Due to upgrades in the exchange provision, it has proved necessary to change the DDI Direct Dial numbers on our new system. Our main office telephone number has not changed and remains:

Main Office Number : 0151 525 1663

Here are the new direct dial numbers for key departments and personnel:

Administration

• Wendy Bailey – 0151 530 2081
• Terrie Harris – 0151 530 2082
• Nicola Mayo – 0151 530 2083

Directors

• Alan Hayes – 0151 530 2084
• Tony O’Donnell – 0151 530 2085
• Steve Roberts – 0151 530 2086
• Ian Johns – 0151 530 2095

Production Engineering

• Tony Seddon – 0151 530 2087
• Barry Stewart – 0151 530 2088
• Ian Hennessey – 0151 530 2089

Quality

• Nick Hayes – 0151 530 2090

Production Control

• Gary Dunbabin – 0151 530 2092
• Ian Leek – 0151 530 2093
• Steve Davies – 0151 530 2094

The new, expanded
production engineering office

Hard at work inside the new office

With Steve Davies joining our production engineering team as reported here, Denholm’s recognised that we also needed more space to house everyone!

To meet this need we have significantly extended the Production Engineering Office at our Liverpool site.

The larger facility will house extra staff necessary to maintain production of detailed quality and specification reports needed by customers for the specialist work handled by Denholms and also our sister operation C E Edwards in Stoke.

If you have any questions about the expansion, or wish to discuss anything else with us, please get in touch.

Although based primarily at our Liverpool site in Aintree, Steve will have responsibility for Production Engineering both at Liverpool and at our Stoke site.

As operations become more integrated, our aim is to reinforce production engineering and planning across the whole company to ensure that we maintain and enhance service levels to our customers as our workload grows.

Norman started work on the site in 1963 with Aintree company Burn Engineering Ltd. The company closed In 1988, and Denholms offered jobs to Burn employees, so beginning Norman Hay’s long relationship with Denholm Rees O’Donnell.

When the time came to think about retirement it was his colleagues in his own production cell who organised to mark the occasion.

Cell Leader Joe Paton (seen above with Norman during the presentation) arranged a collection with which they bought a commemorative gold watch which was presented to Norman by all members of his cell-team.

We all wish Norman a long and happy retirement.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of the next generation as Rebecca O’Donnell, granddaughter of founding member Charles O’Donnell, joins DRO as a Director and Board Member.

Already a successful businesswoman in her own right having built and run her own business for over 15 years, Rebecca brings a wealth of experience to the company.

Inevitably, an important element of this move was to sell the current site on Albany Road – a task not helped by the current economic climate. A lack of meaningful offers for the site coupled with continuing growth of business at Denholms has meant the Denholms mangement team has had to do what they do best – move with the times and turn setbacks into opportunities. Making a decision to stay put has opened up other avenues to take the business forward.

Denholms Finance Director, Steve Roberts says:

It is frustrating that the general economic climate means
such slow progress on our plans to move but one thing we
do know is that we can't stand still. We are seeing strong
business growth and now that we have taken the decision
to put the move on hold, this frees up money for other
projects. As a priority we are looking to refurbish our
Albany Road premises and replace some of our older machines
with more of the state-of-the-art tools which enable us to
maintain and develop our position as leading sub-contract
engineering specialists.

We hope to have more news on this very soon.

This decision has proved its value many times over. Denholms typically have between 5 and 7 apprentices at any one time with 1 or 2 being taken on each year, and 1 or 2 skilled engineers graduating from the programme.

Continuing success has been demonstrated recently with 2 apprentices; Colin Coventry and Chris Richards graduating from their apprenticeships with flying colours – and both moving into full-time positions on the Denholms’ shop floor. Colin is responsible for production on a vertical machine centre while Chris works with a CNC lathe.

Denholm’s MD, Alan Hayes:

We appreciate their efforts and wish them every success in
their careers with Denholms

Long term suppliers to tyre giants Michelin, C E Edwards provide a range of fabrication and refurbishment services to the company.

Shortly after the millennium, Michelin commissioned a range of tyre display stands for use at exhibitions around the UK. These stands are still in regular use today, however, the rigours of the automotive exhibition circuit have taken their toll and the stands were in need of some TLC.

Michelin approached C E Edwards asking to have the stands refurbished in time for the recent LAMMA agricultural equipment show in Nottinghamshire. The work was done and the stands ready in good time for the show. The quality of the refurbishment was evident to the sales team at the show who reported:

“…a job well done on the refurbishment of the tyre stands…
…they now look better than they did when they were new.”

If you are looking for engineering fabrication from a company who will work with you and deliver the best, give us a call

Joe Paton at thePuma 2600LY control panel

Last September we reported Denholm’s investment in a new Doosan Puma 2600LY lathe

Following delivery to Denholm’s Liverpool site shortly after Christmas, the lathe was installed and commissioned in January 2012 and now plays an important role in Denholm’s daily work.

Engineer Joe Paton has been with Denholm’s for 10 years and he was the first to get his hands on the new lathe.

After only a month working with the new kit, he is impressed:

“I have just completed the set up on the lathe to produce a
new component. On the machine that the Puma 2600 replaced,
the set-up would have taken me around 2-3 hours.
On the Puma 2600 it took 40 minutes!”
Joe Paton, Denholm’s Engineer

The Puma 2600LY is extremely flexible. The availability of ‘Y-axis’ machining allows components to be produced more speedily and with an even higher quality finish than was previously possible.

Pump shaft ready for despatch to Japan

Machining pump shafts can be particularly challenging. Their dimensions (typically long and thin!) means a shaft can easily distort; yet it is vital that they stay straight – a dilemma!

Denholm’s have particular experience and skill in machining pump shafts, skill which is being recognised across the world – not least in Japan where Denholm’s have recently fulfilled an order for 18 pump shafts worth in excess of £80,000.

Denholm’s customer was finding it difficult to source a supplier for the shafts they required locally in Japan and then last year’s earthquake and tsunami put even more pressure on the Japanese manufacturing base.

A mutual contact in the UK led to Denholm, Rees O’Donnell being approached, assessed and the order being placed.

Denholm’s technical experience really came into play when, during the initial engineering work, staff identified areas where they felt the shaft design and material specification could be improved. A total of 6 specification changes were proposed and implemented resulting in reduced cost and improved performance – a great mix!

To discuss how we can help you with your next project, get in touch