In September 2015 BLE Smoke & Fire Curtains invested heavily in brand new CNC cutting and bending equipment. Both a Trumpf TruPunch 1000 and TruBend 3100 were purchased as part of the investment, as well as computer aided design (CAD) software Solid Works.

The TruPunch and TruBend equipment has allowed the company to fully automate the punching and bending stage of their manufacturing process respectively; helping to save time, labour and improve consistency. The use of Solid Works allows the company to provide customers with 3D drawings of installation projects.

Fast forward 18 months later and BLE are reaping the benefits. Managing Director Nigel Ward says “Thanks to our new equipment and software we’ve seen significant improvements in our production capacity, helping us to deliver a better service to our customers. Furthermore, our productivity has increased by more than 25%”.

Additional investment is planned for 2017, with the company currently awaiting delivery of a new Bandsaw later this month.