Welcome to Wilco Manufacturing Ltd

At Wilco we manufacture precision turned parts on a sub-contract basis, running a large number of CNC and Conventional bar turning machines from a refurbished factory in the heart of the industrial midlands.

Over the years the company has steadily developed to become a complete source for your precision turned parts by avoiding specialisation and maintaining a wide variety of machine types, technologies and materials. By offering free positive stock holding, coupled with improvements in operational activities we are able to deliver your turned parts to schedule and in the most cost effective way.

To find out more information on the history of Wilco you can watch the video interview with Martin or scroll down for a timeline.

Why choose Wilco Manufacturing Ltd?

Wilco have consistently remained competitive due to the policy of maintaining a wide variety of machinery types.  This ensures that your turned part component is manufactured on the right machine for the job to suit its level of complexity and volume.  By carefully assessing your component for manufacture at the quotation stage and taking time to calculate an accurate cycle time, you will be sure to receive the most competitive price for your turned part without having to buy it from the other side of the world!

Some of the latest measurement technologies available, such as the Tesa Scan 50 profile measuring machine, are employed alongside more conventional projectors, CMM and gauges to check your components during the machining cycle.

Advanced quality planning techniques are used to establish control plans for all your jobs progressing through the factory and ensures that PPAP packs can be meaningfully produced as supporting documentation where required.

Every time your turned part is set up for manufacture, an ISR (initial sample report) is independently produced to ensure that your component criteria are being met and samples retained during the life of the manufacturing time.  Ongoing regular recorded checks by both production and quality staff during the machining process help to ensure that you get exactly what you want and SPC can be applied, if required, for either capability checks or ongoing production control for critical items and features.

Ensuring on time delivery to our customers has evolved a number of strategies to cope with variable demand and volume from a range of industry types.

Wilco maintain a free of charge positive stock holding policy, which ensures that you can receive repeat parts even at late notice. The installation of a short order section to specifically manufacture small volumes, removes the impact of small volumes from the main operations and allows us to manufacture parts quickly. The investments that have been made in high technology, quick setup machines also contribute to the speed in which we can get finished parts to your facility.

Wilco maintain a free of charge positive stock holding policy, which ensures that you can receive repeat parts even at late notice.  The installation of a short order section to specifically manufacture small volumes, removes the impact of small volumes from the main operations and allows us to manufacture parts quickly.  The investments that have been made in high technology, quick setup machines also contribute to the speed in which we can get finished parts to your facility together with 24 hour running during the week.

History

  • 1940s

    Founded in the 1940’s to supply aircraft components for the war effort, Wilco (previously named Midland Aeroquipment Ltd) started manufacturing small assemblies and components including door locks and control panels from a small factory unit in Bloxwich near Walsall.

  • Early 1980s

    The company continued to make small capstan lathe turned parts, furnace brazing and assemblies through to the 1980s when it acquired Wilco Manufacturing Ltd, which was a larger dedicated cam auto turned parts facility supplying the local automotive industries.

    Early 1980s

  • Late 1980s

    Production and sales continued to increase until a third satellite unit was opened in the late 1980s.

  • Mid 1990s

    In the mid 1990s the three units combined to move to the larger newly refurbished site in Seeleys Road. Wilco Manufacturing was adopted as the umbrella name as the companies merged.

    Mid 1990s

  • Late 1990s

    The late 1990s also saw the first new CNC machines bought from Cincinatti, Mazak and Swiftlevel.

  • 2003

    Purchased first Star Sliding Head machine, a SR20RIII and goodwill of MAK turned parts. The sliding head capability allowed us to incorporate secondary operations into one hit machining paving the way for an evolution.

    2003

  • 2004

    Bought two additional Star SR20RIII machines.

  • 2005

    Purchased Vimart Automatics of Leicester, which included 5 more Star Sliding Head machines and Wickman Multis.

    2005

  • 2007

    Added two new Star SR32 machines to increase Sliding Head Capacity to Ø 32.00mm and 10 Star Sliders.

  • 2009

    Dipping into the second hand market increased the smaller capacity machine adding 2 off SA16 machines originally commissioned in 2005.

    2009

  • 2012

    A further company acquisition saw Shirley Engineering enter the fold. Shirley add low volume Fixed Head turning with 4 Daewoo Lynx machines.

  • 2014

    Acquired Towyn Turned Parts and a Miyano BNJ-51SY.

    2014

  • 2016

    Two new Lynx 2100LY Fixed Head machines added, including live tooling to incorporate Milling and Drilling in one hit machining.

  • 2018

    Increased capability with the addition of 2 SR20RIVB-type machines. These have increased tooling count and a programmable angling drilling head bringing the number of Fixed Head machines to 8.

    2018

  • 2019

    Taking over a customers machining operations added a further 3 Star machines and a Traub TNK36 to the Fixed Head section bringing the number of Fixed Head machines to 8.

    Sliding Head capacity increase with a new SR38 Sliding Head machine. This has the capacity up to Ø 45.00mm and was bought to service a new contract with JLR on vehicle electrification.

  • 2022

    Two new Star SB20 machines acquired to replace older model machines bringing Sliding Head count up to 22 machines.

    2022

  • 2023

    Following the success of the replacement SB20 machines two further machines were added. One to add and one to replace.