Universal Fabrications Completes £2.5m Machinery Investment
“It’s a real step change for the business”, said Carl Smith, Managing Director
Increasing Capability, Boosting Capacity
Universal Fabrications has completed a major £2.5 million investment programme, strengthening its position as one of the UK’s most capable and responsive metal manufacturing specialists. Over the past two years, the business has upgraded key areas of its operation with new machinery, a larger facility footprint and improved workflow to support faster turnaround times and an even greater range of in-house services.
To support the new equipment, Universal has added another 4,000 sq. ft to its site in Nuneaton, taking the total footprint to 40,000 sq. ft. The expanded layout improves material flow and creates a dedicated new machine-shop area – all designed to increase responsiveness and support higher production volumes.
The investment means Universal now has the infrastructure to support over £20 million of annual manufacturing throughput. But while capacity has grown, the company continues to pride itself on being easy to work with – offering the same flexibility and attention to detail for low-volume, prototype and short-run work as it does for major production contracts.
“A Step Change for the Business”
“This investment has been genuinely transformational. With the new Amada laser, Matsuura and Starvision machining centres and our expanded facility, we’ve increased our range, precision and speed. We now have the capability to take on more complex work, scale production quickly and maintain the quality our customers expect – it’s a real step change for the business,” said Carl Smith, Managing Director.
Expanding the Fleet
It’s been a busy year in the factory, with several major machines installed – each one bringing new capability and more flexibility to what we can offer our customers.
It’s been a busy year in the factory, with several major machines installed – each one bringing new capability and more flexibility to what we can offer our customers.
Together, these upgrades extend Universal’s 4- and 5-axis machining capacity, improve automation and deliver more consistent quality across complex, high-tolerance projects.
6kw fibre laser with a 4m × 2m bed, cutting up to 25mm thick material with outstanding edge quality. The laser increases our capacity for large sheet parts and reduces setup time across high-volume work.
Horizontal 4-axis machining centre with twin pallets, ideal for lights-out production and multi-face components.
5-axis vertical machining centre with an 850mm table, giving exceptional accuracy on complex geometries.
Large-bed 5-axis gantry mill (2.2m × 2.0m × 0.8m) that brings serious heavy-duty and oversized machining capability to the site.
Two new additions, including an LVF model giving greater flexibility for precision turned parts and unattended running.
Compact 5-axis machining centre with pallet changer, perfect for prototype and repeat-batch work.
High-speed drilling and tapping centre, now handling smaller machined components more efficiently.
Twin units for fine, distortion-free welding of stainless steel and aluminium parts.
Looking Ahead
This latest phase of development marks another milestone in Universal’s long-term growth strategy, following years of sustained investment in people, processes and technology.
It strengthens the company’s position as a trusted UK partner for precision machining, sheet-metal fabrication and complex welded assemblies across defence, automotive, energy and construction sectors.
Get in Touch
Looking for a UK precision machining and fabrication partner who can handle everything from prototypes to production?
Contact Universal Fabrications today – the metal manufacturing experts for complex fabrications and precision-machined components.
Tel: 02476 370 272 or email@universalfabrications.com
