there was at the last MACH exhibition in 2008. I hope all business leaders can use the gathering to keep positive so we keep talking our way out of recession as much as possible."
To discuss the benefits of using Laser Process come and chat to us at stand 4650.
Laser Process also had a stand at the North West Manufacturing Technology exhibition at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton on 5-6 May. We had some good quality enquiries from the show and plan to go back next year.

In each issue of Cutting It we throw the spotlight on a member of staff at Laser Process to give readers a better idea of who were are.

In this edition the staff profile feature focuses on one of the longest serving members of staff at Laser Process laser machine operator Paul Shaughnessy.

In fact Paul, 53 who is married to Lyn with two grown up children, has a claim to being one of the longest serving members of staff. He was the first person to be taken on by the firm after the initial set up, he has been at Laser Process since June 1990.
Such is his experience that it often falls to him to solve any problems with a particular job. It was a bit different when he first started.
"Before working at Laser Process the only time I'd seen a laser was in science fiction on the TV, but the great supervision and training helped me master it," he said.
The quality of the workmanship is what he enjoys at Laser Process.
"I've been here for 20 years because it's a good place to work, we aim to get a good quality finish to the job and do it right so the customer is happy. Laser Process really treats its staff well and there's a good atmosphere at work," he added.
The job has been so good his son Lee also works for Laser Process as a machine operator, their daughter Lisa works in the police force.

If you'd like to contact us

Sales
Joey and Richie
01543 495000

Progress
Simon and Ian
01543 495004

CAD
Kevin, Deb and Tom
01543 495013

Accounts
Sheena and Yvette
01543 495011

Estimating
Jason and Mike
01543 495009

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

You can now follow us on the Laser Process Facebook page or on Twitter, simply click below and join our Facebook group or tweet us here.



We will be updating the Facebook and Twitter with a range of details about Laser Process including news, photos and details of events or exhibitions, so please get involved and join us.

If you want any more information about any of the services highlighted in the magazine please contact Dave Lindsey on mailto:dl@laserprocess.co.ukor call us on 01543 495000.