Investment in Citizen machines helps turn the tables at TWP Manufacturing

TWP Manufacturing Group, based in Tipton, has built its reputation on toolmaking, metal pressings and plastic injection moulding. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the company diversified into proprietary products such as photographic equipment, wheelbarrows and spiral security anchors to help provide a degree of future-proofing. Most components used in these products, including stamped metal platework, milled parts and moulded plastics are manufactured in-house and assembled on site. Historically, however a significant proportion of turned components was sourced from suppliers in the Far East.

That situation changed in May 2020, when TWP acquired a pre-owned Japanese-built CNC sliding-head turning centre, a 19-year-old Citizen Cincom M32, at auction. The twin-spindle, 32 mm capacity bar-fed lathe, equipped with a turret, gang tooling and a back tool post for reverse-end machining, enabled the company to bring around half of its outsourced turning work back in-house.

Five years later, by spring 2025, TWP had expanded its sliding-head capability to 10 machines, all pre-owned and mostly of similar vintage. Not only had all previously subcontracted turn-milling work been repatriated, but the company had also established a turned-parts subcontracting operation that now generates around 30% of its £4.2 million annual turnover.

In 2020, turnover stood at £2.5 million, meaning the business has grown by more than two-thirds in five years. During the same period, headcount fell by 20% to 28 employees, resulting in more than a doubling of revenue per employee.

Phil Stanley, joint owner of TWP with partner Richard Perry, credits much of this progress to the company’s partnership with Citizen Machinery UK. “Our relationship with Citizen has been brilliant from the start. Despite repeatedly buying used machines, nothing has been too much trouble for them. They supported us from the installation of the first M32 with advice and programming, and their engineers have been invaluable throughout every installation.”

Four months after installing the first M32, TWP added a second Citizen sliding-head lathe, an L32 with gang tooling and sub-spindle part ejection. This model proved ideal for producing a key component for the gear shift lever of a Lotus car, with most other parts in the assembly also made in-house.

To increase capacity, reduce lead times and support just-in-time production, a second M32 was purchased in May 2021. By this stage, all turn-milled work had been insourced, enabling TWP to respond faster to orders and secure new business.

In August 2022, two Citizen Cincom B12 machines were introduced to handle parts under 12 mm diameter more efficiently. Among their many applications, the machines run continuously producing 10,000 mild steel pins each week for heating and ventilation control systems.

Further expansion followed in 2023 with the addition of two Cincom L20 machines, improving workload distribution across the shop floor and reducing the need to interrupt batch runs to meet urgent orders. The extra capacity allowed TWP to accommodate rising demand from both existing and new customers.

To machine larger components, the company invested in a Miyano triple-turret lathe from Citizen’s alternative product range. One of the first jobs consolidated into a single operation was the manufacture of a high-strength 6082 aluminium T6 cable link for the Lotus gear shift. Prior to installing the machine, the maximum bar diameter processed at the Tipton site was 55 mm; the new capability extends this to 64 mm.

Most recently, two additional M32 machines were installed in early 2025 following the reconfiguration of manufacturing space. The expanded facility had previously been officially opened in March 2023 by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Shaun Bailey MP, who toured the three-unit factory.

Despite all machines being second-hand, their performance has exceeded expectations.

“We typically work to ±0.05 mm, but we have achieved +0/-2 µm on a carbon steel pin using the L32, which is remarkable for a machine built over 20 years ago,” says Phil.

He attributes this performance to the rigidity of Citizen lathes, high-quality coolant, and optimised feeds and speeds, which together deliver high accuracy, smooth surface finish and long tool life. On one machine, each edge of a carbide insert produced around 1,800 parts before indexing or replacement was required.

Today, TWP machines approximately 800,000 turn-milled components annually on its Citizen lathes. Around two-thirds are produced from mild steel, with stainless steel accounting for a further 30%. Extensive use of hexagonal bar reduces the need for secondary milling operations, while the robustness of the machines ensures stable performance even when machining vibration-prone materials.

Through strategic investment in pre-owned technology and a strong supplier partnership, TWP Manufacturing Group has transformed its production model, achieving significant growth, improved productivity and greater resilience in a competitive manufacturing landscape.