Ireland-based medical manufacturer to take delivery of latest Bumotec machine from Starrag

Machine tool manufacturer Starrag will be presenting its latest innovations on stand T7 at the Manufacturing Solutions Ireland exhibition on 11-12 June. The stand’s centrepiece, a Starrag Bumotec 191^neo, will be delivered to Smithstown Light Engineering immediately after the show.

Smithstown opened its doors for business 50 years ago with just four toolmakers; today it has three manufacturing sites and over 285 employees. With two sites in Shannon and another in Rzeszow, Poland, the company is on an aggressive growth trajectory, a fact underpinned by the Rzeszow division recently moving into a new 50,000 ft² factory.  Working with world-leading medical device and orthopaedic companies, Smithstown has invested in the Bumotec 191 to streamline its throughput and maximise efficiency.

The company transitioned to medical manufacturing in 1990, and it continually invests in the latest technology. This sees Smithstown work with clients such as Stryker, Boston Scientific, Zimmer Biomet and Cook Medical, to name but a few. Producing over 14 million components every year, the manufacturer adopts stringent quality measures that are a necessity for ultra-precision medical device parts used in life-saving surgery. It is here that the Bumotec 191^neo will create an impact.

Alluding to why the company has purchased the Bumotec 191, Smithstown Light Engineering CEO Gerard Henn says: “We’ve been interested in Starrag machines for several years, and it was a case of finding the right opportunity for our business. The Bumotec 191 is perfect for small intricate turn-mill parts, and we bought it for a number of reasons. Primarily, it will support our NPI (New Product Introduction) team, which will eventually dovetail into production.”

At Manufacturing Solutions Ireland, Starrag experts attending the show will also be keen to discuss the merits of other solutions that include the Heckert H Compact and STC series of horizontal machining centres, as well as the new Droop+Rein FOGS HD, a six-axis overhead gantry-type machining centre.