News

We would like to offer a warm welcome to two newcomers this month. 

Charlotte will be assisting our Production and Engineering teams, and Natalie is working within our Accounts team.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are one of the most established tier 2 automotive stamping suppliers in the UK, operating within a 60% automotive industry focus for over 60 years.

Experience has been gained since 1951 in supplying automotive components and obtaining TS16949 automotive accreditation for over 14 years and currently striving towards IATF16949; with automotive processes running throughout our factory and operations.

We currently supply tier 1, 2 and 3 to leading OEM’s including Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, BMW and Volkswagen Group.

Jenks & Cattell Automotive Supplier Facts:

• We have been manufacturing pressed metal components & stampings for the automotive industry since 1951.
• We were an original manufacturer of components for the Mini since the 1960’s, and still manufacture over 20,000 iconic Mini headlamp rim’s each year.
• In 1990 we were accredited with BS570, and continued to grow to the TS16949 automotive standard 2004-2018.
• Since 1999 we have been supplying automotive tier 1 and tier 2, as well as exporting worldwide to our automotive customers.
• 60% of our total business is automotive, with no customer exceeding 10% of our total sales.
• We are an officially approved Volkswagen Group supplier.
• We invest every year in sheet metal manufacturing processes and equipment to ensure we remain competitive in supplying automotive components.
• Working two shifts handles automotive timely demand for high volumes.

We welcome all discussions of potential supply opportunities to utilise our laser fabrication, metal stamping and welding facilities from our factory, which is conveniently located in the Midlands. 

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have teamed up with the City of Wolverhampton College to welcome our two new apprentice intakes for 2018, this is our 6th consecutive year of taking on apprentices with the College.

James made an impression on Jenks & Cattell at the interview stage with his enthusiasm for Engineering and helping his Grandad build steam engines. We have welcomed him on board our Engineering team where he will benefit from office, shop floor and college experiences. 

Inspired by his Grandad, James said: "Jenks & Cattell's Apprenticeship Scheme allowed for my first step in my future career in Engineering."

Lee has joined our apprenticeship scheme in our Welding department, who will work 3 days a week at Jenks & Cattell, whilst studying for 2 days at the Paget Road campus. In Lee's spare time, he enjoys sports including badminton, football and table tennis. Speaking of his apprenticeship, Lee said "apprenticeships were the best option as I enjoy working whilst learning and being practical."

Both guys will be on our Apprenticeship Scheme for 2 years, with job security and further training offered at the end of the course. We wish them both every success.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have recently invested £60,000 in a new coil feeder to transform our 500 tonne press into a coil-fed progression press, feeding coils up to 800mm in width.

This investment will allow for more efficiency in both time and cost for our customers metal stamping production.

It will be fully installed and up and running at our West Midlands engineering plant a the end of the month. Watch this space!

One person at Jenks & Cattell passed quite a serious mile stone recently, as Mick Jones (Our Mick), one of our longest serving employees passed through 50 years service with us.

Mick joined us directly from school and has been at Jenks & Cattell Engineering ever since.
 

Craig Jeavons, Technical Director stated:

"What an achievement, the likes that most of us mere mortals, shall never witness in our careers!

I am going to achieve 25 years myself this year, but I cannot believe that Mick has actually doubled that feat.

We would all like to pass on our congratulations to you Mick, for this monumental mile stone.

Your skills and knowledge now needs to passed onto our ‘younger’ members of the team, so your work is not complete yet mate”

Mick has been a key member of our Quality Control department since he started, and when onto to state:

“I have worked with many people during those years, and liked most of them along the way.

I have also seen many, many people come, go and some come back, making friends with most.” 

Mick also met his beloved wife Mary, who worked at Jenks and Cattell in the 1970’s, so the company has been more than just his place of work for over 50 years, it’s also been a massive part of his entire life. Mick seen here with his colleagues in our QC team Tracy, Darren, Sarah and Jack, receiving a few gifts of both gratitude and achievement, including a box of his favourite tipple, a tour for him and 5 buddies to go round our local Bank’s brewery and a meal voucher for a local ‘bistro’ pub.

(Trust Mary enjoys the bistro at least eh Mick!?)

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd will be exhibiting our services at Advanced Engineering exhibition at the NEC on 31st October - 1st November.

At the show, our Technical Sales Engineer's will have a portfolio of our metal fabrications, stampings, laser cut parts and welded assemblies for a topic of discussion.

Visit stand D30.

We are less than a 30 minute drive away from the NEC in Birmingham for those who would benefit from visiting our factory. 

BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS HERE

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd are based in Wolverhampton and have been established for over 130 years. Currently employing over 100 personnel, we are looking for an Administration Assistant to join and support our busy team. 

An Administrator is required to work within our Accounts team to complete tasks including: dealing with telephone enquiries, opening and distributing mail, filing and completing and updating spreadsheets.

The successful candidate should have good knowledge of computer systems, with a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel.

Start Date: Mid September

This job will be a 12 month contract.

(Permanent – 35 hours. Part Time will be considered for the right candidate)

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd are proud suppliers to OEM’s in engine markets, including over ten years in supplying Perkins Engines for whom we export thousands of metal fabrications each year.

At the start of this month, Perkins launched new 4006 electronic diesel engines suitable for the Indian market. We are proud to manufacture components for this prestigious and pioneering engine, which will be manufactured at Perkins' Aurangabad plant with a capacity to produce up to 3,000 engines per year.

Currently, we supply two metal brackets to fit within this engine which use our laser cutting, part etching, spot welding and progression stamping manufacturing facilities at our West Midlands manufacturing plant.

We complete the components with etched part numbers, and welding to our excellent quality standards which are Caterpillar and Zurich approved.

For more information on the new engine: https://www.perkins.com/4006e

We are pleased to announce that both our ISO9001 and ISO14001 accreditations have now been successfully transitioned to the 2015 standards. Our accreditations cover the following activities: pressing, laser cut, welding of parts and general metal assemblies.

Jeremy King, Managing Director, said “this further cements our commitment to both quality and the environment in which we function.”

Craig Jeavons, Technical Director, stated that the transition from 2008 to 2015 resulted in all procedures being modified to cover the new clauses. We also used this opportunity to enhance some existing processes including strengthening our feasibility reviews and traceability process as a result of our newly introduced MRP system.

Speaking of the hard work in obtaining such highly thought of accreditations, Tracy added: “it was a team achievement by the entire workforce and all should be congratulated.”

Continuous investment from our Newship Group ownership allows the continuous enhancements within our factory and offices.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have welcomed two work expereince students to follow our business practices and shadow many departments throughout July.

Lib has a particular interest in Marketing, however she did enjoy her experience with our Quality Department. 

She has written a brief account of her experience:

"During my time during work Experience at Jenks and Cattell, I learnt and experienced different aspects of this job industry. I started my week in Sales and Marketing where I completed different tasks, to do with this job role. I started by shadowing a meeting, at the start of the week showing me a insight of their job roles, I then followed into the marketing side, completing a SWOT analysis, and various marketing campaign tasks, relating to the businesses services and roles. I also completed articles relating to the company, on certain subjects such as, ‘specialising in automotive’, and even covering two graduates.

I then went into the accounts area, and completed spread sheets relating to the information given out, giving me the insight of another department within Jenks and Cattell.

I finished my week off in the Quality department looking at how they, deal with the quality of parts and the analysis.

Overall, I believe my week, was beneficial, and I learned varied skills, and gained in experience in areas I have not been given the opportunity to before."

Jenks and Cattell Engineering Ltd like to champion West Midlands apprentices and graduates and offer prosperous careers in the many areas of engineering operated throughout our sheet metalwork factory.

Jack McGinty our Production Planning and Warehouse Manager and Ryan Clark our Project Engineer, have recently graduated from their Mechanical Engineering courses  whilst working full time at Jenks and Cattell. They both studied at Wolverhampton College and have now completed their course.

Jack and Ryan are crucial team members here at Jenks and Cattell and help bring success towards the business with their hard-working attitudes. Speaking of their achievements, Jeremy King, Managing Director said:

“It is with great pleasure and pride that Jenks and Cattell have been able to support two fine young employees through to their HNC / HND qualifications. Both Jack and Ryan have already proven to be valued members of the blossoming team through their work ethic, commitment and vibrant personalities. Their futures are bright and we wish them well. 

The investment the company puts in to train as many employees as possible to reach their full potentials is shown in leaps and bounds with these success stories.”

Jack McGinty has worked his way up, within our company from a Shop Floor Apprentice to Production, Planning and Warehouse Manager. Jack has been studying engineering for six years and in this time has now achieved his Higher National Diploma (HND) and wishes to carry on with his studies.

Ryan Clark started working with us four years ago in our PDI department and progressed with ambition and drive to become a key member of the Engineering team as Project Engineer. He has just graduated with his Higher National Certificate (HNC).

Congratulations to both and we wish them a long and successful career at Jenks & Cattell.

Lal joined Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd on 22^nd April 1974 as a youthful 23-year-old and we are sad to see him retire today, and everyone would like to offer our best wishes for Lal’s retirement.

Jeremy King, Managing Director presented Lal with a gift from everyone at Jenks & Cattell and thanked him for all his work ethic, commitment and eagerness for overtime, and jokingly referred to him as the ‘factory cat’.  

Impressively, Lal was known for being a good striker on the Jenks & Cattell football team back in the early days. Lal remembers a lot of the company history, starting with him manufacturing garden tools and later moving on to the coil fed heavy presses in our tool shop.

Lal is a passionate family man, and we all wish him happiness and more time spent with his family in retirement.

William Bodin worked at Jenks & Cattell Engineering in the 1920’s, until emigrating to the USA. We recently received a request from William’s Great Grandson, David, who has travelled from the US on business, to visit our metal presswork factory in Wednesfield upon his tour of the local area and sights of where his Great Grandfather lived. Their tour also included local attraction, the Black Country Museum as well as tours of Wolverhampton and Dudley.  

William Bodin moved to New York in 1925 where he had a long career with General Electric and David followed in his footsteps until moving on to Lucideon.

David knew of Jenks & Cattell as we provided a reference for emigration in September of 1925, which is photographed.

In terms of history, Jenks & Cattell Engineering was established in the Black Country area in 1886 which makes us one of the most established presswork companies in the UK. For more information, please view our timeline.

We currently have two job vacancies where we welcome your application before 1st September. 

Our job vacancies are both based at our Wednesfield factory and offices on Neachells Lane, including Engineering Estimator and Technical Sales Engineer. 

For more information please visit: https://www.jcel.co.uk/job-vacancies or apply via email to jobs@jcel.co.uk

Jenks & Cattell Engineering that we will be offering our metal pressings, laser fabrication and welded assembly services at Northern Manufacturing Exhibition in Manchester.

We will be exhibiting our services on stand F8 on 26th and 27th September later this year, which will be our 5th consecutive year at the valued manufacturing exhibition. 

The venue is Event City, Manchester, M17 8AS which is just over an hour from our large engineering facility in Wolverhampton. 

For more information, and to book to see us at the show, please call Eleanor on 01902 384219.

Great news, Jenks and Cattell Engineering have added another ‘Zurich approved’ weld procedure, to our existing catalogue.

Dave, pictured receiving the certificate from Craig, programmed one of our recently installed robot welders to achieve a commonly used 5mm fillet weld.

Craig, Technical Director, said:

"This is our first weld to be ‘Zurich’ approved, on our recently installed ‘pulse welding’ equipment, and we are pleased that Dave's welding skill and ability got us through this approval."

Dave, our Weld Cell Team Leader stated:

"This is proof that we continue to develop our process’s, in order to provide the highest quality with our welding procedures."

This approval is part of Jenks and Cattell Engineering's commitment to deliver welding conformity to all of our customer metal assemblies, and it is just the start to attaining further approvals in the future.

The weld parameters which Dave programmed to gain this approval shall now be used for welds on products that require the same fillet size on the same material grade.

The resultant welds shall be continually tested and assessed in our own internal weld test facility.

For further information on our manual welding and robotic welding capability, please contact our team.

All employees at Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd would like to congratulate our Mark on maintaining his welding qualification to the recognised British Standard ISO 9606-1.

Mark, who is an integral part of our welding team lead by Dave our Weld cell Team Leader, regained his re-certification last month and was ‘over the moon’ when the approval came through.

This entailed the onsite welding of two different sized fillet welds, that are commonly used within our assembly process.

Both welds were overseen by a ‘Zurich Insurance’ approved qualified welding engineer, who took them away to a specialised laboratory for macro sectioning and analysis.

Craig, Technical Director, seen here handing over his well-deserved certificates said:

"Congratulations Mark, once again you have achieved the recognised standard for both your personal qualification and Jenks and Cattell's commitment in providing the highest quality of our welded products.

This qualification is widely recognised throughout our industry, and once again proves we are serious about our people and the services that our engineering company offer and deliver."

Mark said that he ‘loved welding’ and was ‘proud that we have continued to support him with this qualification’.

Craig added: "We shall continue to invest in our people, products and services, to ensure that the highest standards of quality are consistently delivered for our wide customer base."

High Volume Metal Pressings Enhanced with Investment

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd in the West Midlands have been a leading supplier of metal pressings and stampings for over 130 years and continue to supply OEM’s worldwide with high quality and high-volume presswork.

Various investment into our engineering company has enhanced our metal pressing service, including two new presses; a 250 tonne and 400 tonne coil fed progression press. (view our full machinery list here: https://www.jcel.co.uk/equipment)

Coil fed progression is one of the most cost-effective sheet metal manufacturing methods, as the metal coil is fed through the press in stages, manufacturing a finished and often complex component within seconds.

All Jenks & Cattell presswork customers will receive a product feasibility review to analyse both cost and manufacturing efficiency, as we work alongside our tool makers to ensure both quality and cost throughout the manufacturing process.

To discuss your metal presswork requirements and product line, please get in touch with our sales team: sales@jcel.co.uk

IMDS Training Furthers Customer Quality Expectations

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have once again invested in our future, with the provision of training to two younger members of our team.

Jack Garfield has recently qualified from his apprenticeship with our engineering company, and Jack Galloway has worked his way from the shop floor to trainee in our Quality department.  In February, both guys completed a one day course which covered all aspects of the International Material Data System (IMDS).

IMDS is the global standard for all materials used within manufacturing, which focuses on maintaining, analysing and archiving material data, to meet quality standards, laws and regulations of OEM’s.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are pleased to have an additional two members of our team, who can fulfil this function, which confirms our commitment to meeting our customers’ requirements. 

Congratulations to the guys!

Colleagues of both past and present have gathered today to say goodbye to a lifelong and valued employee of Jenks & Cattell Engineering. 

Dal started with Jenks & Cattell on 14th October 1974 at 24 years of age, and after almost 44 years of service the day has come that he will retire from us.

Speaking of Dal's departure, Craig Jeavons - Technical Director, who has worked with Dal for 25 years, said:

"During Dal's time, he has become an integral part of our work force setting our tools through both some very good and very difficult operating times, but has always gone about his duties commendably. Helping team mates and others when needed.

Dal in that time has almost seen everybody come and go, with the exception of two members, meaning that he is the third longest serving guy we have today.

I am sure we are all going to miss him, however as this chapter closes another one opens and you will now have the time to wonder around the sprawling valleys of Wednesifeld, instead of your beloved shop floor."

On behalf of Jenks & Cattell, we offer thanks to Dal for all the hard work, commitment and efforts over the last 44 years, and offer the best of luck for the future. 

Jenks & Cattell Engineering will be closed from Friday 30th March, and reopening and back to manufacturing on Tuesday 3rd April following the Easter Bank Holiday break.

We wish all of our customers a very Happy Easter.

Over £100k Investment in Jenks & Cattell

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have a continuous improvement philosophy and have started 2018 with an investment in over £100,000 to further improve our business.  

The introduction of a Microsoft based MRP / ERP system to our Wolverhampton engineering company aims to improve the overall performance and increase manufacturing productivity which will benefit both employees and customers.

With a more streamlined process in place, our long-term objective is to increase efficiencies and allow for increased levels of communication to enhance value for money for all our customers and suppliers to take advantage of.

If any customers and suppliers would like more information on the introductory of the system and how it will affect our business relationship, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your representative.

We would like to offer congratulations to Jack (Right) and Daniel (Left) who have completed their apprenticeships with Jenks & Cattell Engineering and City of Wolverhampton College. 

Both Jack & Daniel have been working at Jenks & Cattell since 2016 completing practical and theoretical exercises with a day release for college commitments. Jack has qualified in Engineering Manufacturing; Engineering Technical Support and Daniel completed Engineering Manufacture; Engineering Toolmaking. 

At their certificate presetation, Jeremy King, Managing Director stated: "Jack and Daniel are crucial elements to our business development and future. We hope they both continue with their engineering education and aspire to Director level roles at Jenks & Cattell in their future".

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have an excellent philosophy for employee growth, with our Technical Director, Sales Director and Engineering Director all beginning with engineering apprenticeships and collectively have over 50 years working service with Jenks & Cattell Engineering. 

Jenks & Cattell Engineering welcome all visitors to visit our engineering team at the Southern Manufacturing this time next week to discuss any manfuacturing opportunities. 

We are based in the heart of the manufacturing industry in the West Midlands annd provide a complete sheet metal fabrication service including metal pressings, laser cutting and welded assembly.

To request a meeting with our team, please call 01902 305530.

FIVE, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6XL, UK
Tues/Weds - 9.30am to 4.30pm
Thurs - 9.30am to 3.30pm

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd will be exhibiting our sheet metal manufacturing services at Southern Manufacturing Exhibition for another consecutive year. 

To discuss any manufacturing opportunities and to take advantage of our metal presswork, laser cutting and welding services, please visit our stand from 6th to 8th February at the even in Farnborough, or you can get in tocuh via sales@jcel.co.uk to arrange an appointment with one of our team. 

Details:
FIVE, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6XL, UK
Tues/Weds - 9.30am to 4.30pm
Thurs - 9.30am to 3.30pm

Happy New Year to all of our customers and suppliers.

2018 will see Jenks & Cattell Engineering's 132nd year in the manufacturing and metal presswork industry, and will mark 48 years in our Neachells Lane factory in Wednesfield, West Midlands.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are one of the most experienced sheet metal workers in the UK, and our engineering team are willing to try new ideas and are always looking for the best manufacturing methods to increase quality and reduce costs for our customers benefit.

2017, was a further successful year for Jenks & Cattell Engineering with an increase in employees, turnover and investment in our machinery and the start of 2018 will be improved by our new ERP system being implement (watch this space).

We can also confirm, that we will be exhibiting at the Southern Manufacturing Exhibition in Farnborough in February - we hope to see you there.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to all of our suppliers and customers from all at Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd.

We hope that 2018 is a successful one for us all in the manufacturing industry.

As we are all aware, steel prices have been very up and down throughout 2016-2017, and Jenks & Cattell Engineering in the West Midlands understand that steel prices are likely to rise once again for the first quarter of 2018, beginning in January.

Mild Steel for example is expected to rise following an upward trend by £20-£40 per tonne.

With material cost increases expected, Jenks & Cattell urge customers to provide production plans and schedules to ensure cost efficiency and allow us purchase at the very best prices for our customers and avoid reflecting any increases.

Instead of reserving your production plans until 2018, please get ahead of the January increases and discuss potential supply opportunities and timeframes with our sales team to ensure the best costs of your metal pressed parts and welded assemblies for 2018.

Please get in touch via 01902 305530 or sales@jcel.co.uk – we will be in a position to provide benchmark costs and quotations for live and new projects for any sheet metal manufacturing requirements. For more information, on our metal pressings, presswork, laser cutting, fabrication and welding services, please contact our team. 

Reducing Our Customers Tooling Costs

With Black Friday & Cyber Monday now safely out of the way, Jenks & Cattell have a continuous focus and improvement on reducing costs and maintaining quality for all of our customers.

We have developed a successful nine-year relationship with three Chinese companies to offer our customer’ pressing and stamping tooling at a reduced cost, and a very impressively fast lead time.

Using tool makers in China allows Jenks & Cattell to offer our customers a reduction of 45-50% in costs on purchasing tooling, and we can see lead times of 7 weeks for samples, and 16 weeks to production.

In 2015-16 alone, we procured over £2m worth of tooling from China for various customers who use our UK manufacturing facilities. With the tooling considered, and the most effective manufacturing method of progression tooling to pressed / stamped metal components, we are able to save customers up to 35% in piece part price, with a pay back of just 7 months.

Our Tooling and Project Engineers regularly visit our suppliers in China, to project manage the process and ensure that the UK quality standards of our customers are maintained, and we also guarantee material quality as we ship UK material over to China to complete samples & trials. With our strong relationship, we are in a position to keep our customers up-to-date with the progress of their manufacturing process and at times, improve lead time.

Jenks and Cattell Engineering Ltd do have a tool-shop on site at our Wolverhampton engineering factory, which enables our specialist toolmakers to adapt and maintain tools throughout the tools working life, which increases quality and product life-cycle for our customers.

For our sheet metal manufacturing, Jenks & Cattell Engineering in Wolverhampton, have capability to produce simple to complex components and have an excellent range of coil fed progression presses, standard presses and pick & place transfer line presses. Please view our Plant List.

Exporting Our Way Through Brexit

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd have seen a consistency in exporting our sub-contract sheet metal pressings, stamping, welding and laser cutting service, with 2016-2017 seeing highs of 33% total sales exported worldwide.

In terms of exporting, Jenks & Cattell, who manufacture from the UK, with a sales base in Germany also, are finding ourselves to be competitive worldwide to countries including; Germany, Romania, Slovakia, Netherlands, South America, Poland, Spain, Sweden, USA & China.

In March 2017, the SMMT stated that automotive exports have seen over a 13% increase, which is the highest number of vehicles exported from the UK for 17 years with over a quarter of a million engines manufactured in the UK each year. Jenks & Cattell benefit from both the off-highway, engines and automotive exported markets.

In Europe, 54.6% of vehicle exports are from the UK, making it our biggest trading partner.

Although there is a level of uncertainty in regard to the sterling, we have plans in place to continue to grow our export market for all manufacturers and OEM’s to take advantage of our recent investments in machinery and personnel in our West Midlands factory.

 We have key relationships with road, rail and sea freight within our Wolverhampton engineering company and we can offer all our customers a competitive exporting solution.

To view our capacity and capabilities to see how our manufacturing services can assist you, please view here.

Quarter 4 Production Plan

With the 3 months of 2017 now with us, Jenks & Cattell would like to urge all customers and potential customers to secure their manufacturing requirements within our factory to ensure a smooth run of production and ensure on time delivery.

For more information on our capacity within our factory, please view our capability and plant list: http://www.jcel.co.uk/equipment

Jenks & Cattell Engineering in Wolverhampton,  have over 30 presses, 2 laser cutting machines and welding facilities operating on a double shift from 6am-2pm and 2pm-10pm.

To submit your production plans, or receive a quotation for upcoming sub-contract sheet metal requirements; email sales@jcel.co.uk or call 01902 305530.

With the fine skill of press tooling being a dying art within the sheet metal engineering industry, Kevan, Engineering Manager, has taken it upon himself to teach the next generation of Jenks & Cattell Engineering employees everything that over 20 years of experience within the industry has taught him.

Kevan is an apprentice trained press tool engineer to HNC level, and in his own time has completed formal lesson plans and invited anyone interested in progressing their knowledge in press / stamping tools along to “Understanding Press Tooling Open Door Workshop” with Kevan as their teacher.

Since the beginning of August, an average of 15 people aged 18-40 have spent their lunch time once a week with Kevan to further their education; within an industry well known for having a skills age gap.

Kevan said: “I hope to run 40 sessions over a 12-month period, and attendance is on a completely voluntary basis, and on a want to learn basis. There are no tests or exams, and the occasional practical exercise on the shop floor to keep it interesting.

We will progress to real life examples in the press shop and view Jenks & Cattell examples and process”

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd are very aware of the skills gap in the sheet metal industry, and have been very focussed over the last 5 years to employ graduates and apprentices, with 2017 seeing an intake of 3 new apprentices.

There is less than one week to go until Northern Manufacturing exhibition - we hope to see you there!

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd will be exhibiting on stand F8 at one of the UK’s largest and most successful engineering and manufacturing shows from 27^th-28^th September in Manchester.

Please contact our sales team to make an appointment to discuss your sheet metal manufacturing opportunity / query with one of our sales engineers.

The event will take place at Event City in Manchester, which is located just 70 miles from our West Midlands engineering base.

Everyone at Jenks & Cattell Engineering would like to offer a warm welcome to our three new apprentice intakes for 2017.

Adam, Luke & Aaron have joined us as school leavers and entered the world of engineering, studying their NVQ's at Wolverhampton College.

Adam is a keen rugby fan, and has joined our Quality department and plans to study Mechanical Engineering at Wolverhampton College, with a career plan in place at Jenks & Cattell.

Luke has joined our Maintenance team, and Aaron has joined our Tool Maintenance department; both Luke & Aaron are studying NVQ Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on tooling & maintenance. Luke is a keen footballer and Aaron enjoys fishing in his spare time.

All 3 apprentices will have day realease for college study, and work the remaining days within our engineering facilities and factory where we hope they will all have valuable careers at Jenks & Cattell following their formal education. 

Jenks & Cattell Engineering continue their focus on the skills gap and local employment, and this is our fourth set of apprentices in five years - closing any gaps the sheet metal manufacturing industry.

TS16949 Laser Cutting

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd are one of very few sheet metal laser cutting companies in the UK to obtain a TS16949 automotive accreditation for our industry, giving automotive customers the opportunity for low cost, low volume manufacturing at an internationally recognised industry standard.

Having TS16949 within our laser fabrication department allows all our customers, of all industries to take advantage of our focus on high quality, continual improvement, defence prevention and a reduction of waste within our supply chain.

All our customer’s projects will follow our stringent process for their laser cut and fabricated metal components, including PPAP, FMEA, ISIR report and security that products are manufactured within tolerance to CAD, and measured internally on our CMM machine.

Customers can take advantage of our laser machine to cut and fabricate automotive metal components to industry standard, and the attractiveness of the laser is that there is no tooling requirement and therefore our customers can save money and time on manufacturing low-medium volume  metal parts.

The laser facility gives us the opportunity to support our customers from a prototype stage, right through to production moving from laser cut, to a tool stamping / presswork manufacturing method.

Jenks & Cattell’s laser facilities are impressive, with two Trumpf laser cutting machines, one of which has an automated material lifter and can work unoperated. To compliment laser cutting, we have two brake press beds and a large number of presses to enable a complete fabricated, folded or formed metal component, and we offer our customers extra services including welding, nut insertion and surface finishing.

Please contact our sales team for more information on our laser cutting facilities  - sales@jcel.co.uk and in the meantime, view our laser portfolio.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd will be exhibiting on stand F8 at one of the UK’s largest and most successful engineering and manufacturing shows from 27^th-28^th September in Manchester.

With only one month to go, please contact our sales team to make an appointment to discuss your sheet metal manufacturing opportunity / query with one of our sales engineers.

The event will take place at Event City in Manchester, which is located just 70 miles from our West Midlands engineering base.

For those who cannot make the dates or location of the show, we would be more than happy to discuss your manufacturing opportunities at your convenience, please call 01902 305530 or email sales@jcel.co.uk 

More information on our pressing/stamping, welding & laser cutting manufacturing capabilities is available here.

Everyone at Jenks & Cattell is are pleased and proud to announce that 'our Mick' has achieved 49 years service working with Jenks & Cattell Engineering.

Mick started with Jenks & Cattell on 12th August 1968 on our Neachells Lane factory (current factory), and as you can imagine, has seen some massive changes in 49 years of Jenks & Cattell's 131 year lifetime!

Mick has been our First Off Quality Inspector for many years, and is now passing his wealth of knowledge on to our youth to enable Jenks & Cattell to continue our keen quality standards for the future. 

We are taking this year to celebrate, however with Mick holding so much knowledge, we are lucky that he has told us that he isnt thinking of retiring any time soon.

Craig Jeavons, Technical Director, who has worked with Mick for almost 20 years said; "What a terrific achievement, not only for Mick, but for Jenks & Cattell, the likes of which are very rare in this day and age. 

His dedication and reliability is exceptional. 49 years service and still going strong - well done our Mick!"

Barry Downs, Engineering Director, was pleased to gift Mick with a box of craft beers to which Mick said; "Thanks, there looks one or two good ones in there."

We have no doubt that they shall be sampled very soon.

Tracy Richards, Quality Assurance Manager, handmade a congratulations card, which we hope Mick will keep for posterity.

Once again, congratulations Mick! Heres to the next 49 years?

Experts in Welded Assemblies

Jenks & Cattell Engineering provide a complete sub-con sheet metal fabrication service, including the welding of all components, where required.

We have an impressive welded assembly area in our West Midlands based factory, including C02 manual welding with 2 manual welding bays, 6 robotic welders and over 20 spot & projection welding facilities.

4 of our robot welders were brand new and commissioned in 2016 and offer our customers welding repeatability with all welds being identical on customer components, manufactured at speed and being mostly automated, increases the cost saving benefit for users.

Jenks & Cattell weld very small components, up to sizeable and complex metal assemblies including exhaust & engine systems and can add accessories such as nuts, studs, bolts and pipes clips etc…

Quality Welding

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are renowned for the quality of our welds with our strict process of checking each weld at the first off of every production run in our Macro Weld Test Facility to determine root penetration depth, this is then recorded and physically kept for 3 months.

Our welding team also endure a number of internal and external examinations and continuous training to ensure quality throughout all areas of our welding department.

In 2016 we were recognised as a key welding supplier to Caterpillar, and was one of the few suppliers in the UK to receive Caterpillars supplier award of Welding Excellence.

The Facts:

• Our manual welding team are Zurich approved welders, offering excellent quality welding
• Our robot welders offer a cost & time saving within manufacturing
• We can weld all metals including stainless steel & aluminium

View our welding portfolio.

Our Welding -- Quality Assured!

Congratulations to Dave, Lewis and Lee, on their re-certification to the British Standard for manual MIG welding, BS 9606-1.

Craig, Technical Director, stated: "It gives us great pleasure in helping you achieve this deserved recognition, and proves once again that we are serious about our people and developing their individual skills, for all our futures.

These qualification’s now mean that all of our manual welding team, are qualified to a Zurich Insurance Standard."

Tracy, Quality Assurance Manager, commented: "This shows to both our existing and new customers alike, that we have welding procedures and process’s in place, to ensure customer satisfaction and conformance to specifications."

All the three members of our welding team, received instruction, training and finally approval from Mr. Alan Lawrence of Elite Welding Services, our thanks to him for his continued support.

Celebrating Our Heritage – Black Country Day

14^th July is now widely celebrated in the Black Country, and is well known to the locals as Black Country Day.

Jenks and Cattell Engineering has been in Black Country engineering industry since 1886 and are proud to be in the heart of the metal industry in Wednesfield, West Midlands for over 130 years.

We began manufacturing garden tools before moving on to becoming one of the biggest presswork and laser fabrication engineering companies in the West Midlands.

We are proud of our heritage and ‘good old fashioned’ engineering and currently supply both local and international customers and have a constant focus on working with local suppliers, customers and schools to keep the future of Black Country engineering alive.

For any fellow Black Country companies who buy any sheet metal work, please contact sales@jcel.co.uk or pop in to Jenks and Cattell on Neachells Lane to discuss how our manufacturing services of presswork, welding and laser cutting can be offered at competitive costs and local rates.

To many of our customers who are not familiar with ‘The Black Country’, we hope you find the following top Black Country facts interesting:

1. Gained its name from the black smoke from the thousands of ironworking foundries and forges.
2. Located in the West Midlands, including the Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Wolverhampton Boroughs.
3. During the Industrial Revolution, the Black Country was one of the most industrialised parts of Britain, with coal mines, iron foundries and steel mills, producing a high level of air pollution.
4. There is a Black Country Museum  & Castle in Dudley. Please visit!
5. Residents of the Black Country are often known as ‘Yam Yams, due to the pronunciation of ‘You’ being ‘Yam’
6. Famous for dialect, and there is an official black country alphabet:

A – Opple (Apple)

B- Nana (Banana)

C – Council Pop (Water)

D – Donnies (Hands)

E – Ere-ya-goo (Here You Go)

F – Fittle

G – Giz-a-Goo – (Give A Go)

H – Oss (Horse)

I – Ickle (Small)

J – Jed (Dead)

K – Kaylied (Drunk)

L – Loike (Like)

M – Mucker (Mate)

N – Nah (No)

O – Owamya (How are you?)

P – Tater (Potato)

Q – Quid (Pound)

R – Riffy (Dirty)

S – Suck (Sweets)

T – Tara-a-bit (Bye)

U – Um (Home)

V – Old mons vest (Vest)

W– Ooman (Woman)

X – Kiss ay it

Y – Yampy

Z – Stripy Oss (Zebra)

Our £1m Sales Month

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are pleased to announce some good news for a Monday morning; in that in the month of June, we are reported to have achieved sales in excess of £1 million.

Our turnover is contributed to by our comprehensive range of sub-contract sheet metal manufacturing services which include laser cutting, robotic welding assemblies, presswork / stamping, prototypes and press support relief from resource projects.

With a double shift now in place (6am-10pm) in our West Midlands factory, we have been able to offer our customers impressive lead times and excellent quality of metal fabrications to meet required schedules and demands of leading industries.

The investment within our engineering company is reflecting in our planned turnover growth which is estimated to be £12.2m in the financial year of 2017.

For more information in taking advantage of our manufacturing services, all British Standards and TS 16949 approved, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our sales team: sales@jcel.co.uk

Production Team Promotion

Jenks & Cattell would like to announce an internal promotion for three members of our Production team.

Daniel Alford joined Jenks & Cattell in 2014 and has progressed within the company year on year, and now takes on his recently appointed role as Production Manager, managing a team of 75 on our factory floor.

Daniel says “it is every intention to improve communication with all employees and ensure that the working environment is further improved for all”.

Also receiving a promotion within the Production department is Jack McGinty, who started with Jenks & Cattell in 2011 as an apprentice and has progressed within the company with taking further education to achieve a HNC in Mechanical Engineering, and is currently studying for his HND. Jack now leads the Production Planning department within his new role as Planning Manager.

David Dawson has been a valued key supporting employee at Jenks & Cattell since the 1980’s and has a wealth of knowledge of metal pressings and our manufacturing processes. Dave will manage our equipment and shop floor processes in his continued role as Operations Manager.  

We wish them every success in their roles, and this change will inevitably further improve Jenks & Cattell’s production processes for our manufacturing efficiency for all of our customers.

British Standards - We continue our ‘Quality Assured’ approach.

We are pleased to announce that as part of our continued ‘total quality approach’, we have signed up in partnership with the British Standards Institute.

In the main, this shall ensure that all the necessary British Standards that we hold and work to, are always current, ensuring that we are up to date with any changes, ensuring and fulfilling our customers’ requirements. Our British Standards quality commitments will be implemented throughout all our customers and processes.

Technical Director, Craig Jeavons, said: “With us joining BSI it shows another positive move forward in the ‘Quality Assurance’ world for us, and once again cements that we are serious about not only the products we supply, but also the system they go through to be produced.”

This British Standards Institute membership accompanies our further accreditations including TS 16949, IS0 14001, IS0 9001, Caterpillar Welding Excellence, Caterpillar Supplier Quality and Cummins Category Partner.

Welcome To Our Two New David’s!

Jenks & Cattell are pleased to announce our two latest members of the Sales team, with David Nation joining our Estimating team, and David Round as a key addition to our Sales team taking on the role of Technical Sales Engineer.

Both David’s have a strong knowledge of the construction industry and have been working in a sheet metal engineering industry for over 15 years.

Out of work they both enjoy keeping fit and we hope to see David N competing in the Marathon in the upcoming years.

David R is a family man and enjoys spending time with his daughter, playing football and taking Fitbit challenges very seriously. David strives to enhance our sales focus and looks to fulfill our business strategy of diversifying industries within engineering.

If you would like to discuss our sheet metal services, including laser cutting, fabrication, pressings and robotic welded assemblies, please do not hesitate to get in touch with David at sales@jcel.co.uk

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are proud to recieve another accolade of recognition due to our outstanding service to one of our customers as Cummins present us with a Category Partner award.

Cummins state that such recognition is given for "appreciation of superior performance with a commitment to deliver value", which is an area where all at Jenks & Cattell strive upon to provide the best quality and value of sheet metal parts to all of our customers.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all involved in our customer facing projects for focusing on continuous improvement to ensure we continue to perform to our highest level.

We were notified in September of last year of this award, and have now recieved our plaque which is proudly on display in our Reception alongisde recent awards from Caterpillar for our supplier performance and welding excellence. 

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact our team on sales@jcel.co.uk or 01902 384219.

Only one day to go before Automechanika show opens at the NEC in Birmingham.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering will have an excellent display of our manufactured sheet metal components, as well as our knowlegable Sales Engineers availalble to speak to all potential and existing customers on stand 6F71.

The exhibition is open until 5pm on Thursday 8th June - we hope to see you there!

Please view our email invitation to this exhibition here: email.invitation

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are pleased to provide a sneak preview of inside of West Midlands factory, showcasing our vast range of sheet metal manufacturing capabilities including presswork, laser cutting and robotic welders.

This video will be available to viewers throughout the Automechanika exhibition from 6th-8th June.

For anyone interested in speaking with our sales team at the show, please visit stand: 6F71

View the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo2WZp3SO5k

The Most Cost Effective UK Manufacturing Method

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd can offer all our customers the most cost effective manufacturing method for metal components.

Our metal pressing / stamping manufacturing facilities, can produce hundreds of components per hour, which saves both time and money, and for volumes over 5000 per year; customers will be guaranteed a payback from investing in press tooling.

All our press tooling is maintained in our tool-room in house, and will be inspected before and after each production run to give our customers the security of prolonging their tools life cycle in producing quality parts.

Jenks & Cattell’s presses can stamp metal parts in mild steel, high strength steel, copper, brass, stainless steel and aluminium.

AIDA Transfer Line

Our AIDA Transfer Line allows one metal component to be transferred between a maximum of 6 presses, completing up to 6 different operations, starting from a blank piece of metal. On the final stage, the component will come off the press completed.

Our AIDA Line is made up of 5 x 200 tonne presses and 1 x 150 tonne press and can manufacture small-medium sized components.

Due to the option to have 6 individual tools to manufacture one part, this is ideal method for complex metal pressings from an automated method of production with pick and place transfer literally transferring the metal component to each staged press.

Progression Presses

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have an impressive range of coil-fed progression presses which effectively give the same benefits of our AIDA Transfer Line presses, including a finished component being complete off one press and operation. 

This automated press pulls through strips of material from coil and feeds into the press where one stamping die will have several internal operations to manufacture various stages of a complex part, and the last punch of the press will crop the finished component ready for packaging, or further processes.

Our progression presses can stamp small-large components up to 1 meter in size, and can have as many operations as required.

To understand if your metal component would benefit from our progression or transfer presses, please contact a member of our sales team to discuss on 01902 305530 or sales@jcel.co.uk

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at 2017 Automechanika, which will be our second consecutive year at the automotive event.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering’s exhibition stand is located in the new Supply Chain Zone, directly opposite the VIP Lounge, at stand number 6F71.

We will have a video demonstration of our metal pressings, laser cutting, fabrication and welding services, as well as a selection of our sheet metal components portfolio, sampled on our stand.

If you do have any sub-contract manufacturing requirements, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our sales team at sales@jcel.co.uk, or alternatively you can visit our sales team on at the stand throughout the exhibition.

Automechanika Birmingham will take place at the NEC in Birmingham from 6^th-8^thJune , and if you would like to attend the show you can register for free at the following link: https://automechanika17-visitor.reg.buzz/

Launching New Website

Jenks & Cattell Engineering are proud to be launching our brand new website, and welcome all of our suppliers, customers and potential customers to have a look around.

Our aim is to provide as much information as possible to all relevant visitors, including a look into our very impressive history in our timeline, the opportunity to view all of our capacity, machinery and capabilities.

Our new website has a basic description of our metal presswork, laser cutting and welding services – however if you would like to discuss how our services and capability can support your own manufacturing requirements, please do not hesitate to contact our sales team at sales@jcel.co.uk or 01902 305530.

For those who didn’t already know – we are also on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn if you would like to follow us for regular updates on our engineering and manufacturing world. 

Continuing to invest in our people – CMM Training

Jenks & Cattell Engineering would like to offer our congratulations to Pav, Ryan and Jack, who spent 2 days at our preferred CMM training supplier QCT.

Both Kevan, our Engineering Manager and Craig, Technical Director, presented them with their certificates of competency, in the use of our valuable co-ordinate measuring machine.

All three of our guys said during the presentation, that they found the training to be “very well worth while”, and told us that they insisted on the second day; they requested to the trainer that they wanted to start the programming side of the course, which normally takes place on the fourth day.

The two-day off site course allowed the three guys to bond further during the ‘out of hours’ time they spent together, which is terrific for moral within our engineering department.

Craig said during the presentation;

“ You guys are the bed rock of our future, and both Kevan and I are proud to support you, in expanding your talent that you show and share, towards Jenks and Cattell Engineering.

Since this training, all three guys been using our CMM machine, carrying out various measurements on project parts they are looking after, therefore proof that we have given them all the confidence to operate a machine, that is worth over £50,000!”

Kevan stated “The Directors and Management at Jenks & Cattell are always willing to provide fiscal backing to develop our people with training, and shall continue to do so”.  

Our CMM machine is a key part of our quality department, and allows all of our customers parts to be measured to CAD.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have a strong focus on developing new and existing customers worldwide, with a number of our UK customers now requiring exporting demands and also international companies using British manufacturers as a key business move. This is an open opportunity for Jenks & Cattell as a British engineering company to increase international growth.

Following the UK’s decision to leave Europe, ‘The Manufacturer’ identified that “51% of UK engineering companies will use this to their advantage, and offer international companies to take advantage of the current sterling position”, which is highlighted within Jenks & Cattell’s strategy of international growth, as the business continues to invest in the factory, people and equipment in order to stay competitive throughout Brexit.

In the last 12 months, our exports have grown from 23% to 30%, where we have remained competitive in countries including Germany, Slovakia, France, Romania, Poland, South America & China, with all sheet metal goods manufactured from our Wolverhampton manufacturing site.

A number of these exports are for the off-highway and automotive industries, which follows a positive statement from the SMMT announcing a 2.5% growth on UK car sales from the previous year – this is a crucial highlight for Jenks & Cattell Engineering, with 63% of our total sales being automotive metal presswork and welded assemblies.

For more information on how Jenks & Cattell Engineering can benefit your manufacturing process for sheet metal pressed, stamped, laser cut and welded parts and assemblies – please contact sales@jcel.co.uk

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd will again be exhibiting our services at the Northern Manufacturing exhibition in Manchester on 28th & 29th September at Event City in Manchester.
To discuss your potential manufacturing requirements for any sheet metal fabrications, please do visit our stand F8 next month.
If you would like to arrange to visit our stand, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our sales team at sales@jcel.co.uk

Jenks and Cattell Engineering Ltd, a presswork, laser fabrication and welded assembly supplier are only the third company to have received Caterpillars prestigious ‘Supplier Quality Excellence Process’, and it is now the third time we have secured it.

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd have had over 130 years manufacturing experience in Wolverhampton, and we are a proud manufacturing engineering company to continue to progress year on-year.

Craig Jeavons, Jenks & Cattell’s Technical Director publicly thanked everyone who works at Jenks & Cattell at the presentation which was attended by over 50 employees today, and stated:

“Each and every one of us has in some way contributed to this award, and makes our company be the success if it is today, and everyone should be proud.

He went on to say, That without the support of our family owned group, Newship Group and the millions of pounds invested in Jenks & Cattell, we would not have been able to reach the heights we have today.

“This is effectively bronze award for suppliers, and Jenks & Cattell plan to go from strength to strength and aim for silver”
The award was given to us by six Caterpillar attendees, including Anna Lee, Supplier Quality Development Manager and Martin Brent, Category Buyer.

Anna from Caterpillar said:

“As a fabrication company, Jenks & Cattell really are top of the game."

Caterpillar pride themselves supplying the best quality parts and products, and need this level of quality support from its suppliers, which we receive from this engineering company.”

Martin Brent went on to stress how prestigious this award is within Caterpillar, and that only 3 suppliers (including Jenks & Cattell) have been awarded the Supplier Quality Excellent Process award this year. Jenks & Cattell Engineering have now received this three times and this closely follows our re-certification to their 7SWE accreditation for welding excellence.

Supplier Quality Excellence Process accreditation is awarded “through demonstrated results, this supplier has exhibited excellent process control, has shown a desire for ongoing continuous improvement, and has provided quality product to their Caterpillar customers”

Jenks & Cattell Engineering have been very proudly recognised as a superb supplier of quality metal fabrications, customer service and delivery performance by Caterpillar – the methods and efforts implemented into the engineering company, are now regimented to achieve such quality and this procedure is inputted into all of our customers products and projects throughout the whole factory.

Jenks and Cattell Engineering will be exhibiting our laser fabrication, presswork and welding services at Southern Manufacturing Show on stand K92.

Tuesday 9th February 2016-Thursday 11th February 2016.

Jenks and Cattell Engineering will be exhibiting our laser fabrication, presswork and welding services at Automechanika for the automotive industry on stand 10L11.

Tuesday 7th June - Thursday 9th June 2016