In this issue of Industrial Process News, we are delighted to showcase Titan Manufacturing as our End of Year Recommended Manufacturing Company of the Month.
Titan Manufacturing is a one-stop subcontract production workshop: specialising in sheet metal fabrication and welding, CNC machining, laser cutting and surface finishing. This versatile range of services enables the company to offer a full-service package, including parts assembly services. With highly skilled machinists, coded welders and time served fabricators, Titan offers a leading range of precision engineering solutions across multiple diverse sectors.
Deep roots, strong growth
Established in 2011 by Managing Director, Jon Higson, with an initial team of just five, the company soon grew and by 2013, had moved to larger premises at Granby Industrial Estate in Weymouth, Dorset.
The units were then owned by Jon’s father, who had run his manufacturing business, ‘Park Engineering,’ there for many years. Park Engineering was sold in 2008, and then closed under the new operators in 2013. However, most of the staff were taken on by Titan when they moved in, so there is a hugely experienced core cohort among Titan’s now 50+ strong team.
Today, the head office and main site remain at Granby Industrial Estate. In the summer of 2024, the company expanded to a second location nearby, also on the Granby Industrial Estate in Weymouth.
New workshop in 2024
Titan’s new £1.8m purpose-built production workshop, opened by former South Dorset MP Richard Drax in June 2024 – is equipped with 4m x2m bed fibre laser for precision cutting, a 250-tonne press, industrial spraying and finishing facilities, and a wrapping and dispatch centre. Alongside all this, following a £500,000 investment, the new workshop also contains an additional four new CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining centres and one driven tool CNC lathe from Hurco, to help production capabilities and allow Titan to meet the growing demand for its industry-leading services.
Across both its sites, Titan now has a total of 30,000sq.ft of factory premises, housing all of the company’s fabrication, milling, laser cutting and press brake machines. With this expansion, Titan has taken on new staff to support increased capacity. Titan was described as ‘a fantastic Dorset success story’ by Richard Drax, “Providing first class products and services, skilled jobs and training and development opportunities for local people.”
Mr Drax added, “They are a real asset to the local business community – with a far reaching and extensive client base.”
Investment and expanded capacity
The four Hurco VM30i machining centres offer increased machining capacity – up to 1,270mm in X, within a compact footprint and ideal for multi-vice set-ups. The Hurco TMX10MYi driven tool turning centre meanwhile, has the in-built capacity to produce high-quality turned parts requiring milled or drilled features which can be completed without the need for additional operations.
These five new machines are pinpoint accurate, fast and easily programmable, with each feature offering measurable benefits, including increasing productivity and the greater speed from print to part.
Explains Jon, “They will improve productivity markedly, allowing Titan to fulfil client orders at greater pace. Our skilled machinists are now fully trained on the new technology, which enables even complex components to be programmed directly into the machine, using simple conversational commands, removing the need for separate CAD/CAM systems and offline programming.”
“With so much recent investment, this is an incredibly exciting time for our business as we invest and grow, building our future, and ensuring our reputation for quality and customer service is maintained, as demand for what we offer continues to rise.”
A growing customer base
Titan provides manufacturing solutions for customers across a range of sectors, predominantly the food industry – making food processing equipment and production line components, for example for the crisps and snack sector, working with household name brands and their suppliers. Alongside its long history of fulfilling MOD contracts, Titan also works with businesses across the specialised agriculture, automotive, and medical sectors.
“Our company motto is ‘Made better,’” explains Jon. “We are highly experienced in creating innovative and cost-effective solutions for the most challenging environments. If you have the designs, we can make it.”
“We can even offer support with design, reverse engineering products or producing prototypes and concept pieces, for example. Titan also provides assembly services on request, using not only components we’ve engineered, but those brought by the client from external providers too.”
“It is that breadth of competencies and that level of flexibility which sets us apart I believe.”
What makes Titan great?
Adds Jon, “Titan’s USP is our end-to-end provision – our wide range of capabilities and depth of expertise allow us to take control of a series of stages and processes under one roof, while other companies in this space may only specialise in one. We don’t just do welding – we don’t just do spraying – what is unique about us is the number of processes we control.”
“When a client comes to us with a product, we can offer them the whole manufacturing process from end-to-end and deliver it complete – all under one roof, with just one team to deal with, one time frame, one invoice to manage,” explains Jon.
Titan has a wealth of experience on which to draw: the team of welders for example, has a combined 100+ years of experience, with two having more than two decades of experience apiece. Skilled welders are essential for food technology work, adds Jon, “For any piece of equipment used in food production, a clean precision weld is absolutely requisite each time. This is because any pinhole flaws in joins can provide a refuge where bacteria can build-up.”
Developing a Skilled Team
Titan employees are well looked after and are offered tailored training and development progression routes, as newly appointed Company Director Ryan Hanger can attest.
Ryan started out as a fresh-faced 22-year-old trainee on the shop floor a decade ago, progressing to laser operating and then became Laser Manager before taking on full responsibility for the running of the workshop, where he implemented changes that saw an impressive 15% increase in production output. After becoming Business Manager this summer, focusing on driving efficiency and cost-effectiveness through structural improvements within the company, Ryan was promoted to Company Director in October.
Titan Manufacturing
“I am keen to put all I’ve learned to good use, drawing on my own experiences to help others in the Titan team to grow and develop in their careers,” explains Ryan.
“At Titan, we want to make sure we are sharing and passing on key skills, and through that safeguarding the future of not only our company, but also of the wider manufacturing sector.”
Titan has two apprentices currently, and an ongoing partnership with Weymouth College, providing all important real work learning opportunities for students undertaking relevant qualifications.
“We want young people to see that a career in manufacturing is an exciting prospect, with opportunities to build skills, develop yourself personally and professionally, and create a successful and fulfilling long-term career,” says Ryan.
“As my own career trajectory demonstrates, Titan believes in nurturing talent, creating opportunities, and developing skills for the good of our team and clients, and the future of our sector.”
Future plans
This is an incredibly exciting time for Titan. Following a period of rapid growth and expansion, they are set to continue to push ahead with plans to further grow the business, with an ambition of doubling turnover within two years.
To support this goal, Titan is working towards NADCAP: the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program, for the industrial spraying facility – which will mean Titan will be qualified to do MOD spraying work.
As part of a growing customer base in this sector, Titan attended the biennial Defence industry exhibition, DVD, in September, taking a stand at the event to showcasing the company’s capabilities with those responsible for defence sector procurement. In the same month, the Titan team also held a stand at PPMA, the largest food processing and packaging machinery exhibition in the UK.
“These expos are a fantastic way for us to showcase who we are and what we can offer to those at the heart of the defence and food and beverage industries,” says Jon. “These two sectors both demand the most exacting standards and flawless execution and finish. Our capabilities and deep understanding of what they need make us ideal partners, as we continue our focus on expanding our business in these areas.”
Giving back
In addition to providing world-class manufacturing from its state-of-the-art new facility, Titan is dedicated to helping bring about lasting change in peoples’ lives in the local community.
This is evident by an imminent launch of a new local charity partnership with The Lantern Trust – an organisation which supports vulnerable and marginalised people in the Weymouth and Portland area. Their remit includes assisting people dealing with mental health problems, offending behaviour, addiction and homelessness.
“While are an ambitious company, with plans for further national and international growth – we remain true to our roots in Dorset and are proud to be a big part of this community. The strong base and skilled team we have developed here in Weymouth give us the firm foundations for all we want to achieve for ourselves, and all we will deliver for our clients.”
For more information on Titan Manufacturing, please see the website below:
https://titanmanufacturing.co.uk