Helping shape innovation

Penta Patterns is a manufacturer of patterns, moulds, parts, and tooling
JoshSpeightPhotography
Penta Patterns is a manufacturer of patterns, moulds, parts, and tooling

In a Q&A session, Penta Pattern & Model’s managing director, Neil Walker explains how the company is rising to the challenge by redefining the shape of innovation.

Penta Pattern & Model is a specialist manufacturer of patterns, composite and carbon fibre moulds, components and tooling for prototype, pre-production and production in a number of industries including motorsport, automotive, aerospace and luxury and bespoke artwork and design. The company was established by five traditional patternmakers in 1985, making patterns for the foundry industry, and sand and resin press tools for the automotive industry.

Since then, the company has undergone many changes and now operates in a 1,800m2 facility and employs 36 highly-trained staff. The facility comprises four 5-axis CNC machines, a CAD department, hand finishing operations, a 6m x 3m set-in-floor surface plate and a full composites facility, including a 3m x 1.5m autoclave. The company also has three Hexagon Romer inspection arms with full laser scanning capability. The company primarily serves the Formula 1, automotive, aerospace, luxury furniture and sculpting industries.

Q) Please bring me up to speed with your latest news regarding appointments, new equipment purchases and/or facility upgrades?

We have recently purchased a new 3D printing machine that uses PolyJet technology and is capable of printing in five different mediums at the same time, including resin, ABS, nylon, and rubber in any colour, as well as clear see-through resin. This is achieved using high accuracy 8µm thick slices. We have also purchased a new Artec Leo portable 3D scanner which allows us to offer offsite scanning capabilities a lot more easily and effectively.

Q) What are the types of demands placed on your company by today’s customers?

From my point of view the biggest demand is customer relations. Penta takes its customer relations extremely seriously. We want to ensure the customer is 100% happy with everything we provide. If for any reason they are not, we will do our very best as a team to rectify the problem.

Penta has taken on a new patternmaking apprentice
Penta has taken on a new patternmaking apprentice

Most of our customers are on ‘first name’ terms and know they can talk to us about anything, not just the job in hand. We are also noticing more show cars being made from carbon fibre and this trend is being passed on into the kinds of sports road cars that are being produced now.

Q) What kinds of technological barriers do you need to overcome in order to get products to market?

With the products we make for all markets, the main barriers we have to overcome tend to be with some of the furniture we make for super yachts and the components we make for Formula 1 teams. In both cases they are trying to push the technological boundaries of what is possible all the time, so we’re constantly thinking of new ideas and adapting our processes in order to deliver the best possible results.

Q) What industry accreditations do you hold in order to supply into the sectors you serve?

We have ISO 9001:2015 UKAS management system certification, approved by LRQA. We are Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certified and JOSCAR registered. We are also a member of Made in the Midlands, which is part of the Made in Group.

Q) Please provide the latest update regarding company personnel, plus any R&D programmes you are currently working on?

So far this year we have taken on a new patternmaking apprentice, who will now go through our five-year training programme to become a fully trained patternmaker. We also recently managed to finish a 12-year-long R&D programme that is now resulting in orders for ourselves and cost-savings for our customer in excess of £1 million per year.

Q) Are industry tradeshows still relevant in this post-pandemic age?

Yes, I believe they are. These tradeshows give people the chance to talk face to face and channel ideas. They are also great places for young apprentices and engineers to learn and understand more about the industry they have chosen to be a part of.

Q) What differentiates your company from the competition and why should a customer use you over your nearest rival?

While we are not always the lowest on price, our quality and customer service is second to none. We pride ourselves on getting it right first time, every time. This mindset is adopted throughout the whole business, all the way from CAD/CAM to machining to final inspection.

Q) What do you feel are the most important assets of a company?

I know this is clichéd, but I feel that the best part of Penta is our staff and the unique set of skills that each of them have. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible to do what we do.

Penta’s facility operates four 5-axis CNC machines
Penta’s facility operates four 5-axis CNC machines

We could have all the technology the world has to offer and not manufacture anything without our dedicated team.

Q) Would you say that your long-standing partnerships have brought huge benefits, particularly as they can lead to a better way forward for all?

The relationships we have with our clients and suppliers have indeed brought huge benefits. Our clients know that when we quote a price and lead-time, the cost will stay the same and the product will be delivered, fully-inspected and on time. One of the reasons we are able to do this is due to the trust we have for our supplier base to deliver to us on time.

Q) Where to next for your company?

We would like to progress Penta into the aerospace sector a bit more, as this is an area we have only dipped our toe into so far. We are always looking forward for the next challenge. We are confident in our abilities and believe that we are capable of rising to that challenge comfortably.

www.pentapatterns.co.uk

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